2009 JMU Football Recruits: Official

In no particular order:

1) Adrian Cavanaugh - LB - Ashland (VA) Patrick Henry
3 star recruit: 5-11 210 lbs, 4.6 40; offers - Navy, Richmond
Cavanaugh registered 155 tackles, five sacks and three fumble recoveries on his way to first-team All-District, All-Region, All-Metro and All-Academic honors as a junior.
Notes: Was a great 2-way player in high school. Along with being a LB, he was an outstanding RB.

2) Jonathon Sharp - TE - Fork Union (VA) Fork Union M.A.
3 star recruit: 6-4, 230 lbs, 4.58 40; offers - Kent State, Albany, UMass, Temple, Memphis, Akron
Played LB in HS as well.

3) Leavander Jones - WR - Atlantic City (NJ) Atlantic City
2 star recruit: 5-10, 161 lbs, 4.4 40; offers - Hofstra, Maine, Wagner, Akron, Buffalo
Originally talking to Syracuse, but didn't want to gray shirt
Jones is an all-purpose wide receiver, running back and kick returner who scored six touchdowns his junior year for the Vikings. This season, he caught 33 passes for 547 yards and five touchdowns.

4) Renard Robinson - ATH - Baltimore (MD) Mount St. Joseph
2 star recruit: 5-11, 171 lbs, 4.6 40; offers - Villanova, Richmond, Towson, and Rhode Island
Over 1,500 all-purpose yards as a senior.

5) Jordan Stanton - DE - Fairfax (VA) Robinson
2 star recruit: 6-4, 236 lbs, 4.7 40; offers - ODU, BC, Maryland
Senior year had 83 tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles and one blocked punt for Robinson, which went 5-5. He was named second-team All-Group AAA by the Associated Press.
Notes: Late recruit that will be outstanding for us. At the press conference, Mickey said that when he plays, he is "a guy that looks pretty...and he's pretty."

6) Richard Wilson - CB - (CA) San Mateo Junior College
2 star recruit: 6-3, 190 lbs
Notes: Has 2 years remaining. Originally from Baltimore and led the city of Baltimore in INT's his senior year. Also had trips to Kansas State and other I-As.

7) Daniel Allen - DB (RB) - Ashburn (VA) Stone Bridge
5-11, 173 lbs, 4.56 40; looked at by - VT, UVA, Syracuse, Duke and Stanford
Notes: Ran for 1,349 yards his senior year. One of our first commits. Outstanding player on both sides of the ball.

8) Matt Krout - TE - Fredericksburg (VA) Riverbend
6-5, 252 lbs, 4.9 40; looked at - UVA, Duke, ODU, and UR
Played TE and DE in HS
Notes: Will need to get in the weight room and get bigger before playing on the offensive line.

9) Sean O'Neill - TE - Oradell (NJ) River Dell Reg
6-4, 225 lbs; offers - Hofstra, Maine, UMass, Akron
37 catches for 678 yards and nine touchdowns - 82 tackles and 13 sacks this season.
Notes: Big guy that can run. Played basketball also in high school and is very athletic. Was the shotput champion in his district and also ran the 100m. Mickey was very impressed with Sean. Mickey thought expanding our range to NJ would be good because JMU has a large contingent of students from there. Mickey also said Mark Hendricks did a great job recruiting there.

10) Stephon Robertson - LB - Alexandria (VA) Thomas A Edison
5-10, 195 lbs, 4.53 40; offer - Delaware; looked at - Ohio, Maryland, VT, ECU, WVU
Scout.com says: "With Robertson's commitment, the Dukes pick up a prospect that rushed for 1,288 yards and 24 touchdowns on offense while netting 136 tackles, 1 sack, and three interceptions on defense" and "Hard nose player who explodes from his linebacker position with both speed and strength. Height may work a bit against him, but pursues well and creates big hits at the point of contact. Had 149 tackles, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries as a junior. Speed could also make him a safety prospect."

11) Dae'quan Scott - ATH - Staunton (VA) Robert E. Lee
5-9, 185 lbs; offers - Richmond, Delaware, and Appalachian State
Projects as a WR in our scheme. Elusive athlete, in 2008 he rushed for 2,241 yards on 176 carries for 35 touchdowns. He also threw for 703 yards and eight scores, and returned three kickoffs and one punt for touchdowns.
Notes: Could possibly be a QB at JMU. Was the DNR Player of the Year. At this point Mickey also said that he "will sign the best college prospect in the Valley every year," making sure to point out 'college prospect', instead of 'football player'.

12) Tyler Snow - OLB/DE/H-back - Roanoke (VA) William Byrd
6-3, 220 lbs
Notes: Very good recruit. Wanted to go to either JMU, VT, or UVA and Mickey said he could have gone to any of them, but his sister goes to JMU, so he chose here and was an early committal. VT, according to Mickey, loved the guy.

