JMU preseason camp notebook: Day 3

HARRISONBURG – James Madison football players took part in some limited contact drills on Wednesday. And nobody made more contact than left guard Earl Watford.

“I love wearing pads,” Watford said after the Dukes’ third preseason practice and first in shoulder pads. “It’s the best thing ever.”

While there was no tackling and only limited contact in most drills, the team did engage in a spirited session of one-on-ones midway through Wednesday’s practice.

“Especially on the line, you can’t really do much evaluating with no pads, when you’re just blocking against shields,” Watford said.

JMU coach Mickey Matthews said evaluating anything football-wise the first two days – when NCAA rules force players to work out in shorts, t-shirts and helmets – is nearly impossible. But strap on some pads and …

“That’s the one unique football thing about football compared to other sports. There’s no such thing as pickup football,” Matthews said. “The only way you get better at football is to put the pads on and play the game. Certainly we got a little, not a lot today. We didn’t have full pads, we just had our shoulder pads on. But it was a good day.”

At the end of the period, when Matthews asked for the team’s “best offensive guy” to jump in for one of the last one-on-ones, Watford didn’t hesitate.

And after stonewalling a defensive tackle, he tried to stay in to take on senior defensive end D.J. Bryant, before Matthews sent him away in favor of tight end Brian Barlow.

“That’s the best part,” Watford said of the drill. “I like proving myself. Just because I’m a starter right now doesn’t mean I can’t lose my job. No one’s job is safe.”

The drill went off with just one apparently minor injury. Transfer offensive lineman

Austin Lane

– who was a recruited walk-on at Syracuse – rolled his right ankle.

Catch of the day: Yet again, it’s freshman wide receiver Amir Waller.

Waller raced up the sideline running a fly route and made a great, leaping catch against tight coverage, wrestling the ball away from the defensive back as he came down.

Earlier in the practice, Waller showed great concentration, running a deep out, turning and finding two footballs flying his way. Apparently, multiple quarterbacks thought they were throwing to Waller on the play. Waller calmly caught one and tucked it away as the other whizzed over his head.

Defensive catch of the day: What do you call a football player who can run but not catch? Don’t say a defensive back. Not after cornerback Leavander Jones made a terrific over-the-shoulder catch near the sideline to intercept a pass thrown by Jace Edwards.

Quote of the day: “Spielberg, you filming this?” JMU coach Mickey Matthews called out to the assistant up on a tower responsible for videoing practice.