Posted on April 23, 2007
JMU wrapped up spring practice Saturday when the first and second team squads matched up in the annual spring game. JMU continued to implement its no-huddle offense, but had to cope with a shortage of depth at the running back position.
The factors of experience and familiarity within the system culminated in head coach Mickey Matthew’s decision to name rising junior Rodney Landers as the starting quarterback.
“There’s no question that Rodney is the starter, and I think he did a lot of good things today,” Matthews said. “Drew [Dudzik] is definitely the backup and I thought [he] put some pressure on Rodney.”
Dudzik was 11-16 for 122 yards on passing attempts and ran for 78 yards on 14 carries. Landers was 6-11 for 71 yards on passing attempts. He rushed for 20 yards on 13 attempts, but did not participate in full-contact running plays.
The first and second team offenses matched up with the first and second team defenses, respectively. Points for the defensive squads were awarded for stopping the offense on a series without a first down, coming up with turnovers, and making stops for negative yardage.
“I think we did fairly well,” Landers said. “We had some guys that went down to injuries, and that’s always tough when you’re running an offense.”
Senior running backs Eugene Holloman and Antoinne Bolton were held out of the game, Holloman for precautionary reasons and Bolton because of a minor injury sustained early in the game.
Redshirt freshman tailback Sean Price and redshirt freshman running back Griff Yancey were called upon to make up for the absence of Holloman and Bolton. Price ran 14 times for 47 yards, while Yancey picked up 44 yards on four carries.
“Any time we can go full speed against the defense, it’s always going to be fun,” Landers said. “At times, you get frustrated because you know some plays will break, but you just have to be able to take it in stride.”
The defense forced two turnovers in a promising effort. Sophomore defensive tackle Dominique White had a fumble recovery, and redshirt freshman defensive back Andre Parrot had an interception. The defense also blocked two field goals, and was awarded points for that as well.
“Defensively, a lot of young guys got to play, and I think you saw how excited they were and how good they can be in the future,” senior safety and captain Tony Lezotte said.
Madison lost key leaders in All-American linebacker Akeem Jordan and defensive end Kevin Winston to graduation, but Lezotte hopes to help the defensive unit come together and fill those holes.
“There are a lot of guys [on this team] that can lead vocally,” Lezotte said. “Me being a senior, I’m more of a vocal guy now. I think for us to get where we want to be I have to be that type of leader.”
The spring game ended with the defense coming back for a 36-31 victory. The deciding points were awarded to the defense for holding the offense to a three-and-out series, getting two tackles for losses and intercepting a pass down the stretch.
