JMU’s football season starts in a few days, and it appears the Dukes won’t release an official depth chart.

Fair enough! Here’s our extremely unofficial guess at how it would look if the Dukes released one. Reminder, this is not official! This does not use any inside information, and we have not attended camp. This is our best guess at JMU’s depth chart using only publicly available information, including interviews and our opinions.

QB1 — JC Evans
QB2 — Camden Coleman

RB1 — George Pettaway
RB2 — Seth Cromwell or Nick Herman

WR1 — Corey Scott
WR2 — Smoke Collins

WR1 — Jeremiah Harrison
WR2 — Noah Grevious

WR1 — Braeden Wisloski
WR2 — Michael Scott

TE1 — Cole Keller
TE2 — KD Mosley

LT1 — DJ Fox
LT2 — Daniel Michel

LG1 — Evan Bushong
LG2 — Wyatt Maines

C1 — Zach Greenberg
C2 — Tyler Brown

RG1 — Tyler Brown
RG2 — Frankie Tinilau

RT1 — Deacon Rawls
RT2 — Daniel Michel

I’m grasping slightly along the offensive line when listing an eighth guy, but Tinilau and Michel are really good backups with positional versatility, and the starting five has a bunch of experience. Rawls and Bushong are the youngest, but they have high ceilings and they’re not actually that young. Greenberg and Brown are entering a combined 15th year of college football.

At quarterback, I really think it’s Evans. Go back and watch the JMU-Western Kentucky highlights from the 2024 Boca Raton Bowl, and it’s easy to see how his athleticism — he’s added 20 lbs since then, by the way — will translate into Cam Aiken’s scheme. His ceiling is so, so high. Camden Coleman is probably the best backup in the Sun Belt and could easily succeed if called upon. He’s an elite leader and a valuable asset to the team, even if Evans is the guy.

From what we’ve heard, seen, and read, we feel comfortable listing Evans as Saturday’s starter. But given Coleman’s experience, he could be quickly asked to step in if things go south — we all remember Bucknell in 2023.

At wide receiver, Kylan Billiot could also be a factor. I love this top six, though. The top three might be the best in the Sun Belt, with each of the three having 1,000-yard potential this fall depending on how targets shake out.

Defense (3-3-5/multiple)

DE1 — Kei’Trone Simpson
DE2 — Danny Royster or Turner Schmidt

DT1 — Rasheed Lovelace
DT2 — Jakolbi Wilson

DE/DT — Kells Bush
DE/DT — Kevin Roberts or Mychal McMullin

OLB/EDGE1 — Amar Thomas
OLB/EDGE2 — Mason Purham

LB1 — Nakian Jackson
LB2 — JT Hooten

LB1 — Gannon Weathersby
LB2 — Jayden Studio

Nickel1 — KJ Flowe
Nickel2 — Terrence Jones

CB1 — Ken Willis
CB2 — Damier Minkah

CB1 — DJ Kelly
CB2 — LaRon Dues

SS1 — TJ McGill
SS2 — Chase Regan

FS1 — Seth Gathers or Jayon Harvey

K — Morgan Suarez
P — Patrick Rea

I feel solid with the defensive front and linebackers. I have much less confidence in the secondary.

The coaches seem to like all four of the listed safeties. Who plays the most? We’ll see. I wouldn’t be shocked if Gathers and Harvey are the two starters. I also like Willis and Kelly, although we haven’t heard much about Kelly during camp. LaRon Dues, a true freshman, should see the field sooner rather than later. I put him on here mostly for fun, but he’s a good player.

JMU’s defensive backs are the obvious question marks, especially after last year when JMU had elite guys in the back end.

The front seven should be solid. Weathersby and Jackson have played a ton of football, as have all of the defensive linemen. Bush might be the least experienced at playing a major role, but even he has appeared in 22 career games. He’s ready for a jump.

Schematically, I think the roster is built to operate out of a 4-2-5 more than a 3-3-5, but we’ll find out Saturday. Amar Thomas and Mason Purham are both plenty capable of dropping into coverage at times.

Photo courtesy of JMU Athletics Communications