When James Madison opens its training camp this Friday the Dukes will likely do so without one of their better players from each of the last few seasons.

Late Wednesday, senior safety and punt returner D’Angelo Amos announced his decision to enter the NCAA transfer portal.

“Never would’ve thought I would have to finish my college career like this,” Amos wrote, “but with everything going on in the FCS and thinking about my life after college, this is the best option to be prepared for any outcome.”

By entering the portal, Amos gains the opportunity to be recruited by any school. As a graduate transfer, he’d be immediately eligible at his next stop. If he doesn’t find the chance he’s looking for, he could choose to stay put at JMU.

In his career, Amos has earned FCS All-American honors as a punt returner and All-Colonial Athletic Association first-team accolades as a safety. He’s second all-time in JMU history with 1,259 punt return yards and has five punt-return touchdowns. On defense, he racked up 135 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, a forced fumble and three fumble recoveries over the last three seasons.

His decision comes on the same day the NCAA announced its Board of Governors opted to allow each division to decide the fate of its fall championships. No choice was made at the Division I level and one doesn’t have to be made until Aug. 21, and, according to the NCAA, for the FCS to hold postseason competition this fall it needs at least 50 percent of playoff-eligible schools to participate in the regular season.

For JMU as it looks to fill the void Amos leaves behind on defense, senior MJ Hampton is the prime candidate to take over the full-time starting free safety role. Hampton played behind Amos last year and had an 83-yard interception return for a touchdown in the Dukes’ win over Villanova last October. Others in the position group include sophomores Chris Chukwuneke and Que Reid as well as FBS transfers Joe Joe Norwood (Massachusetts) and Jebril Murray (Navy).