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Streamer Notes - Media Day at JMU Football Camp
8/16/2016 4:30:00 PM | Football
1) Second Week of Camp Underway
The Dukes are in the second week of preseason camp, enduring hot days in full pads. Mental toughness has been preached day in and day out, because those who have the mental toughness to perform at a high level despite all the elements are the ones who put JMU in the best position to succeed.
Coach Houston referenced certain players who lead this group of 2016 Dukes day in and day out through single and two-a-day practices, which began nine days ago. At the end of practices, those who aren't special teams players have conditioning with John Williams and Markus James. As if mental toughness isn't tested throughout practice drills, it goes all the way until the team huddles at the conclusion.
The non-special teams group gets some rigorous conditioning in to end practice Tuesday.
"It's hard and anybody who's ever been through it knows what I'm talking about. Game day is one thing, but out there day after day after day and many days twice a day is tough. There's going to be some bumps in the road, but you have guys like Gage Steele, Taylor Reynolds, Mitchell Kirsch, Matt Frank, Rashard Davis and Brandon Ravenel; you have all those guys who are such solid guys, solid young men, that has been the key for us making a pretty successful transition."
2) JMU Football Media Day
Numerous media members from around the state converged to campus for JMU Football Media Day. Players and coaches met with the media following a tough morning practice, followed by a press conference at Bridgeforth Stadium with Head Coach Mike Houston. There, Houston talked about the team's progression throughout the offseason and preparing for his first season with the Dukes. JMU also streamed its first hi-quality press conference through Facebook Live, which will be the source for all postgame press conferences this football season.
Coach Houston's Opening Statement: "I'm excited about where we are right now about a week-and-a-half in of a demanding preseason camp. Certainly we have improved drastically since we started day one. We still have a long way to go, certainly not ready to play a game yet but we don't play one until September 3rd so we still have a little bit more time. The important thing is the kids are keep their foot on the gas and working very, very hard. They're all tired right now, their legs are whipped but they are pushing themselves daily and improving daily. So we want to get through this week and finish up the more grueling part of our camp."
3) Upperclassmen, The Backbone of JMU Football
JMU's redshirt juniors and seniors are now working with their third head coach in three years, something that could rattle many, but Coach Houston refers to them as the backbone of the program and the reason this team has been able to remain stable through much change.
In addition to it being a new leader of the football program, it is also the fourth offensive and defensive coordinators since 2013. Yet the offense exploded for two of the most dynamic seasons on record in 2014 and 2015 and the defense returns nearly every playmaker from last year's squad, including Preseason All-Americans Andrew Ankrah and Taylor Reynolds, to name a couple.
"We have been put here together," Houston said. "The thing I stressed to them was I chose them, our staff chose them. We all chose to be to here, we want to be here and we're here for the long haul. For them, I want them to have the most enjoyable senior year they can possibly have. I think that group has really been the backbone of us sticking together and having a productive summer and preseason so far."
4) Thunder & Lightning: The Two-Back Tandem of Johnson and Abdullah
JMU is fortunate to possess a deep running back group, but the Dukes have a rare two-back tandem that is as dominant as it comes. The duo of of Cardon Johnson and Khalid Abdullah both return after a stellar 2015 in which they combined for over 2,000 rushing yards and 25 total touchdowns.
Johnson runs past the entire defense for a long touchdown run during Tuesday's practice.
Johnson was named to the All-CAA Second Team a year ago after running for 1,037 yards and 10 touchdowns, to go with 17 catches for 95 yards and two scores. Abdullah produced 975 yards and a team-best 13 touchdowns on the ground while adding 10 catches for 82 yards.
"Cardon and Khalid have separated themselves drastically from everybody else," Houston said. "I don't know how many FCS schools have two [running backs] like that. Most people would be fortunate to have one. They're special, they can play my offense I ran at The Citadel, they can play in this offense. They're powerful running backs with great feet. They run with great pad level, they're great teammates. You don't worry about them being late on the practice field, you don't worry about them loafing on a drill, they're the hardest workers. There's a reason why they've separated themselves. Consistently day in and day out, you know what you're getting from these two."
5) Competitive Kicking Battles Ensue During Camp
Coach Houston feels much better about his specialists now than he did two weeks ago at the start of camp. He knows he has options, which is a good problem to have. JMU will look to replace kicker Ryan Maglio, who graduated last year, and three names, two of which are new to the program, are battling it out for placekicking honors while All-CAA selection Gunnar Kane returns after by far one of the program's best punting seasons in 2015.
"When you talk about our specialists, Gunnar Kane is punting the ball very, very well," Houston said. "Since the beginning of camp, he much more consistent, he's consistently hitting it 47, 48 yards with great hang time. I think we have a real good competition with the placekicking job with Tyler Gray, Jeremiah McBride and Pat Frio. Jeremiah is also competing with Gunnar for the punting position, so it's going a little bit better than I expected."
6) More Coverage from Media Day
Check out our local and regional coverage from Tuesday's JMU Football Media Day. We'll update links over the next couple days.
Fox Sports Radio Richmond - Interview with Mike Houston (Wes McElroy)
ESPN Radio Harrisonburg - Interview with Donnie Kirkpatrick (Dave Thomas)
ESPN Radio Harrisonburg - Interview with Bob Trott (Dave Thomas)
WHSV Sports - Team not only ones learning at JMU camp (Andrew Clay)
DukesofJMU.com - Field Notes - 8.16.16 (Greg Madia, DN-R)
The Breeze - Four Takeaways from JMU football's 2016 media day (Bennett Conlin, Richie Bozek)
ESPN Radio Richmond - Interview with Dave Thomas (Greg Burton)
NBC 29 Charlottesville - Local Football Products Set to Make Impact at JMU (Wolf Gohlke)
Newsplex CBS 19 Charlottesville - Local products thriving under Dukes new staff (Zach Maskavich)
ESPN Radio Harrisonburg - Interview with Khalid Abdullah (Dave Thomas)
Charlottesville Daily Progress - Central Virginia products expected to play key roles for JMU (Ron Counts)
View our full photo gallery from Media Day by CLICKING HERE.
Schor talks with WHSV's Andrew Clay at JMU Football Media Day on Tuesday.
Stay connected with JMU football all camp long through social media @JMUFootball on Twitter, JMU Football on Facebook and JMUSports on SnapChat. We'll also provide numerous "Streamer Notes" each week on the happenings at preseason practice.
Previous Streamer Notes
First Day of Practice (Aug. 8)
First Day in Pads (Aug. 10)
Two-a-Days Begin (Aug. 14)
Players Mentioned
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/ FootballSaturday, April 25
Thursday, April 23
Thursday, April 23
Tuesday, April 21
