Spinogatti Earns First Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week

NEW ORLEANS – James Madison junior linebacker Drew Spinogatti was voted Sun Belt Conference Football Defensive Player of the Week following a career performance in JMU's comeback win against Washington State.

Making his first JMU start, Spinogatti registered career highs of 16 tackles and two pass breakups, helping the Dukes to a thrilling 24-20 victory against WSU in the final home regular-season game.

Spinogatti set a new career in the first half alone, as he had 10 by halftime, besting his previous best of nine set last season while playing at Holy Cross against Colgate. He and the JMU defense limited the Cougars to just three second-half points to run their win streak to nine straight games.

The 16 tackles were the most by any JMU player this season and the most since his former Holy Cross teammate Jacob Dobbs made 17 tackles for the Dukes in the Oct. 19, 2024, matchup at Georgia Southern.

This is Spinogatti's first career weekly conference award, and he's the second JMU player to earn Defensive Player of the Week this season, joining Trent Hendrick back on Sept. 29.

Spinogatti and the 20th-ranked Dukes close the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 29 at Coastal Carolina. Kickoff is set for 3:45 p.m., and the game will be nationally televised on ESPNU.

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