Barber: JMU's Billy Atkins Eager to Prove Himself at Boca Raton Bowl

By Mike Barber
JMUSports.com Correspondent

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Growing up with a father who was a middle school principal, Billy Atkins understood expectations.

"I went to school with him, so I had to be on my best behavior, for sure," Atkins said this week as he prepared to start for James Madison against Western Kentucky in Wednesday's Boca Raton Bowl. "He has high standards. Whether it was on the field or in the classroom, he expected good grades and for his kids to do well in sports, as well."

These days, Atkins brings those same high standards to himself and everyone around him in the JMU program.

"You had to be very prepared when you went into a meeting with him," Head Coach Bob Chesney said. "He's a guy that's going to challenge things, in a good way. He's gonna ask questions, in a good way."

Those questions, Chesney and Atkins' JMU teammates say, are informed by hours of extra film study. Atkins voraciously pours over any information he can find, wanting to understand the how and the why of JMU's offensive play calls and designs.

He used that information to help the team's other quarterbacks, young and old, perform to their best levels.

"He does so much work behind the scenes that no one gets to see," JMU senior offensive lineman Cole Potts said. "Billy watches more film than anyone I honestly have ever met. Him and Jacob Dobbs are the two guys who would watch film instead of watching a movie with everyone else."

That devotion to his preparation is a big part of the reason the Dukes say they have a high degree in confidence in Atkins as he prepares to make his first start since facing Marshall in 2022.

That game saw Atkins struggle, throwing four interceptions and completing just 37.1% of his passes. What some may forget is that Atkins wasn't named the starter for that game until a few hours before kickoff.

The team's starting quarterback that season, Todd Centeio, had been injured in practice late in the week.

"We all know he had a chance before and he went on the field and it wasn't his best day," Chesney said. "He has one more chance to reveal himself for all the work he did from that moment until now."

This season, as the backup, Atkins has only thrown one pass, and he's only attempted three the past two years. Still, Atkins goes into the bowl game eager to show what he can do.

"This obviously is a big opportunity for me," Atkins, a redshirt junior, said. "The fact that I am playing in my possible last game at JMU, that's a big deal for me to finally go out here and make a name for myself at this school."

Atkins also takes confidence from the fact that many of the offensive players he will lineup with Wednesday are players he practiced with on the second team last year, including speedy, playmaking wide receivers Omarion Dollison and Yamir Knight.

"Guys like Omarion and Yamir, those were the guys I played with," Atkins said. "Those guys were second-string guys. So when I was launching deep balls down the field, those were the guys catching it. I feel like we honestly haven't lost a step at all. In bowl prep, we've even grown closer."

Dollison, who leads the team with six touchdown receptions and a 17.8 yards-per-catch average, agrees.

"Last year, we had a lot of downtime together. We talked a lot," Dollison said. "Then, when we had the time to come on the field, we had that connection."

One question will be how Western Kentucky approaches JMU, defensively. The Hilltoppers are an aggressive defense, using well-timed blitzes to get opponents behind the chains and turnovers to swing control of games.

A page from "Football for Dummies" would dictate that, with the Dukes playing a backup quarterback, Western Kentucky should stack the box, stuff the run and dare Atkins to beat it through the air.

"If they're going to do that, we can't put it all on Billy and say, 'Billy get us out of here,'" Chesney said. "We have to protect him and put him in a position where we can still run the ball into those loaded boxes. That's an important piece of what we need to establish early."

But for his part, Atkins would welcome a defense designed to force him to pass more.

"Please do. I want to see that happen," Atkins said. "I would honestly love that. We've got some great fast guys on the outside."

Atkins also knows part of the challenge Wednesday will be to emotionally steady himself for what could be his final game wearing purple. He said he hasn't made any decision about his future but acknowledged the Boca Raton bowl could be his last time putting on a Dukes uniform.

Even when he was down on the depth chart, he said, he never considered leaving JMU.

"I've always been focused on playing here and being a Duke," he said. "I never wanted to find a new school. Whenever I think about my failures as a player, I truly felt that I could play here. I truly do believe in myself. I never thought I had to go somewhere else to get an opportunity."
Now, he's eager to prove that.

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