Success and maturity are not always necessarily linked. For James Madison wide receiver Brandon Polk, however, both shine through as part of his historic 2019. 

Polk is close to tripling his production across the board from the previous three-seasons-and-change at Penn State. The Ashburn, Va., native tallied 27 catches for 367 yards and four touchdowns in his time as a Nittany Lion before returning to the Commonwealth. 

After recording modest statistics from 2015 through 2018 at Penn State, Polk will leave James Madison with his name in the record books. But he points no fingers for his late bloom, instead crediting his own growth for his emergence. 

“Everyone at some point can I say, ‘I feel I can be doing this, I can be doing that.’ But in all honesty, maybe I wasn’t ready,” Polk said of his time in Happy Valley. “Maybe I wasn’t in the right mindset to be contributing like that. 

“I’m just glad the opportunity presented itself,” he added. 

For the first time in school history, JMU has a 1,000 yard receiver and 1,000 yard rusher in the form of Brandon Polk and Percy Agyei-Obese!#GoDukes pic.twitter.com/VLPbZHrSnT

— JMU Football (@JMUFootball) December 14, 2019

To say Polk has run with the opportunity would be an understatement. 

In the Dukes’ 66-21 rout of Monmouth in the 2nd Round of the FCS Playoffs, Polk became the program’s first player to reach 1,000 yards receiving for a season since 1993 and just the second ever. He has caught 68 passes on the year and in a quarterfinals defeat of Northern Iowa, chalked up his 11th touchdown grab of the campaign. 

Polk is a key piece to the nation’s No. 1 scoring offense, and a primary reason for the Dukes playing Weber State in the semifinals with a berth in the national championship game at stake. 

“He’s really fast, and he’s got great long speed. That’s given us something we’ve needed,” said coach Curt Cignetti. “But he can also take a short pass and turn it into a long gain.”

Whether as a deep threat or along the sidelines in space, Polk’s been the complementary weapon that spreads defenses so a hard-charging run game can push forward. His presence is integral to unlocking the full potential of the Dukes offense — and it’s also a ton of fun to watch. 

Brandon Polk is the greatest transfer in NCAA history

— JMU Barstool (@JMUBarstool) December 14, 2019

Listening to Cignetti discuss Polk, it’s easy to get the impression film sessions with the wide receivers are entertaining. 

“In football, speed kills and especially on the perimeter. If you can run by a guy one-on-one in coverage,” Cignetti said before chuckling, “That puts a lot of stress on the defense.” 

No matter if Polk was ready at Penn State or not, he’s been ready since arriving in Harrisonburg. And his Dukes teammates were ready to welcome him from the jump. 

Upon announcing his intention to transfer to James Madison on Twitter and Instagram, Polk said his inboxes started blowing up with well-wishes and encouragement from his new teammates. 

“[Quarterback] Ben [DiNucci] was one of the first guys to message me," Polk said. "‘Here’s my number, we can do this thing.’” 

DiNucci went through the transfer process himself a year prior. Penn State and Pitt are historic rivals, but the former Nittany Lion and former Panther form a dynamite duo as Dukes. 

Quick bubble screen to Brandon Polk for the TD ⚡️@JMUFootball strikes first ⚡️#FCS#FCSPlayoffs Q1 | UNI 0 | (2) JAMES MADISON 7 pic.twitter.com/Y2MsG0f4cu

— FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS) December 14, 2019

Both Polk and DiNucci are fifth-year seniors, part of the upperclassmen contingent DiNucci said helped lay the foundation for James Madison’s success through their experience. 

Those seniors, including the starring quarterback-receiver combo of DiNucci and Polk, play in front of the Bridgeforth Stadium crowd for the final time in the semifinals. Polk said he anticipates an electric atmosphere. 

“The crowd helped a lot [against Northern Iowa],” Polk said. “All those people came out regardless of the weather.” 

Rains that fell in the quarterfinals should not be an issue for the semifinals; forecasts after Tuesday call for clear skies in Harrisonburg, which should translate to a crowd eager to send the Dukes off to Frisco. 

Polk’s support won’t come exclusively from Bridgeforth Stadium, either. In the same manner that his Dukes teammates connected before his transfer, the wide receiver remains in touch with some of his former Nittany Lion comrades. 

Should James Madison advance to Frisco, Polk won’t be the only former Penn State receiver who played a central role in another team’s season extending into January: Juwan Johnson came up big down the stretch of Oregon’s run to the Rose Bowl. 

“It definitely does help out, to ask Juwan or someone else during the course of the season, if I have questions to see how he’s running a certain route,” Polk said. “It’s just a great feeling to have people...who can help you out.”