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JMU Loses Key Players Posted 2009-06-04
By Mike Barber

HARRISONBURG - Two of the biggest rebuilding jobs for the James Madison football team will be even harder than originally thought.

Safety Gerren Griffin and offensive linemen Arthur Walker and Chris Clarke are among eight players who will not return to the Dukes for the 2009 season for a variety of reasons, JMU coach Mickey Matthews said Wednesday.

Griffin and Walker were starters last year and Clarke was a top reserve.

"We have a lot of great linemen," JMU quarterback Drew Dudzik said Wednesday. "Obviously, Arthur and Chris would have been a big part of our line. I think some other guys can step in. With this situation, we just have to take what we got and move forward."

Matthews said Wednesday that Griffin (shoulder) and Clarke (leg) - both seniors - will be on medical scholarships, meaning they will keep their grants but not count against JMU's 63-player limit. Under NCAA rules, players on medical scholarships are not permitted to return to the team.

"It's a loss we'll have to overcome," Matthews said Wednesday.

Neither Griffin nor Clarke could be reached for comment.

A source at JMU said Walker - a junior - was academically ineligible.

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Also absent from the Dukes' most updated online roster were wide receiver Douglas McNeil and tight end Jason Dosh. Matthews said Dosh was another medical scholarship case. The source at JMU said McNeil was academically ineligible.

Defensive tackle Lucas Peterson, offensive lineman Ryan Flanagan and third-string quarterback Aaron Butler are no longer with the team, Matthews said. That trio was cut to help the Dukes keep their roster at the NCAA-mandated limit of 90, the JMU source said.

They join defensive tackle Quintrel Thomas, who was kicked off the team, linebacker Colin Fitz-Maurice, who was medically disqualified, and fullback Trae Kenney, linebacker Reggie Hicks and cornerback Josh Baird, who opted against using their final years of eligibility.

dbackjon wrote:So how far down the pole does this knock JMU?