13) Jakarie Jackson - ATH - Frederick (MD) Tuskarora
5-11, 170 lbs; offers - Temple, Richmond, and Delaware
Will likely play WR or FS at JMU, though QB and RB are also possibilities. Finished in the top 3 in the Mamma Lucia's Fastest Man Competition, held at the Crab Bowl (MD's state all-star game).
Youtube clip | Article
Notes: Mickey didn't say to much about Jackson except that he was a "big time player" and that he was basically a local guy up in Frederick more than some of the VA players are.

14) Kavon Seaton - QB - Vista Murrieta
5-10, 150 lbs
Notes: A lot like Dae'quan. He's very fast, can throw the ball, and is a good student.

15) Scott Jones - Langley, VA
6-5, 250 lbs
Notes: Mickey said that when he visited with Scott he was 20 lbs under his normal weight because he was also a wrestler. Turns out he is ranked #2 in the state in the heavyweight division.

16) Jordan Anderson - RB - Chantilly, VA - Westfield
6-1, 200 lbs
Notes: A late recruit that rushed for 2,000 yards. He has tremendous talent and also played basketball. His coaches said he had the best vertical on the team and could sky up with the centers.

17) Will Gann - K - Greensboro (NC) Eastern Guilford

18) Arlandis Harvey - WR - Ashburn (VA) Flint Hill
6-0, 180 lbs

New Recruit:
19) Terry Turner - RB/LB - Washington, DC (DC) McKinley Tech
5-11, 188 lbs
Max Preps | Highlight Reel

FBS Transfers:
20) Nick Emmons - DE - Transfer from Army, 1 year of eligibility remaining
6-4, 250 lbs
As a sophomore, posted 21 tackles, 4 TFL, and 1 sack. Saw playing time decrease dramatically as a junior.

21) Ryan Smith - CB/KR/PR - - Transfer from Marshall, 4 years of eligibility remaining
5-9, 180 lbs
Wanted to come to JMU originally but didn't have the grades. Went to Marshall and was not happy there, looking to be closer to home.

Had a total of 18 recruits (plus the 2 transfers), 10 from Virginia, 3 from Maryland, and the rest were spread around. Mickey said he was focusing on DB's, RB's and wanted 1 QB. Said for skill positions he preferred players who played on both sides of the ball in high school. He said this was the best recruiting class he ever had (continuing on to say that he should stop saying that because it's starting to lose its meaning, but that it really was). When asked if there were any players that stood out, he replied, "[When I] look though this list, I love all of 'em." He said he liked the number of great players we have, though he still has 2 available scholarships. He said he is looking for a safety or two and safety (high school senior) visiting next week, but is still looking at possibly another receiver. He feels we're set at LB this year. Our main problem with this past year was that we had 2 of our players coming out of Fork Union out for the season because of shoulder surgery. Coach Matthews highlighted Josh Johnson as playing really well right now and that if he stays healthy will be outstanding for us next year. He also commented that we will have a problem holding spring practice because we moved a lot of our DB's to linebacker this past season because we were short and Pat Williams will miss spring training because of surgery for a sports hernia, leaving us short in that position. We are strong in RB though (7 deep), so we might move a few over for spring practice.

As far as recruiting goes, Mickey said that Curt Newsome was the best 757 recruiter JMU had, but that losing Coach Barlow also made a pretty big impact. In addition, said a reason that we are getting fewer recruits in the 757 is that it is more heavily recruited now because of the success that schools including JMU have had there and that even VT got very recruits from there this year. We were talking to a kid in December that got picked up by Louisville. When asked if we were out-recruited by ODU, Mickey flatout said no. Mickey was literally dumbfounded and tried to recall the names of a couple guys that were apparently offered by JMU, as reported by the DNR, but was completely blanking. Now, we know Mickey sometimes plays dumb with some of this stuff, but he really seemed like he had no idea this was occuring and just laughed at the reporter. Coach Matthews said the top schools we were recruiting against were Marshall, Temple, and ECU, and that we were going head-to-head with MAC schools more than CAA schools. Our facilities and the stadium expansion are great assets in the recruiting process though. JMU is also getting more kids to camp to evaluate them, which also made this the most evaluated recruiting class we've had (2/3's at least visited campus) and our name is getting out there more.

Coach Matthews also commented about having 4 recruits come in for the Montana game and that the morning after, when he "wanted to throw up," he had to meet with the recruits and their families. All they could talk about was the tremendous atmosphere here. Mickey couldn't believe it. Those players: Renard, Sharp, Jackson, and Allen. All four are very solid recruits. So for all those that doubt the power of the "JMU Nation" in recruiting or otherwise (read...Tim Chapman), laugh all you want at the 6k students that showed up in the bitter cold while school wasn't in session (if only you could see me rolling my eyes as I write this), along with the 10k other fans, but the JMU football atmosphere is making huge impressions on people. When asked about recruiting players from the south, he said it is very difficult because they don't like coming north where it's cold. He commented about the make up of the student body and the lack of students from the south and that, "the only thing southern about James Madison is my accent." Looks to be a great recruiting class to add to an already stellar team at JMU.