We asked for mailbag questions this week, and you all delivered with a solid batch. 

Here are my responses to your JMU sports questions. 

Now that we’re getting a better look at the staff with the posts on the JMU football account, how are y’all feeling about it? Any surprise hires in your opinion? – CA Duke

I like the staff, which has been known for a while and is being officially announced on team social media accounts this week. I’m not sure there are any surprises, other than maybe Billy Napier saying that new OC Cam Aiken will call the offensive plays. That’s a major development after Napier’s shortcomings at Florida as the play-caller.

The other really notable hires to me are the former Georgia Southern coaches. After a few up-and-down seasons as the Eagles’ defensive coordinator, Brandon Bailey will coach JMU’s safeties. Adding a former DC as a position coach always excites me, even if he was let go by the Eagles as the DC. Between actual DC Robert Bala, Bailey and LBs coach Dave Plungas, the Dukes have a lot of guys with meaningful coordinator experience working together to craft weekly defensive game plans. I like that.

And, of course, bringing Bryan Schor from Georgia Southern to JMU is important. He’ll coach the Dukes’ tight ends after doing so for the Eagles in 2025. Schor won a national title as the Dukes’ quarterback in 2016. His knowledge of both JMU and the SBC will be valuable in the short and long term.

JMU lost a lot of talent in the portal, obviously. Players to the Big10, SEC, etc. What does it say about how good the top 5 or so teams are that the players that got cooked against Oregon (like our talented DBs), are off to good P4s? – Andrew

Great question.

It definitely speaks to how good the elite few programs in college football (Ohio State, Oregon, Georgia, etc.) seem to be each fall. Oregon regularly lands elite HS and transfer recruits, and it showed in the College Football Playoff. JMU trailed 48-13 with the Ducks just a few yards from adding another TD before a Justin Eaglin interception near the goal line sparked a good finish from the Dukes.

At the top end of college football, the best teams are stacked with pros. And while JMU has played exceptional football since moving to the FBS, the Dukes haven’t had an NFL draft pick since Ben DiNucci in 2019. That’s wild, and part of why JMU looked overmatched for the first 40-45 minutes against the Ducks, who had several top-50 NFL draft prospects.

Who were JMU’s pros? Nick DeGennaro balled out at wide receiver and looks like he could become a draft choice. Outside of him, JMU’s most likely pros (Wayne Knight and Sahir West) will end their college careers elsewhere.

If the Dukes want to take the next step as a program, they need to start having more NFL-ready talent on the roster.

For this upcoming season, what upperclassmen have the best shot at getting drafted in the NFL? – DukeDog

It’s a tough question given the roster turnover, but I’d lean toward some of the bigger, athletic linemen.

I look at guys like DIII OL transfer DJ Fox, who is 6’9 and 320 lbs. OL Tyler Brown has years of meaningful experience and some positional versatility and he’s close to 330 lbs as a guard. He also played at the P4 level with Colorado and could get an NFL look with a big 2026 season. DT Rasheed Lovelace (6’3 and 310 lbs) has a proven track record of stopping the run and clogging the middle of the line. A big 2026 could make him a draftable player.

Guys like LB Gannon Weathersby should be in for big seasons, although Weathersby is undersized for a draftable NFL linebacker. Still, if he goes crazy he could get consideration.

Some of JMU’s other top likely NFL draft candidates aren’t rising seniors, which complicates things. I’m not sure the rising senior class has any obvious NFL draft picks, although guys like Wayne Knight, Landon Ellis, Joseph Simmons, etc. could very well become draft picks from their new Power Conference homes. JMU lost a lot of NFL-caliber talent this offseason and reloaded with younger guys who could be pros in another two or three years.

In the NIL/portal what programs have elevated their football AND men’s basketball teams? SMU/BYU/maybe Michigan? All have tons of cash (JMU doesn’t). Seems like for a majority of universities this is a zero sum game now. – Leroy Brown

You answered your own question well! 

This also speaks to JMU’s disadvantage compared to some mid-major basketball peers. Schools like VCU and George Mason don’t have football teams, so they can prioritize basketball success. JMU is trying to become a G6 football powerhouse, which takes much of the school’s revenue-sharing and NIL focus. If you’re a sports-crazy donor at Mason, you have one spot to spend! If you’re a JMU donor, you’re probably putting football first.

I’d also add Virginia and Vanderbilt to your list. The Cavaliers are back to men’s basketball relevance with Ryan Odom at coach, and the football team spent a lot to build a roster that reached the ACC title game. Like it or not, Virginia is taking its football program seriously and should raise its floor dramatically in coming seasons. Likewise, a legitimate commitment to winning at Vanderbilt has Clark Lea and Mark Byington winning big.

It takes money — and institutional alignment — to win in the modern era. JMU is in a decent spot for future men’s basketball success. The Dukes’ current staff needs to better allocate its resources, though. It’s the worst kept secret in JMU sports that they whiffed on the talent/salary evaluation of a few current players.

Coach P loves saying that “The SBC is a tough league to play in” after a loss. However the Sun Belt is the lowest ranked G5 conference (ie we ain’t that tough). Do y’all think this is coach speak or is Coach P genuinely stating his struggles to coach in the SBC? – Rob Moorehead

This one drives me crazy, too. That, and the idea that it’s impossible to win on the road in the Sun Belt. Is it really that hard to win at App State? Elon, Georgia State, and ODU all did, and those teams are a combined 29-37 on the season.

Sometimes I think this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Spradlin could probably benefit from fewer of these comments, as some of the postgame press conferences now feature players talking about how hard road games can be. If you go into a road game expecting a loss or a 40-minute battle against a bad team, it might just come true.

But Spradlin is well-respected coach and person, so these comments are essentially just him respecting his opponents. And he’s partially correct. Most Sun Belt teams have done well at home this season, which is common across college basketball.

Still, JMU has the talent and resources to be far better than 3-9 on the road this year. The Sun Belt has no teams in KenPom’s top 100. It’s not a good league this year, regardless of Spradlin’s kindness. JMU has underachieved so far this season, but Thursday’s win over Troy is a huge step in the right direction. A late-season run is a real possibility, given the team’s favorable February schedule.

KenPom projects JMU to finish 9-9 in the league. It’s not ideal, but it’s also not horrendous after sitting at 2-6 in SBC games about a week ago.

Photo courtesy of JMU Athletics Communications