Since EW was hired JMU Football's media presence has grown exponentially. The graphics and videos the team puts out have been seriously valuable to increasing our national brand and increasing our recruiting success. Looking solely through the lens of our media we are on par with some of top P5 schools in the nation. I'm fairly sure in addition to his responsibilities with coaches film that Zach Lantz is responsible for the quality of JMU Football media. With that being said I don't know how much longer Zach will be around. I think he is a graduate assistant and those guys do have a shelf life. It would be great if there was some way the University could keep Zach around but I'm sure he will be making a P5 program look good someday in the near future.

i bet you keatts could find a way to keep him at JMU

I talked to him this winter. He got offered a job in Texas at an FBS school, but decided he didn't want to move there. He really wants to stay at JMU. It just comes down to whether the coaches, AD, and admin value his position enough to make it a full time spot for him.

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(02-10-2017 06:14 PM)JMUDukes20 Wrote:  I talked to him this winter. He got offered a job in Texas at an FBS school, but decided he didn't want to move there. He really wants to stay at JMU. It just comes down to whether the coaches, AD, and admin value his position enough to make it a full time spot for him.

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Seems like an easy decision to me. There are a lot less useful thing we could spend money on, especially in the age of social media.

Zach Lantz is definitely the unsung hero of JMU football the past few seasons. He's very talented and I hope they can keep him long term.

Zack is incredible. His work is world class. I don't underestimate his contributions towards our most recent recruiting class. Yes, we played an amazing brand of football but his videos brought that play to life in a way most schools- even larger ones- do not have. Very much like how NFL Films helped to really broaden the NFL's appeal in the 70's.

I completely support Zach being brought on full time.

With the momentum the program has right now we should be doing everything reasonably possible to push forward. I know what a big time program would do in this situation... we will see.

Not to dog on ZL, the man is a stud, but he's not alone in this. There are a lot of other staff involved. Clayton actually does about 60-70% of the videos that are put out. ZL typically sticks to the New Breed hype stuff, which again is good stuff. All I'm saying is that if Zach Lantz gets his own thread, there are a LOT of other part time/GA/non-full time staff involved in athletics and JMU that deserve their own threads... giving credit where credit is due.

(02-11-2017 06:52 PM)Deez Nuts Wrote:  Not to dog on ZL, the man is a stud, but he's not alone in this. There are a lot of other staff involved. Clayton actually does about 60-70% of the videos that are put out. ZL typically sticks to the New Breed hype stuff, which again is good stuff. All I'm saying is that if Zach Lantz gets his own thread, there are a LOT of other part time/GA/non-full time staff involved in athletics and JMU that deserve their own threads... giving credit where credit is due.

You're absolutely right. I think Clayton's position is a new one and he doing a great job as well. It would be wise to keep the media staff as in tact as possible but overturn is understandable.

(02-11-2017 09:43 PM)DiceRogerLion Wrote:  

(02-11-2017 06:52 PM)Deez Nuts Wrote:  Not to dog on ZL, the man is a stud, but he's not alone in this. There are a lot of other staff involved. Clayton actually does about 60-70% of the videos that are put out. ZL typically sticks to the New Breed hype stuff, which again is good stuff. All I'm saying is that if Zach Lantz gets his own thread, there are a LOT of other part time/GA/non-full time staff involved in athletics and JMU that deserve their own threads... giving credit where credit is due.

You're absolutely right. I think Clayton's position is a new one and he doing a great job as well. It would be wise to keep the media staff as in tact as possible but overturn is understandable.

I just have no sense of the market for these positions. Seems like something that wouldn't break the bank to make an investment in these type of positions. When I think about how great the posters, the videos, the twitter feeds, etc. have been lately you just know that has to impact recruits, the way the program is viewed externally, and the good vibes we all have about things. JMU has been miles ahead of basically everyone but NDSU at the FCS level in this stuff from what I can tell the last couple years (and waaaay ahead of its CAA "peers"). In fact, JMU has been as good or better than most P5 schools just with less reach. A lot of these jobs are early-career positions for the most part so it's unrealistic to think you can keep people in the Valley for too long, but having folks like these (and I'd add Taylor Dewey to the list too) that really bleed purple makes a huge difference. If we're talking the difference between starting with a new, uninvested-in-JMU person and finding a way to give some of these folks an extra 10k, it seems like a no-brainer in return for the value received.

Zach announced on Twitter that he will be the new Director of Creative Media for University of Pittsburgh. Pitt is lucky to have him... pretty big loss for the Dukes. Others will have to pick up the slack.

Zach is a stud. We're in good hands. Best wishes to him on the promotion!

(04-17-2017 07:41 PM)Deez Nuts Wrote:  Zach is a stud. We're in good hands. Best wishes to him on the promotion!

Yup, def. helped usher us out of the stone age. Best of luck Zach!

Thanks Zach for your hard work. We will miss your graphic designs.