JMU football running backs coach David Sims Jr. has coached some of the FCS finest — including Malachi Hosley, aSports Perform Freshman All-American at Penn last season — but he said the Dukes’ backs this year “may be” the best room he’s ever had.
That includes redshirt sophom*ore running back George Pettaway; if he committed to JMU out of high school, he would’ve been the Dukes’ highest-recruited player ever, according to 24/7sports. The only difference is that Pettaway arrived in Harrisonburg with two years of experience at UNC, where he played in 15 games and scored two touchdowns.
Similarly, Sims was highly recruited, with ESPN ranking him the No. 20 athlete in the nation in 2008 before he had a stellar career at Georgia Tech (2009-13). He said he’s proud that despite the attention he got from top-tier schools, he still had a hunger to be great — Sims said George is the same way.
“GP (Pettaway) hasn’t come in acting like he’s better than anybody else … or that he was a four-star,” Sims said. “If you didn’t know that, you couldn’t tell. I think that’s been the best thing about him, that when he comes in, he’s going to have the same demeanor … he’s going to be ready to work.”
Pettaway’s preseason camp roommate, senior running back Ayo Adeyi, had a much different path to JMU. Adeyi began his college career at DII Harding as a walk-on, before rushing for 1017 yards and seven touchdowns at North Texas last year.
As Sims put it, “that’s what movies are made of.”
Adeyi shared his “why” in front of the team during camp, which Sims said was good for the former four-star recruit to understand how the former walk-on approaches his day-to-day. Pettaway said the duo have a great relationship other than how they both think the other snores too loud.
“A lot of people think George is a young guy but I see him as a vet,” Adeyi said. “I learn from all the guys. Being an older guy, everyone may think that I’m, like, ‘cozying up’ everyone, but I learned from the guys like Wayne [Knight, from KB [Ke’Marion Baldwin] and I hope that they learn from me too.”
Adeyi said the “biggest thing” on his wish list for his next school was to find a winning program, and he said there’s no better place for him than JMU.
In camp, Adeyi has been working with Sims and offensive line coach Chris Smith to improve his pass blocking. At his prior schools, pass protection was very dumbed down, but with JMU, he’s learning more NFL-friendly techniques.
“Now I’m learning how to scan and in the pros that’s a very important thing for running backs to be able to see,” Adeyi said.
Last season, JMU wasn’t shy of talent in the backfield. Kaelon Black ran for 637 yards while Ty Son Lawton ran for 568, and both backs averaged 4.5 yards per carry.
The production was there. The volume, on the other hand, was not. Neither back ever had more than 19 carries in a game, and they combined for 268 carries on the season. Three running backs in the Sun Belt broke 268 on their own.
The Dukes finished in the bottom four of the Sun Belt in rushing attempts, rushing yards and yards per carry.
One JMU player in particular is excited about the possibilities of the run game this season.
“Pass pro[tection] is fun, but you just control the game [when run blocking],” senior offensive lineman Tyshawn Wyatt said. “You can dictate how much time you want to take off of the clock … run game and defense is literally how you win football football games, how you win championships. That’s the formula here.”
The Dukes will need to use their deep running back room more this season since they lost their top three receivers and their starting tight end to the transfer portal and graduation. The leader of the returning receivers is redshirt junior Taji Hudson, who only had eight receptions last season.
Even with JMU increasing its emphasis on running the ball this season, Adeyi wants to improve his pass protection.
Adeyi said that pass protection was simple for him in the past. Now, he’s trying to learn and engage more in blocking because he aspires to play in the NFL.
Who better to learn professional-level pass protection from than JMU offensive line coach Chris Smith? He spent four seasons with JMU head coach Bob Chesney at Holy Cross before becoming an assistant offensive line coach for the New York Giants.
Sims recognizes Adeyi’s commitment and improvement as a pass blocker and said when he gets an opportunity at the next level, he’ll be ready to pick up blitz.
“He’s going to be able to see it all,” Sims said of Adeyi.
Sims also said that JMU’s pass protection shares a lot of parallels with NFL pass protection.
Smith is also the Dukes’ run game coordinator, meaning he and Sims have been collaborating closely to maximize the running game.
“In coaching, sometimes you get into your system and you know your one way, but you don’t know other ways to do it,” Smith said. “[Sims] knows a bunch of different ways to do it and the pros and cons of doing everything. We’re really working together, it’s a complete collaborative effort.”
