Richmond beat James Madison at home on homecoming day, and it wasn't easy. RU ran out to a 17-0 half time lead, and then held off a furious comeback by JMU to eke out a victory and set up a showdown between two 7-1 teams when they take on Delaware next weekend. JMU's defnse was solid throughout, they just were on the field (it seemed) the whole first half, and got no help from the Duke's offense.

SCOUTING SUMMARY:

College: Richmond Conference: Colonial Athletic Columnist: Steve Martin

Game Notes

Arman Shields 14 6' 1.3" 185 4.60 WR 2008: DNP, Injured.

Tim Silver 53 6' 5.5" 330 5.35 OT 2008: DNP. Note: Has been out since week one with a torn ACL.

Tim Hightower 22 6' 0.3" 225 4.60 HB 2008: A one-gear, straight ahead rammer. He blocks pretty well too, when he makes contact. He is the best running back in the CAA this year, and 4th nationally in IAA, but I don't see the speed to make it at the next level. Nowhere near as good as Steve Baylark from UMass last year, and we know what happened to him. GRADE: Neutral

Andrew Harris 43 6' 3.0" 200 4.70 S 2008: Underachiever who is solid in pass defense at this level. Has some upside, but doesn't seem to have the "want to" in order to get much further, but we will see...Great height and size potential. Cliff's boy. GRADE: Neutral
College: James Madison Conference: Colonial Athletic Columnist: Steve Martin


Game Notes

John Baranowsky 90 6' 2.2" 285 4.96 DT 2008: As good as advertised. Very aggressive. Quick off the ball (sometimes too quick, as he was whistled for a couple of encroachment penalties.) Is easily able to crush the pocket and creative havoc in the backfield at this level. Tackles like a linebacker. Always doubled, but still made his presence felt. Good hustle. Good pursuit. Plays hard. Wears down late though...The CAA's best senior d-lineman. GRADE: Positive

Tony Lezote 21 5' 11.7" 200 4.55 S 2008: An absolute gem at the IAA level. This guy could start for almost any college football team in the country. Could be the next John Lynch. A tackling machine who was in on at least 13 tackles today, and almost single-handedly kept Hightower somewhat in check. Looks fluid and pretty quick in pass defense as well. A name to remember, and we need to make sure he is in our safety rankings. GRADE: Very positive

Justin Barnes 46 6' 1.8" 215 4.70 LB 2008: An effort guy (who played at Brigeton Academy in MAINE a couple years back...) Big play type. Forced a key fumble, had a big sack. Productive at this level. But I see no home for him at the next. GRADE: Neutral

Hassan Abdul-Wahid 99 6' 3.8" 240 4.80 DE 2008: Another try-hard guy with even more upside than Barnes. If he can pack on some muscle mass he could get a camp look. Was pretty productive rushing the passer. Had a sack and 5 tackles. GRADE: Neutral


Other notes:

JMU: #7 QB Rodney Landers is a Syvelle Newton type QB, who really excels in the run game but also throws a pretty, tight ball. A guy to remember. Could be in the running for CAA Offensive POTY. #5 WR Boscoe Williams made an impression too, as did Kicker #97 Stanard who made three big field goals--one from 40 yards.

RU: Both ROG, #76 Aaron Miller, and ROT #66 Michael Silva are very serviceable CAA linemen, but neither has anywhere near the pro potential that Silver had. RS Freshman DT, Martin Parker, is a comer who we will hear plenty about in year's to come. HOWEVER, mark my words, RS Freshman Eric McBride (#31) is already an outstanding IAA linebacker, and will be drafted one day!