Published Jul 28, 2021
Salem CB Logan Jr. Played Way To Offer, Pledge
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Greg Madia  •  DukesofJMU
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His first trip to Harrisonburg impressed James Madison coaches, but the next visit fortified Salem High School cornerback Chauncey Logan Jr.’s future with the Dukes.

He said he earned a coveted scholarship offer from JMU this past Friday following its final one-day prospect camp of the summer.

Logan Jr. took the weekend to think on it, he said, and then announced his decision on social media to commit to the Dukes on Monday, becoming the third pledge in a span of four days for the program.

“The situation I’m walking into is they have three corners leaving,” Logan Jr. told the DN-R on Tuesday. “And that’s the position they’re recruiting me at. It’s not too far from home, so mom can get there in an hour and a half. And then the love was unreal up there. The coaching staff is great and they really made me feel like they were enjoying me up there.”

The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder said JMU linebackers coach Bryant Haines initially reached out in early June after seeing clips of the defensive back from a prospect camp at the University of North Carolina.

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Haines and Dukes offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator Mike Shanahan pressed Logan Jr. to participate in the one-day camp they were hosting on June 16.

Logan Jr. didn’t have much game film of himself playing defensive back from his junior season, so he said he knew attending camps would be a big part of his recruiting process.

At Salem, he played quarterback for the first six games of its spring campaign, in which the Spartans captured the Virginia High School League Class 4 championship. It was only in the back half of their slate that Logan Jr. was able to play defensive back and receiver, his more natural positions.

“But I performed well at the first [JMU] camp I went to,” he said. “It was the back end of a camp series I had. It was the third camp of a back-to-back-to-back I had, but me and Coach [Curt] Cignetti had a good conversation afterward and they ended up getting me to come back up on [July] 23rd. I performed really well. I ran a great 40[-yard dash], jumped well and we had another conversation and he ended up offering.”

Logan Jr. said he took JMU up on its offer over other scholarships opportunities he considered from Campbell, Rhode Island and William & Mary. He had 10 offers in total including one from FBS Army.

Another reason why he opted for JMU, he said, was because of his previous friendships with two others members of the 2022 recruiting class. Logan Jr. met quarterback pledge Alonza Barnett III when the two were high school freshmen and played in a 7-on-7 showcase together in Orlando, Fla. He also has gotten to know wide receiver commit Jayden Mines, who gave his verbal to the Dukes one day before Logan Jr. did, through the various summer camp stops they’ve made in pursuit of earning scholarship offers.

“So, it felt like a great fit for me,” Logan Jr. said.

He believes his versatility as a do-it-all high school standout will be an asset for him as he transitions to a college cornerback and attempts to contribute early in his JMU career, he said. In addition to quarterback, receiver and cornerback, Logan Jr. has played strong safety, free safety and outside linebacker, too, and has served as a rugby-style punter for Salem.

JMU is scheduled to graduate current senior cornerbacks Wesley McCormick, Greg Ross and Taurus Carroll after this coming season.