By Joe “Big Head” Coopersmith

HARRISONBURG, Va. – #24 James Madison makes its bowl season debut on Saturday, Dec. 23 when it travels to Fort Worth, Texas, to take on Air Force in the 2023 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl.

Kickoff from Amon G. Carter Stadium is set for 3:30 p.m. ET (2:30 p.m. CT) and will be nationally televised on ABC. Fans can also watch the game online through ESPN+.

Pregame radio coverage on the Morris Insurance & Financial JMU Radio Network begins at 1:30 p.m ET (12:30 p.m. CT). Additional radio coverage is available on Bowl Season Radio.

Coverage of JMU football during bowl season is presented by Door Gorilla.

LET’S GO BOWLING

• JMU is the fifth nationally-ranked team ever to play in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl.
• This is JMU’s 19th overall postseason appearance, having competed in the FCS (formerly I-AA) playoffs in 18 seasons.

• JMU and Air Force face off for the first time ever and is the program’s second matchup versus a MWC foe.
• Back on Sept. 23 this season, JMU defeated Utah State, 45-38, in Logan, Utah, in the first MWC matchup for the Dukes.

BACK TO TEXAS FOR THE POSTSEASON

• JMU is making its return to the Lone Star State for its first bowl game, a state that JMU fans have come accustomed to through the team’s run to the FCS championship game.
• This will mark JMU’s sixth trip to the state of Texas and its fifth during the postseason.
• The Dukes are 2-3 in those games, beating SMU during the 2015 regular season in Dallas and Youngstown State in the 2016 national title game in Frisco.
• JMU also dropped a pair of decisions to North Dakota State in the championship game in 2017 and 2019 and fell in the 2020 semifinals at Sam Houston.

WROBO’S HEAD COACHING DEBUT

• With a coaching transition comes a huge opportunity for Damian Wroblewski, who will serve as JMU’s acting head coach for the Armed Forces Bowl.
• This is Coach Wrobo’s first game serving as a head coach, and he will also be the team’s offensive coordinator and play caller against Air Force.
• Wrobo has been with the Dukes since 2019 and led one of the nation’s best offensive lines year in and year out.
• In his time with the program, he’s coached four players to a combined five All-America accolades and six linemen to a collective eight all-conference honors.
• He’s also produced a pair of Touchdown Club of Richmond Offensive Linemen of the Year in Liam Fornadel in 2019 and Nick Kidwell in 2021.

HALL-OLIVER LEADS DEFENSE

• Marcus Hall-Oliver takes the reigns of the defense for the Armed Forces Bowl after serving on the staff for four seasons.
• Coaching safeties, he transitions to coach the defensive line, an area he coached in the spring 2020-21 season.
• When not coaching, Hall-Oliver has a solid rap game. Check it out on X (@mhalloliver).

WHO’S WHO ON COACHING STAFF

• With the departure of Curt Cignetti and numerous members of the coaching staff, Wroblewski has assembled quite the team of coaches for JMU’s inaugural bowl game.
• Wrobo will also coach the running backs and tight ends while calling the offensive plays, while Hall-Oliver makes his coordinator debut with the defensive line.
• In addition to Wrobo and Marcus Hall-Oliver, other full-time coaches remaining on staff for the bowl game are Eddie Whitley Jr. (safeties, rovers) and Jarred Holley (cornerbacks).
• Three analysts and graduate student coaches have enhanced roles for the bowl, as Alex Higgins is coaching the offensive line, Reed Relosky is guiding the wide receivers and Chaz LaPoint takes over the linebackers.
• There are also new faces in town to coach the bowl game with Wrobo and company. Just keep reading…

TRIPLE OPTION AVENGERS

• New faces are also in Harrisonburg to coach JMU in its first bowl game, as Wroblewski recruited individuals with personal ties to him, some of whom have experience coaching against the triple option.
• John Reagan will coach quarterbacks and he brings 25+ years of experience with him. Most recently he was the offensive line coach on Mike Locksley’s staff at Maryland until 2019.
• He was also the offensive coordinator eight seasons between Rice (2011-13), Kansas (2014) and Penn (2015-18). Reagan also coached two seasons at Air Force (2003-04) as its offensive line coach and one year at Army (1998) as the tight ends/offensive tackles coach.
• Brian Ginn spent four seasons with the Chicago Bears (2018-21) where he was an offensive quality control coach and assistant special teams coach. He will run special teams for JMU.
• Prior to his NFL stop, he was a long-time coach at Delaware for 17 years, where he was a quarterback in the wing-t as a student-athlete. He also coached with Wrobo at UD between 2007-11 and had roles at every offensive position except the offensive line.
• John Strollo has known Wrobo longer than anyone, as he was his position coach at Lafayette. He is working with the defensive line and scout team offense to simulate the triple option.
• Strollo played at Boston College as an offensive lineman before beginning a 41-year career (1977-2017), which included stops at Duke, Ball State and Penn State. He also worked at Springfield College where it ran the triple option.
• Matt Hachmann is consulting with the defense to help with the triple option, as he brings in three decades of coaching experience. Most recently he was defensive coordinator at Stony Brook and also was a linebackers coach at Army in 2019.
• Stone Mannello is helping out with the offense and recently served as a defensive assistant with the defensive line at Stony Brook. He played as a linebacker at Springfield College until 2019. Mannello is son of Coach Rich Mannello, who’s been in coaching since 1984.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Television: ABC
Online: ESPN+
Listen: Morris Insurance & Financial JMU Radio Network

• On the radio – WSVA 92.1 FM/550 AM
• Online: The Varsity Network

Broadcast Talent

• ABC: Anish Shroff (pxp), Andre Ware (analyst), Paul Carcaterra (sideline)
• Radio: Dave Riggert (pxp), Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey (analyst), Corey Spector (sideline)
• Bowl Season Radio: Brian Estridge (pxp), Landry Burdine (analyst), Chris Mycoskie (sideline)

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