In 2025, Alonza Barnett III became the Sun Belt Player of the Year and quarterbacked James Madison to a conference title, as well as the College Football Playoff. In 2026, he’ll likely play elsewhere.
Barnett announced Friday that he plans to enter the transfer portal after spending four seasons at JMU. The dual-threat signal-caller has one year of eligibility remaining.
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The portal officially opens Jan. 2 and is once again expected to include several coveted quarterbacks.
“The past four years at James Madison have been nothing short of a blessing,” Barnett wrote in a statement he posted to social media.
“The moments I’ve experienced, in and outside of Bridgeforth Stadium, will be ones I’ll cherish forever.”
He later added: “JMU holds a special place in my heart and will forever be HOME. It always has been, and it always will be.”
Barnett described the opportunity to graduate from JMU as a blessing as well, and he noted his belief in new Dukes head coach Billy Napier, who is taking over the program from Bob Chesney.
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Chesney, Barnett’s coach the two seasons he started at quarterback, was hired as UCLA’s next head coach earlier this month. He coached JMU through its first-round CFP loss to Oregon.
The Dukes made the 12-team playoff as one of the five highest-ranked conference champions. They were one of two Group of Five teams to earn an automatic bid this season, the other being American champion Tulane.
JMU went down 34-3 in the first half against Oregon, but Barnett finished with 318 total yards of offense (273 passing and 45 rushing) to go with his three total touchdowns (two passing and one rushing) in a 51-34 defeat at Autzen Stadium.
In 2025, the 6-foot, 217-pound playmaker was responsible for 23 passing touchdowns and 15 rushing touchdowns. The latter tied for fourth-most among quarterbacks. Barnett completed 58.4% of his passes while throwing for 2,806 yards this season.
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Barnett has played under Chesney and now-Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti. He helped JMU continue its ascent after the program made the jump to the FBS in 2022 with Cignetti at the helm.
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