JMU Wins Four Major Awards, 19 Dukes Earn 2025 All-Sun Belt Honors

JMU Wins Four Major Awards, 19 Dukes Earn 2025 All-Sun Belt Honors

12/4/2025 11:00:00 AM | Football

2025 All-Sun Belt Awards

NEW ORLEANS – James Madison dominated the 2025 Sun Belt Conference football postseason awards, as quarterback Alonza Barnett III headlined as Player of the Year, while the program won a total of four major awards with 19 players combining for 20 All-Sun Belt honors.

The 2025 All-Sun Belt team was selected by the league's 14 head coaches and media members.

Barnett, the program's second Sun Belt Player of the Year, was joined on the major awards list by Defensive Player of the Year Trent Hendrick, Freshman of the Year Sahir West and Coach of the Year Bob Chesney.

It's the second time in three years that the panel of 14 head coaches and 14 media members voted JMU the Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Coach of the Year. West also became the program's first Sun Belt Freshman of the Year.

Since joining the Sun Belt in 2022, JMU has earned nine major awards.

Barnett went 11-1 as a starter and accounted for 2,899 yards of total offense and 33 touchdowns to lead JMU's top-scoring offense in the Sun Belt, at 37.8 points per game. He was 183-of-297 for 2,440 passing yards and 20 touchdowns with seven interceptions while rushing for 459 yards and a team-best 13 touchdowns. In SBC play, Barnett led the league with 16 passing touchdowns and was second in rushing touchdowns by a QB, with 10. Barnett, who returned nine months after an ACL injury, ended the regular season ranking ninth nationally in point responsibility (16.7), 17th in yards per completion (13.33), 22^nd in rushing touchdowns and 35th in passing scores. He also had a Sun Belt single-game leading four rushing touchdowns and six total touchdowns in a game this season.

Hendrick started all 12 games at linebacker and led the Dukes with 91 tackles this season to rank eighth in the Sun Belt in tackles per game (7.6). He also notched 6.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, one pass breakup and a forced fumble. In conference play, he ranked 12th in the league in sacks per game (0.38), and he also registered double-digit tackles in four games and seven-plus in six outings. He anchored a defense that ranked fifth nationally in total defense (253.5) and rushing defense (84.7), 10^th in scoring defense (16.0) and 12th in passing defense (168.8), leading the league in each category.

West started all 12 games at defensive end after redshirting a season ago. He made 33 total tackles with a team-best 8.5 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks, four pass breakups and seven QB hurries. He had at least a full TFL in six games and 1.5 in five outings. West had a season-high four hurries in one game and recorded a full sack or more in three games.

Chesney guided JMU to an 11-1 overall record and 8-0 mark in Sun Belt play, as the Dukes captured their first SBC East Division title. JMU won 10 straight games to end the regular season and is the only Group of Six program to be unbeaten against G6 foes. In league games, JMU led the Sun Belt in scoring offense (42.5), scoring defense (15.13) and total defense (262) while ranking second in total offense (492.13). JMU reached north of 50 points in four of eight SBC teams and held six conference squads to under 300 yards and less than 100 rushing yards. This is tied for the best regular-season record for JMU since joining the FBS (11-1 in 2023) and the first unbeaten conference season since 2019 for the program.

Joining Barnett and Hendrick on the All-Sun Belt First Team were right tackle Pat McMurtrie and Wayne Knight, who garnered First Team accolades at both the running back and all-purpose slots.

Second Team All-Sun Belt honors went to center Zach Greenberg, right guard Riley Robell, defensive linemen West and Immanuel Bush, cornerback Justin Eaglin and safety Jacob Thomas.

Five earned Third Team laurels in left guard Carter Sweazie, receiver Landon Ellis, defensive lineman Aiden Gobaira, nickel DJ Barksdale and cornerback Elijah Culp. Rounding out the All-Sun Belt picks as Honorable Mention selections were safety Tyler Brown, tight end Lacota Dippre, left tackle Joe Simmons and defensive lineman Amar Thomas.

JMU's starting five offensive linemen aided in JMU ranking 10th nationally and leading the league in scoring (37.8), as well as in conference play (42.5). JMU finished the 12-game slate ranking 21st in the FBS and third in the SBC in total offense (451.4), but in league play averaged nearly 50 yards more per game (492.1). JMU rushed for 254.5 yards per Sun Belt game and was sixth nationally with a league-leading 239.8 per game across all 12 games. McMurtrie, who led the group, did not allow a single sack for the second straight season.

