JMU preseason camp notebook: Practice 8

HARRISONBURG – Justin Thorpe sat out most of Tuesday morning’s practice at Bridgeforth Stadium after twisting his left knee – the one he bruised in the season opener last year, costing him the rest of 2010 – but Thorpe expects to be back on the field today for James Madison’s first full football scrimmage of the preseason.

“I tried to plant and hurry up and get out of there and just tweaked it a little bit,” Thorpe said. “It had been sore a little bit before that so they just decided to shut me down, let me rest up.”

JMU coach Mickey Matthews said he didn’t believe the injury was anything to be concerned with and said Thorpe sat out to be safe.

“He tweaked his knee the first five minutes of practice,” Matthews said. “I don’t think it’s anything serious.”

Thorpe is competing with redshirt freshmen Billy Cosh – a Kansas State transfer – and Jace Edwards to be the starting quarterback this preseason. He is the team’s most experienced option, having split time with Drew Dudzik in 2009. After an injury to Dudzik, Thorpe finished the year as the team’s starter, leading JMU on a five-game winning streak and being named the Colonial Athletic Association Offensive Rookie of the Year.

But in the season-opener against Morehead State last year, Thorpe bruised his left knee just before halftime. The injury forced him to miss the rest of the season.

Feeling a slight tinge of pain in the knee Tuesday understandably raised a red flag.

“It’s just scary,” Thorpe said. “Any time you go through a whole year of rehab, you don’t want to go back, so anything will scare you.”

Double trouble: One thing JMU’s offense has worked extensively with this preseason is plays utilizing two tight ends, everything from double-tight end sets to lining up players like Brian Barlow and Jonathan Sharp in the slot, to putting them at H-back.

“We started it in the spring where me and Sharp were in the game pretty much every play,” Barlow said after practice Tuesday. “It’s a lot of fun knowing were’ both in the game at all times.”

Catch of the day: Tight end Brian Barlow went up in traffic, making a jumping catch against a pair of defenders, to come down with the ball on a throw from Jace Edwards.

Quote of the day: Offensive coordinator Jeff Durden has a solution to the problem of getting across campus since JMU installed security gates that cut off traffic between Bridgeforth Stadium and

Main Street

.

“It’s called a Huffy,” said Durden, who regularly rides his bicycle to work.

For updates from practice each day on Twitter, follow @MikeABarber