The JMU Dukes took another step toward being ready for the upcoming season with the first structured scrimmage of the preseason on Saturday. It was a day with game like situations; from having Officials on the field calling penalties to having to pay attention to the play clock.

Here’s some of what I saw:

• Josh Sims had a terrific day. He caught multiple passes on the opening drive and a few more along the way.
• Ben DiNucci and Cole Johnson rotated series while Gage Moloney working with what I would image is the “2’s” if there was a depth chart ready.
• Clayton Cheatham caught a touchdown pass that had been tipped by Jimmy Moreland
• Marcus Marshall and Jawon Hamilton each ran hard, picking up additional yards on second and third effort
• Jimmy Moreland showed his skills with 2 Interceptions, while Ohio State transfer Wayne Davis picked off a pass in the end zone that was deflected by Wesley McCormick
• John Daka and Paris Black were forces to be reckoned with. Both recording sacks on the day.
• The defensive backfield tackled well in the open field
• Jimmy Moreland blocked a Field Goal attempt

 Comments from Coach Mike Houston–

• Overall thoughts– “I thought we had good effort. We got the plays we wanted to get in today and the situations we wanted to get in today. We worked a good bit of Specials Teams Live with Officials which is positive, but I think we have a great tape to teach off of. One side of the ball is happy and one side is grumpy right now, but that’s how these scrimmages go”.
• On working on particular situations. “You’ve got the play clock and time limitations, and you’ve got pressure out there, and there’s no coaches out there to tell you what to do. So, for us, it’s the first chance to evaluate where we are right now”.
• On Quarterbacks DiNucci and Johnson– “Both of them put the offense in some positive situations and both of them made some mistakes, so the big thing for us is to evaluate why things occurred and teaching off of those situations”.
• On the O-Line and Lineman playing more than one position on the line– “We did some good things. Moving those guys around and developing depth is important. We’ve got to get some more consistency. We’ve got to lock in during the coming week and get our solid 5 to start with, but we’ve got some good people to choose from there”
• On whether the Defense has an advantage during a scrimmage: “They’ve seen the offense for two and a half years, those experienced guys know the offense as well as the offensive kids but that’s good for the offense too, you’ve got to be able to get the hard yardage”

• On developing a depth chart– “After this coming week, we want to really start honing in on who our guys are”

 The entire conversation with Coach Houston will air on Monday’s Daily Sports Feed Show at Noon and 6pm on ESPN 106.9 FM & 1360 AM W-H-B-G, as will a conversation Clint Estes from The JMU Sprint Broadcast Network had with Defensive Coordinator Bob Trott. Both interviews will appear online at www.espnharrisonburg.com Monday after 1pm. You’ll find them under The Daily Sports Feed, click on Podcast Archive.