When Jamison Crowder took the field in Durham, special teams were just that—special.
Whether it was a 52-yard punt return at Syracuse to kickstart a 17-0 fourth quarter run that propelled the Blue Devils to victory or a 68-yard return score at the Sun Bowl to give his team momentum heading into halftime, Crowder was a dynamic weapon on the other end of any punt. The acceleration, agility and speed No. 3 displayed as he streaked from sideline to sideline left opposing coaches shaking their heads and opponents searching for their shoes.
Unfortunately for Duke, last season’s top-ranked ACC punt returner is now carving apart secondaries in NFL training camp instead of strapping on his pads for one more year in the Durham heat. But that does not mean that the Blue Devils plan on surrendering their position as the No. 1 punt returning team in the ACC—racking up 13.5 yards per return in 2014—so easily.
“I don’t want to drop off in our punt return,” Duke head coach David Cutcliffe said at the start of fall camp Wednesday. “There’s going to be competition in our punt return—that’s one of our more important competitions that we talked about as a staff.”
The competition is as wide open as it is important as fall camp begins, with at least five Blue Devils named as potential candidates to take the starting spot. Only two of those players—junior Ryan Smith and senior Max McCaffrey—have in-game punt return experience. Smith returned two punts last season for 45 yards, and McCaffrey returned three punts in 2013 for seven yards—hardly the 869 yards and four touchdowns that Crowder put together during his career. A third candidate—junior wideout Johnell Barnes—has returned 13 kickoffs without any punt returns on his résumé.
But Duke knows that there is a fourth, more familiar threat in the return game that could make camp interesting—redshirt junior DeVon Edwards.
Although the Covington, Ga., native has not taken a punt return for the Blue Devils, he has proven himself as a returner by racking up 1,319 yards with an average of 27.5 yards per return on kickoffs. Currently tied for fourth among active NCAA players in career kickoff returns for touchdowns with three—two for 99 yards and one for 100 yards—Edwards certainly appears qualified for the job.
Prior success on the field may not lock the All-American return specialist into the starting spot for punts, but his presence will put pressure on the rest of the contenders to step up as camp progresses.
“When we get in some punt and kick returns and [the coaches] call my name, I’ll be there,” Edwards said.
With lack of punt-specific experience on the depth chart, freshman T.J. Rahming is another candidate that could turn heads in the return role before the season opener Sept. 3 against Tulane. When asked if he would be comfortable allowing a true freshman field punts, Cutcliffe did not rule out the possibility.
“After I see him in practice I can answer that,” Cutcliffe said. “I want to see him get hit, I want to see him field punts…. He’d certainly play a role in the competition, [but] there’s a number of guys.”
Rahming's explosiveness could make him a logical candidate to head back to retrieve punts for the Blue Devils. In January, the Powder Springs, Ga., native impressed in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, scoring two touchdowns—a 63-yard reception and a 41-yard run.
But at McEachern High School, the 5-foot-10 speedster turned heads in the return game as well, especially as he slipped down the right sideline to return a punt 77 yards for a touchdown in a state quarterfinal victory against Tucker High School.
High school highlight reels will not be enough to assure Rahming is on the other end of punts from day one, though—it is going to take a player who can manage the ball and get to everything, according to Cutcliffe. As a result, there is change coming in camp for those who want to step up and try their hand at replacing Crowder this season—the addition of live punt returns in the coming weeks.
“I don’t want to wonder or hope I know who’s best—I want them to win it on the field,” Cutcliffe said.
Amrith Ramkumar contributed reporting.
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