Knee injury sidelines Tribe's Cook
William and Mary's defense took a hit with the loss of senior middle linebacker Dante Cook, who suffered a right knee injury.
Tribe coach Jimmye Laycock said Cook will "be out for the first few games" but isn't sure how much longer. William and Mary opens at Maryland on Sept. 1.
Cook, one of the top linebackers in the Colonial Athletic Association, was a second-team all-conference selection as a sophomore middle linebacker in 2010. He moved outside last season and missed some time with an injury to his other knee.
The 5-foot-11, 222-pounder had 64 tackles in eight games.
He'll be replaced by 6-2, 230 redshirt freshman Luke Rhodes, who twice was named second-team Class 3A all-state in Pennsylvania.
"I'm not surprised, but I'm very pleased to see him jump in there and handle the linebacking position," Laycock said.
Laycock has not announced his starting quarterback. Juniors Brent Caprio and Michael Graham, and sophomore Raphael Ortiz are competing for the job.
JMU looking for a healthy O'Neill
James Madison coach Mickey Matthews was concerned enough early in the preseason about senior defensive tackle Sean O'Neill being up to speed that the Dukes considered some shuffling to create some depth inside.
O'Neill, coming off knee surgery, has been good enough to work with the first unit.
"Sean O'Neill is probably the biggest key on defense," Matthews said. "He's a dominant player on defense when he stays healthy.
"It allows us to leave Tyler Snow at defensive end. When our best four is out there, it's been when Sean's at defensive tackle and Tyler's at defensive end."
O'Neill (6-4, 270) started the first two games last year. He was injured in the second game and missed the rest of the season.
Move to FBS boosts ODU recruiting
Old Dominion coach Bobby Wilder said the Monarchs' move to FBS, which begins next season with a two-year reclassification period, has changed recruiting "dramatically."
The Monarchs have 17 commitments for next season.
"At this point last year, we didn't have any commitments," he said.
Wilder also said the move has created "a tremendous level of excitement with our current players."
"You'll find a lot of these kids in the CAA had interest from BCS-caliber schools, but for whatever reason, they didn't get the scholarship offer," he said. "Now, all of our guys are going to be FBS players. They're going to compete against that level."
Tim Pearrell
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