Dukes Improving Each Practice Through First Week Of Fall Camp

Aug 7, 2023 Updated Aug 7, 2023
After James Madison’s fourth day of practice, head coach Curt Cignetti liked the direction of where his team is headed, but with an early-season gauntlet of games on the horizon, he noted there’s still work to be done.
“I thought it was a pretty good practice,” Cignetti said. “I thought our last practice was good, both padded practices. So we’re making progress, but we’re going to have to make progress every day and have a sense of urgency because games two through five — we’ve got to be ready to go.”
The Dukes’ first five games include a home date with FCS foe Bucknell before a three-game road swing at Virginia, Troy and Utah State. And when JMU returns from playing the Aggies, the No. 2 team in the Sun Belt West preseason poll, South Alabama, will visit Bridgeforth Stadium.
With that in mind, Cignetti has seen his team improve, but the Dukes are only a quarter of the way through their fall camp practice schedule, and there’s more to be done.
“I think every practice has built upon the previous practice,” Cignetti said. “We still have a long way to go, but every practice has improved. So that’s what we’re looking for.”
Youth Among Deep Tight Ends Room
JMU’s tight ends room received a jolt during the offseason with the additions of Charlotte transfer Taylor Thompson and Pitt transfer Kyi Wright, but there’s a sense of youth in the position.
“I mean, we’ve got good depth,” Cignetti said. “They’re getting better every day. Even though we have some depth, they’re still pretty young. Kyi Wright, he’s only been with us a year, and [Zach] Horton is going into his third year and he’s the vet. It’s a young group.”
Horton is the most tenured of the group in his junior season but rose through the ranks last fall to make an impact as a sophomore.
The Roanoke native recorded his first 13 career receptions with 159 yards and two touchdowns last fall while also being ranked the top run-blocking tight end in the Sun Belt Conference by Pro Football Focus.
Thompson spent his first two seasons at Charlotte and was a receiving threat with 44 receptions for 580 yards and two touchdowns. A former high school quarterback, Wright played in 25 games as a run-blocking tight end across four seasons at Pitt.
Outside of those three, the Dukes moved defensive lineman Jordan Funk to tight end during spring ball and signed freshmen Collin Carroll and Josh Phifer, providing quality depth behind the four older tight ends.
Trio Of Freshmen Catch Cignetti’s Eye
Through the first week of practice, a trio of freshmen caught Cignetti’s attention.
While it’s still early in camp, cornerback D’Angelo Ponds and wide receivers Maxwell Moss and Yamir Knight have flashed in front of the fifth-year coach.
“Those are guys that have caught my eye a little bit,” Cignetti said, “but we’ve got a long way to go.”
Ponds, a three-star recruit from the Miami area, recorded a diving interception in the team portion on day one of fall camp. He has an opportunity to see the field as a freshman in a young cornerbacks room, headlined by senior Devyn Coles and sophomores Brent Austin and Chauncey Logan.
Moss, a Severn, Md., native, looks the part of a college wide receiver and has shown it at times in practice. Moss recorded 72 receptions for 1,416 yards and 21 touchdowns in his senior year at Archbishop Spalding High School last fall.
Knight, named the Gatorade Delaware Football Player of the Year last fall, could be an option at slot receiver, along with North Dakota State transfer Phoenix Sproles and South Florida transfer Omarion Dollison.
Scrimmage No. 1 Coming Up
As JMU, who received one vote in the USA Today Sports AFCA Coaches Preseason Poll on Monday afternoon, approaches the midway point of fall camp on Saturday, the Dukes will compete in their first of two intrasquad scrimmages on Saturday evening.
The Dukes put their shoulder pads on for the first time on Saturday and are expected to go full pads by the end of the week before the scrimmage.
For Cignetti, each day is a chance to evaluate and learn about his team and the scrimmage is no different.
“We just want to get better every day,” Cignetti said. “We’re going to keep putting stuff in. … It’s about consistency in performance and having high standards every single day. And coming out and improving every single day, not having a down day.”