Knight, a Paul Hornung Award finalist, ranks fourth nationally and leads the league in all-purpose yards (139.75). He became JMU's first 1,000-yard rusher in six years, as he's run for 1,051 yards and eight touchdowns while averaging 6.22 yards per carry. Knight also ranks 17th in the FBS and third in the league in yards per carry, 26th nationally and second in the league in rushing yards per game (87.6) and 31st in the country and fourth in the SBC in punt return average (8.5). In addition to the run game, he made 35 catches for 368 receiving yards and a score. His 1,677 all-purpose yards ranks fifth in JMU single-season history.

Bush started all 12 games at defensive tackle, finishing with 26 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks and a pass breakup. He had a full TFL or more in four games and a full sack in three games. Bush was previously honored as a watch list selection for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Outland Trophy.

Eaglin started 10 of 12 games at cornerback, finishing with 33 tackles and a team-high 11 passes defended, as he led the Dukes with four interceptions while contributing seven pass breakups. He also blocked a kick. Eaglin had a pick-six for his first career touchdown and also had a two-interception game. He tallied three games with two or more passes defended.

Jacob Thomas started all 12 games at strong safety, accruing 62 tackles with 4.0 TFL, 2.0 sacks, two interceptions, six pass breakups and a forced fumble. Thomas ranked 13th in the SBC in pass breakups and had five or more stops in nine games.

Ellis was JMU's leading receiver in the 2025 regular season, finishing with 32 receptions for 532 receiving yard and five touchdowns. He turned in one 100-yard receiving game and had three or more grabs in six outings. That included 120 receiving yards and a career-high three scores against Louisiana. He ranked seventh in the SBC in receiving touchdowns and 11th in yards per catch (16.63).

Gobaira started just one of 12 games but made an immediate impact up front for the JMU defense. Coming back to football after being medically disqualified at Notre Dame, Gobaira had 37 tackles with 7.5 TFL and 4.0 sacks. He made five or more tackles in four games, all in conference play and recorded a full TFL in six outings.

Barksdale started all 12 games at nickel while also playing corner. He produced 33 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, two interceptions and a team-high nine pass breakups and 11 passes defended. He had two passed defended in three games.

Culp started 11 games at cornerback and tallied 34 tackles with 1.5 TFL and seven pass breakups, which tied for second on the team in deflections. He had multiple breakups twice, including three at Liberty.

Brown started all 12 games at free safety and was the team's second-leading tackler, with 71 total tackles. He also had 3.0 tackles for loss, one interception and four breakups. He ranked top 25 in the SBC in tackles in conference play (6.63).

Dippre started 11 of 12 games at tight end and was JMU's leader in the room with 15 catches for 187 receiving yards and three touchdowns. He also had two carries for 31 rushing yards on a pair of fake punts in the same game. He was also tied for the league lead in touchdowns by a tight end.

Amar Thomas started all 12 games at defensive end and made 36 tackles with 3.5 TFL and 2.0 sacks.

JMU's 20 total All-Sun Belt selections led the league by a wide margin, as Texas State had 13 honorees, followed by 12 each from Troy and Georgia Southern. It also set a program record for most all-conference selections in a single season, besting the 18 it won in 2019. It was also three more than the 17 it earned in 2023.

JMU's 2025 All-Sun Belt Selections
Player of the Year: Alonza Barnett III
Defensive Player of the Year: Trent Hendrick
Freshman of the Year: Sahir West
Coach of the Year: Bob Chesney

First Team All-Sun Belt
QB – Alonza Barnett III
RB – Wayne Knight
OL – Pat McMurtrie
LB – Trent Hendrick
All-Purpose – Wayne Knight

Second Team All-Sun Belt
OL – Zach Greenberg
OL – Riley Robell
DL – Immanuel Bush
DL – Sahir West
DB – Justin Eaglin
DB – Jacob Thomas

Third Team All-Sun Belt
OL – Carter Sweazie
WR – Landon Ellis
DL – Aiden Gobaira
DB – DJ Barksdale
DB – Elijah Culp

Honorable Mention All-Sun Belt
DB – Tyler Brown
TE – Lacota Dippre
OL – Joseph Simmons
DL – Amar Thomas