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3. JAMES MADISON

Courtesy of James Madison Athletics

RECRUITS: 20

GEM OF THE CLASS: LB John Daka (6-3/210)

NEXT THREE: QB D.J. Daniels, DL Rondre Knowles-Tener, DB Anthony Womack.

THE SKINNY: Even with the coaching change and even with the loss of top recruit Logan Blake to Richmond, this group just sticks out. On the defensive side of the ball you have several stellar players who easily could compete in the ACC, and then on offense you get QB Daniels–who models his game after Vad Lee and could eventually back that up. Lots of these kids had FBS options, but chose to go with an FCS powerhouse that has quite an aura around it right now. New coach Mike Houston, who worked magic at The Citadel, is off to a great start–and the coaches who handled things in the interim also deserve loads of credit for keeping this talented class mostly intact. Last thing … watch Daka rack up the negative yardage plays.

D.J. DANIELS TOLD HERO SPORTS: “I loved the environment and the location and the coaching staff and the fans. And I talk to (JMU star QB) Vad Lee often. This past summer I went to go workout with Vad. He lives about 35-40 minutes away but he coached me up on a few things. He’s really cool. It’s weird, but we look alike and act the same.”