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College football:
FCS notes
VMI linebacker
has nose for the ball
Virginia Military Institute coach Sparky Woods calls linebacker A.J. Gross "the key to his defense in terms of point of contact."
"He puts his hat on the ball more than anybody else probably," Woods said.
Gross certainly was a key player in VMI's 24-13 victory over Presbyterian on Saturday. The 5-11, 220-pound junior had nine tackles - three for a loss - and forced a fumble. The Big South Conference recognized him as its defensive player of the week.
This is Gross' third season as a starter. He was the Keydets' leading tackler and second-team all-conference as a redshirt freshman. He was the second-leading tackler last year and is second (25) behind Byron Allen (27) this season.
"A.J. is an active linebacker," Woods said. "He's not a great big guy, but he has a way of getting to the ball."
Keydets not
settled on one QB
Woods had been using three quarterbacks, but he went with junior Cameron Jones exclusively against Presbyterian.
Jones was 21 of 35 passing for 195 yards and two touchdowns. He also had an interception returned for a touchdown and lost a fumble. Woods said Jones has more experience than redshirt freshman Adam Morgan (Dinwiddie) and freshman Eric Kordenbrock, and he felt Jones was doing a good job of managing the offense in a close game.
Still, Woods said that doesn't mean he has settled on a quarterback.
"We still have to play better at that position," said Woods, whose team (1-0, 2-2) plays Stony Brook (0-0, 1-3) on Saturday.
"Right now, I certainly wouldn't think that we've got one guy, and that's the guy we're going to go with. At the same time, I prefer not playing musical quarterbacks. We'll prepare Cam to start and have the other two ready to go."
Offensive woes
frustrate JMU
James Madison coach Mickey Matthews was asked if the No. 7 Dukes' Colonial Athletic Association game against Towson this week is a "trap" game.
JMU is 0-1, 3-1. Towson is 0-2, 1-4 and hasn't beaten the Dukes in six meetings since the series resumed in 2004.
"Every game we play is a trap game because of the way we're playing offense," Matthews said. "Right now, we couldn't move the ball against a stiff wind.
"For us to think we can walk in and [beat anyone], until we start having more than 250 yards of offense in a game, it's probably going to be pretty tough to win. We're really frustrated offensively."
JMU is averaging 22.2 points overall but just 14.7 in its past three games.
Defense coming
along for Tribe
William and Mary coach Jimmye Laycock believes the chemistry on his defense is getting better. The Tribe has several veterans back from last year's elite-level defense but is blending in backups and new starters.
William and Mary held top-ranked Villanova to 62 yards rushing and 297 yards of offense last week. Much of that total came in the fourth quarter.
"In order to play really fast and really aggressively, you've got to be confident in what you're doing," Laycock said. "I think that's probably as much as anything what showed up Saturday. We were very confident about our assignments and how to go full speed."
- Tim Pearrell
