Chesney Announce Additional Coaching and Key Support Staff Hires

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison Head Coach Bob Chesney announced the hiring of three full-time staff members and three graduate assistants for the 2025 football season.

Joining the Dukes off field are Cristos Argys as director of recruiting, Adam Ricketts as coordinator of video & technology and Dallas Jackson as director of player development.

"I am excited to welcome these new additions to our JMU Football support staff," Chesney said. "Through the help of university leadership and a robust philanthropic gift, we've been able to bolster our off-field support that will enhance the overall student-athlete experience from the start of a student-athletes recruitment to well after their playing days are over. Adam, Cristos and Dallas each bring unique skill sets that they are extremely passionate about and will positively impact our football program each and every day."

Also starting as graduate assistants are Nicky Kuzemka (defense), Stone Mannello (offense) and Cole Holtz (offense).

"We're excited to elevate Stone from a volunteer coach to a graduate assistant and welcome two new graduate assistants in Cole and Nicky," Chesney said. "All three are bright young football coaches and we're excited to watch their growth with the Dukes!"

Argys rejoins Chesney in Harrisonburg after playing for him at Holy Cross from 2018-22. In his role as director of recruiting will have him oversee the development and implementation of comprehensive recruiting strategies while collaborating with the coaching staff to attract and identify high-caliber student-athletes who align with the team's culture and competitive aspirations. He will work with the coaches and director of player personnel to evaluate roster needs and utilize innovative digital marketing and branding techniques to enhance recruiting outreach while also overseeing recruiting visits logistics. Argys most recently was associate regional director for Zero Gravity Basketball in Boston and also worked previously as brand manager for Jaster Athletes in Pittsburgh. As a two-year starter in the Holy Cross secondary, Argys was a three-time All-Patriot League Academic Honor Roll honoree, as he played in 52 games during his career.

Ricketts will oversee all video operations for football, including videotaping, editing, video exchange and video equipment both in and out of season. He will implement, research and manage new technologies related to the program, including Catapult, DVSport, C2P and IGV among others. Ricketts will also manage all technological inventory within the program. Most recently, Ricketts served as video coordinator for three years at Southern Miss (2022-24). He also held the same role for one season at Austin Peay (2021) and was also graduate assistant at Southern Miss (2019-20) and a football operations intern at Northern Illinois (2018).

Jackson returns to his alma mater to begin his role as the program's first director of player development. In this role, he will manage the team's Student-Athlete Development & Leadership Program, which encompasses 105-120 football student-athletes. He will develop and implement player development and leadership strategy and initiatives specific to the football program and is aligned with JMU Athletics and Dukes LEAD's objective and philosophy. Jackson, who graduated from JMU in both 2021 and 2023 was a four-year member of the baseball team (2018-21). He previously served as an intern with Dukes LEAD before moving on to Pitt, where he spent the past two and a half years as development coordinator for its Student-Athlete Development Program (Life Skills).

Kuzemka joins as a defensive graduate assistant after spending the 2024 season at his alma mater, Furman, as a defensive quality control coach working with the linebackers. In his one season coaching the Paladins, he mentored Evan DiMaggio to Third Team FCS All-America and First Team All-Southern Conference status. Before his coaching career, Kuzemka played five seasons at Furman (2019-23) where he played in 46 games while making 110 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one interception and fumble recovery.

Mannello will enter his second full season with the Dukes in 2025 and first as an offensive graduate assistant. He was a volunteer assistant for the 2024 season and was also part of Damian Wroblewski's coaching staff for JMU's appearance in the 2023 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl. Mannello was also a defensive assistant with the defensive line in 2023 at Stony Brook and is a former linebacker at Springfield College (2017-21).

Holtz begins his coaching career with the Dukes as an offensive graduate assistant. He is fresh off completing his collegiate career as an offensive lineman down the road in Lexington at VMI (2020-24). Holtz started every game during his final two seasons with the Keydets. He was part of the VMI team to play JMU in the opening round of the 2020 FCS playoffs, which was played in the spring of 2021.

These hires will be officially completed pending successful background checks.

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