Landers Shines in Second Scrimmage

JMU Senior QB Rodney Landers

In JMU’s second football scrimmage this past Saturday, rising senior QB Rodney Landers ran for two touchdowns while rising sophomore fullback Donnell Brown also had a scoring run.

Landers finished with 13 runs for 51 yards and the two scores along with completing 7/10 passes for 62 yards. His backup Drew Dudzik was 6/9 for 45 yards and had 47 yards of rushing on 11 attempts.

Other notables from the second scrimmage:

TB Scott Noble (Soph. – Baltimore, MD/Franklin HS) – 6 carries, 39 yards; 2 catches

TB Corwin Acker (Fr. – Landover, MD/Blake HS) – 7 carries, 27 yards

TB Jamal Sullivan (Soph. – Ruther Glen, VA/Caroline HS) – 6 carries, 21 yards; 2 catches

TB Deric Dudinski (Soph. – Sterling, VA/Park View HS) – 4 carries, 19 yards

WR Marcus Turner (Soph. – Berlin, NJ/Eastern HS) – 2 catches

WR Mike Allen (R. Fr. – Powhatan, VA/Sacrament Hugenot) – 2 catches

All information courtesy of JMUSports.com

12 CAA Teams in 12 Days: James Madison

After a weekend off, it’s time for the part three of 12 CAA Teams in 12 Days. Today it’s time for my alma mater, James Madison! Enjoy!

Name: James Madison University

Nickname: Dukes

Founded: 1908

Student Body Population: Approx. 18,000

Located: Harrisonburg, VA in the Shenandoah Valley about two hours west of Washington, DC

Colors: Purple and Gold

Mascot: Duke Dog

Fun Academic Fact: U.S. News & World Report has ranked JMU as the top public, masters-level university in the South for 14 consecutive years.

Fun General Fact: The Princeton Review ranked JMU sixteenth for the most beer usage on campus.

JAMES MADISON FOOTBALL

Head Coach: Mickey Matthews, 9th Year (64-44)

Stadium: Bridgeforth Stadium

Built in 1975, Bridgeforth Stadium has been the lifelong home to the JMU football team and has a seating capacity of 13,559. Recently, the JMU Board of Visitors approved a $10 million budget to renovate and expand the stadium. By the start of the 2011 season, the stadium will hold 24,878 people making it the largest stadium in the CAA.

RECENT SUCCESS

Up until the hiring of Coach Matthews in 1999, the JMU football team was almost non-existent. But that has completely changed as the team made the I-AA playoffs in Matthews’ first year and in 2004, won the national championship over Montana. JMU has made the playoffs in three out of the last four years making them a very recruit friendly program and a powerhouse with a lot of success in its future.

Justin Rascati scores the winning touchdown as JMU beats Montana to win the 2004 National Championship.

NOTABLE PLAYERS:

Alvin Banks, Gary Clark, Corey Davis, Nelson Garner, Charles Haley, Akeem Jordan, Scott Norwood, Ed Perry, Justin Rascati, Bryan Stinespring, Kelly Wiltshire

Freshman RB Impresses in First Scrimmage; Dukes Lose Guard

JMU’s football team held its first scrimmage of the new season this past Saturday and Freshman RB Corwin Acker did not disappoint. The Blake High School star from Landover, Maryland had two rushing touchdowns and 29 total yards on nine carries in his first situational play as a Duke and was one of the lone standouts in a defensive struggle.

Other notable lines from the April 5th scrimmage:

QB Drew Dudzik (So. – Clifton, VA/Centreville HS) – 12/20, 141 yards, 1 TD

QB Rodney Landers (Sr. – Virginia Beach, VA/Tallwood HS) – 11/20, 131 yards

RB Jonathan Rose (R-Fr. – Amherst, MA/Amherst HS) – 10 carries, 36 yards

WR Patrick Ward (Sr. – Harrisonburg, VA/Harrisonburg HS) – 4 rec, 79 yards

WR Bosco Williams (Jr. – Clifton Forge, VA/Alleghany HS) – 4 rec, 62 yards, 1 TD

WR Marcus Turner (So. – Berlin, NJ/Eastern HS) – 3 rec, 33 yards

WR Kerby Long (R-Fr. – Arlington, VA/Yorktown HS) – 3 rec, 29 yards

JMU will scrimmage once more this Saturday April 12th before their Spring Game on April 19th. The full Spring schedule as allowed by the NCAA is below:

March 27 – No Pads

March 28 – No Pads

March 29 – Pads

March 31 – Pads

April 2 – Pads

April 4 – Pads

April 5 – Scrimmage

April 7 – Pads

April 8 – Pads

April 11 – Pads

April 12 – Scrimmage

April 14 – Pads

April 15 – Pads

April 17 – No Pads

April 19 – Spring Game

Story courtesy of JMUSports.com

Also noteworthy is that last month, LG Vernon Eason left the football program for personal reasons. Eason was expected to start on the line so this is a potentially crushing blow unless someone steps up.  Here is the Daily News Record’s Mike Barber’s article on it.