Notes from Oscar Smith/Smithfield/Norview Scrimmage
Speed rushing Julian Freeze finds his place in Harrisonburg
by Andy Hilton, recruit757
Julian Freeze found himself with quite a few college opportunities as he heads into his senior season. Ultimately, it was the education at James Madison that won out over everything else.
Freeze held offers from Elon, Albany, Youngstown State, East Carolina and James Madison. He confirmed his commitment to the Dukes on Friday with a visit to Harrisonburg.
“It’s really a great school. All the coaches I’ve talked to buy in that they play at a very high level where they are in the playoffs and contending for a championship. That’s what I want to be a part of. Aside from the athletics, I’m always a student first and JMU provides a great education and degree that will help me in the future. That’s really important to me,” Freeze stated.
The coaching staff at James Madison turned over in the off season. Local high school coaches and players alike have noticed the enthusiasm of the coaching staff under new JMU Head Coach Mike Houston. Houston came from The Citadel and brought along quite a few coaches from his staff there, but he retained line coach Jamal Powell, who successfully recruited Cox QB Cole Johnson along with several local walk ons for last year’s recruiting class. Houston also hired Bryan Stinespring after Stinespring left Virginia Tech when Frank Beamer stepped down. The new staff has been quite successful so far in working their first recruiting class for the Dukes.
Freeze will move to outside linebacker at James Madison and that will allow him to maintain his role as a speed rusher off the edge, albeit he’ll stand up to do it. Freeze will also drop back into coverage, something he’s comfortable doing.
East Carolina offered the opportunity for Julian to play just as close to home in Greenville, NC. East Carolina also plays in the American Athletic Conference against schools like Houston, Memphis, Navy and Temple. Julian emphasized again that it was simply the education that made the difference for him.
“it came down to the education for me,” he said. “JMU was always the front runner. (Today’s) visit pretty much sealed it.”
– Andy Hilton
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