This staff clearly knew what they were doing. They took a JMU team relatively new to FBS football and had them not only competing with the big boys, but arguably being the best team in the conference. They knocked off P5 Virginia (a game they should have lost), Troy and South Alabama. It was a still a really great JMU team that did enough on offense to support what was a fantastic defense. Now the staff turns over. The prior staff is off to Indiana and took pretty much anyone that they wanted while the new staff comes from Holy Cross. Chesney has done some nice things, but it may not be as plug and play here as it was for the prior staff that had been building at JMU.
Offense
After being a relative unknown, McCloud led JMU to a great season but hit the portal after the entire staff left the Dukes. Chesney brought in Dylan Morris from Washington, a former 4* recrui. He's had a lot of time under the tutelage of the prior Washington staff so comes in with little experience but may be a really solid option here. He has also started 15 games over his career, though nothing all that notable. It is very likely going to be Morris who wins the job here.
The entire WR room essentially hit the portal. They lose Sarratt and Brown to both portal/graduation as well as Horton. They brought in Cam Ross from Uconn at WR, Ahmarian Granger from ODU, Brionne Penny from SDSU, Nakai Poole from Miss St all with very little playing experience, so they'll likely be relying on depth stepping into the role. There is very little recruiting pedigree here so it's tough to peg just how this room may perform. Will essentially be all new faces.
2 starters transfer, but they'll have back 4 guys with over 380 snaps which is a pretty solid baseline. If they get back Wyatt healthy, which all indications point to that being the case, they'll return 3 starters here. They also bring in a transfer on the OL from Holy Cross and VT to help fill holes/start. Once again, there isn't much recruiting pedigree to go off of given this was a former FCS school just a few years ago, so it will be about development here which is always a concern when you're losing your entire staff.
They lose their top 4 ball carriers but they bring in Ayo Adeyi who put up 1000+ yards a season ago for North Texas. He's a very solid running back to have, and they also brought in former blue-chip George Pettaway from UNC. This room should be pretty good and maybe even an improvement. They should lean on the run game heavily here.
Really hard to say how this offense performs compared to the JMU team a season ago. Bob Chesney comes in and normally features a super efficient passing attack and a good running game. I think they are set up to possibly have that here in year 1 with 2 really solid running backs and a QB that should understand how to be efficient.
Defense
DL gets decimated by transfers. They lose all 4 starters from the defensive line and only return 1 sack on the entire team and it comes from LB. They'll be relying on younger guys stepping into big roles. They did bring in Lloyd Summerall from USF, Terry Lockett from Cuse and Eric O'Neill from Holy Cross who has started 2 seasons. They all have some pedigree and they'll need them to perform on Day 1. Still, the depth going to be a concern.
At LB, they do return Jones and Hendrick who were role players at the LB spot so that atleast gives them some experience to rely on. They lose both starters Fisher and Walker to the portal who led the team in tackles. Jacob Dobbs comes in from Holy Cross where he has started for 3 seasons and even though that's FCS, he should be a contributor here and possibly even a starter. This unit will still likely take a step back.
Thomas and Logan are returning starters in the secondary and both are pretty solid players for this level. They're going to have to find 3 other starters here though but of all position groups, they've recruited this one okay. Still, adding 3 new faces to the secondary could be a bit of a cause for concern.
The D was something that made JMU really strong a year ago and now they basically are turning over the entire starting roster and a portion of the 2 deep. The D is definitely going to take a step back, but the rotational depth probably decides just how much. On the cover, the D could be alright, but depth is where things start to get concerning, though transfers stepping in from the FCS level shouldn't be too surprised with the level of competition.
Summary
Chesney has been a winner everywhere he's been but to do it this year, it will likely need to come from outscoring teams. They have tough turnover on the 2 deep on defense and likely struggle to stop anyone. This could be an over team, though the offense likely runs it quite a bit, or one to fade.
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