By JONATHAN GANZ
Chemistry is an unknown quantity in sports. Teams with large quantities of talented players may struggle because of a lack of it, while teams with little to no talent may succeed because of it. The Duke football team has a mixture of both-unproven talent and unproven chemistry.
Following the 8-4 season of two years ago, which included a trip to the Hall of Fame Bowl, the Blue Devils crashed back to earth last season with a 3-8 season which was marred by injuries, bickering within the team and a general lack of fun and enthusiasm. The buzzword for 1996 among the Blue Devils, however, is chemistry, and they think that it can turn things back around for Duke in a hurry.
"We're a different team with different personalities [than last year's team]," linebacker Billy Granville said. "We'll just have to see how things come together, but the potential is definitely there. I like the camaraderie of this team, the chemistry.
"Not to say last year's team, we hated each other. But this year is more like a family atmosphere. Off the field, we're crossing social barriers and getting to know one another. We feel more like a family."
The Blue Devils will definitely be young. Out of 83 scholarship athletes, 43 of them are redshirt or true freshmen. Duke expects to start only seven returning players in the season opener against Florida State, but many of these upperclassmen have seen action before.
On defense, the Blue Devils will start a lineup that emphasizes speed. They have made several position changes geared towards being quicker to the ball. As a result, the defense's greatest strength will likely come from the linebacking corps.
Duke will start games with four linebackers-senior Billy Granville, junior Chike Egbuniwe, junior LeVance McQueen and sophomore Lyle Burdine. All four are fast and hard-hitting, while the impressive freshman Kevin Lewis backs them up on the outside.
"I've noticed the defense's intensity," Blue Devil wide receiver Marc Wilson said. "They may not be as big as last year, but these guys fly around the football. They're very intense out there. You've got to kill these guys to get them to stop hitting you in practice. They have a lot more fire in their eyes, and they seem to be a lot more intense. I think that's going to make a difference. They've improved a heck of a lot."
Just how much the defense has improved may be relative, though. Last season, Duke gave up over 486 yards per game to its opponents. Included in that total was nearly 270 yards per game on the ground.
With three new starters on the defensive line, the Blue Devils hope that Ruzic, Scanlan and McCormack quickly become household names for Duke fans. Chris Ruzic and Brian McCormack will start on the outside and Scanlan will be at noseguard. All three are sophomores, and the Blue Devils' season may rest in their hands. They are quick, but not overly big, with Scanlan weighing the most at 260 lbs.
"I don't worry about the size of our defensive line," Blue Devils head coach Fred Goldsmith said. "We're not that small. I don't consider us that small... for kids that can run. Now, if they were fat guys that couldn't run at that size it'd be bad, but for athletes that's not bad."
If Duke can stop opponents' running games, it hopes to return to the blitzing schemes that worked so well for the Blue Devils two years ago. They have a new defensive coordinator in Bob Trott, and he has been working extensively with the secondary, which returns six players who saw significant playing time last year, including Tawambi Settles, who has moved to free safety, taking over the position last held by Ray Farmer, who is now playing with the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL.
Another Blue Devil who has departed from last year's team and is attempting to stick in the NFL is quarterback Spence Fischer. Stepping into his place at quarterback is junior Dave Green, who has been with the program for four years. He is a drop-back passer with a strong arm and an even stronger penchant for leadership.
"I think I inherit the role of leader, as far as being the quarterback, but you know, that doesn't say who's a good leader," Green said. "You have to take on that challenge. When you get the positive response that I get from my teammates that say... you're our quarterback and you're going to lead us into battle.... You know, I've got positive response from that. It makes me want to do it that much more."
Green will take command on the field, and in the huddle. He will have a number of weapons he can utilize on offense this season.
The Blue Devils are loaded at wide receiver and running back. They return all their top players at those skill positions. At wide receiver, the duo of Corey Thomas and Marc Wilson return. They combined for over 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns last season.
With Green having a stronger arm than Fischer did, Duke hopes to reestablish the deep ball this year. It will spread out the defense more, thus allowing all of Duke's offensive options to flourish more.
"The biggest thing this year, this team will only do as well as Marc and I do and the receiving corps does," Thomas said. "This is the corps that has got to take the team, and that's no secret for anyone. If [the receivers] play well, this team will play well; if we don't, then we're going to have another bad year."
To avoid a bad season, the Blue Devils will have to get off to a good start with a difficult schedule. Duke opens the season with four of its first five games on the road. It will face two top-10 teams in the first two weeks-Florida State and Northwestern.
The schedule is difficult, but Goldsmith is excited about it. He feels that the time on the road can help bring his team even closer together. Togetherness, chemistry, youth-they are the buzzwords for Duke football this season. They are what make Goldsmith think this team may be special.
"There's a feeling you get about certain teams," Goldsmith said. "I got that right feeling about this bunch and we'll see what happens. With the right attitude, you got a chance."
Perhaps more important than any other factor, however, will be Duke's ability to withstand injuries. They are so young at many positions that backups are simply too inexperienced to jump right in. Goldsmith and the coaching staff understand the potential and talent that is there, but they also understand the need to work those young players onto the field at their own pace, rather than at an accelerated pace necessitated by injuries. Injuries wreaked havoc with the Blue Devils last season, but so far this preseason they have been very limited.
"I'd be concerned if some of our second-team guys at certain positions-the offensive line and the secondary-had to play by necessity, rather than when we place them in there," Goldsmith said. "How they get their experience is critical to us. If they're forced into a situation where it's very critical before they are ready that would not be in our best interest.
"The majority of our team is very young. But if we stay healthy, then we can play the proper experience."
For now, the Blue Devils are ready to simply start the season. They have been in camp since mid-August and many of the players have been working since Nov. 19, 1995-the day after Duke's football season ended last year-with one thought, and one thought only on their minds: proving to people that 1995, not 1994 was the fluke season.
"We definitely want to get to a bowl game this year," Wilson said. "That's the ultimate goal. It's a goal that's within our reach. It's my last year, and I definitely don't want to go out 3-8. I think there's a lot of potential on this team, and I think a bowl game is definitely within our grasp."
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