Billy Napier may have traded Gainesville for Harrisonburg, but his recruiting instincts haven’t changed. Wherever Napier goes, elite talent tends to follow, and at James Madison, that blueprint is already taking shape in a big way. Fresh off assembling back‑to‑back highly ranked classes that pushed Florida near the top of the national rankings.

Napier is wasting no time signaling that the Dukes intend to compete on a much larger stage. His latest move? Taking an early swing at a quarterback prospect who could redefine the future of the program.

JMU’s ambitions became clear when the Dukes extended an offer to Elijah Haven, the No. 1 quarterback in the 2027 class, a move first reported by JMU’s official recruiting site, Dukes Recruits.

Although James Madison’s 2026 class no longer has a quarterback on board after four‑star passer Rocco Marriott flipped his commitment to UCF, the Dukes have still positioned themselves in the mix for one of the nation’s top young signal callers.

Baton Rouge five‑star Elijah Haven from The Dunham School just led the fifth‑seeded Tigers to a 34‑17 win over Calvary Baptist Academy in the Division III Select state championship game, a performance that capped a record‑setting season in which he broke Louisiana’s single‑season passing touchdown mark.

With production like that, Haven has attracted offers from many of the sport’s biggest brands, including Baylor, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Texas Tech, Alabama, Ole Miss and Cornell, underscoring the national scope of his recruitment. If James Madison is able to seriously enter that conversation under Billy Napier, it would signal how aggressively the Dukes plan to recruit at quarterback

Here, the twist is that Florida, Napier’s previous coaching stop, was a frontrunner to land Haven; now Napier appears ready to lean on that prior connection. In addition, Haven’s excitement over receiving the offer from Napier only amplifies JMU’s chances of coming out on top in the race to land this elite QB talent.

“After winning a state championship, it was great to catch up with Coach Napier, and blessed to share that I have received an offer from James Madison University!” wrote Haven on X.

That sense of confidence for Napier’s JMU comes with a proven track record.

Napier returns to the Sun Belt with JMU after a dominant run at Louisiana, where he went 40–12 and captured multiple conference titles, making four straight trips to the league championship game. That track record, combined with a mixed but talent‑rich four‑year stint at Florida that ended in a 22–23 record and his dismissal, makes him an intriguing fit for a Dukes program already operating at a high level.

In Florida, he proved he could still land blue‑chip prospects, headlined by five‑star quarterback DJ Lagway, even if the on‑field results never fully matched the recruiting buzz.

Now at JMU, Napier is again targeting elite upside with quarterbacks like Elijah Haven, who last season at Dunham completed 125 of 191 passes for 1,847 yards, 27 touchdowns and four interceptions while adding significant production on the ground.

The Dukes are already preparing for their first College Football Playoff appearance in school history, and Napier is simultaneously shaping the future by assembling a staff that includes a planned defensive coordinator hire of Robert Bala, a former Nick Saban assistant who worked with him at Florida.

Billy Napier’s latest move in building JMU’s coaching staff

Billy Napier is reportedly set to hire Cam Aiken from East Tennessee State as the Dukes’ offensive coordinator. And if they hire him, it also comes with a steady hand.

The Clemson graduate brings experience working under Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss, as well as nine seasons at Clemson. To cap it off, he also coached running backs at USF for two seasons. Now, while his hiring at JMU seems like a real possibility, CFB insiders are already buzzing.

FootballScoop’s John Brice confirmed Aiken was Napier’s top target. While ETSU finished 7-5 this year, marking back-to-back winning seasons, Napier has an old connection with Aiken. They share a Clemson connection under Dabo Swinney, as Napier was on the Tigers’ staff from 2006 to 2010, including two years as offensive coordinator.

Top Stories

Cam Newton Makes NFL Return Conditions Clear to 32 Teams as Panthers Legend Confirms Retirement Stance

Caitlin Clark Shows Concerning Signs vs. Kelsey Plum During USA Camp Debut, per National Reporter

Tom Brady Makes Career Announcement for Vegas as Pete Carroll Addresses Losing Raiders Locker Room

“RIP”: Prayers Pour In as Tom Brady’s Raiders Struck by Tragedy

J. J. McCarthy Awaits Punishment From Vikings After Rejecting Kevin O’Connell’s Instructions

Kyle Tucker Slowly Slips From Toronto’s Grip After Blue Jays Legend Confirms Bo Bichette Plan

Now, with ETSU averaging 32.5 PPG in 2025, Aiken’s arrival could give JMU a dynamic offensive boost. But nothing is official yet.