When talking about Duke football's lack of field experience, freshman defensive tackle Chris Combs seems to represent the very essence of that notion. But if you're looking for someone to tell you that inexperience is why the Blue Devils are 0-5, you had better look elsewhere.
"I can't really look at myself as a freshman and then use that as an excuse for not playing well," Combs said. "I've been in there for a while and gotten experience. Now it's time for me to go out and produce. I can't sit around and wait for next year. I've got to do all I can this year to help our team this year."
It's that kind of attitude that Combs and the rest of the Duke squad will have to carry into this weekend's game against Clemson if they hope to earn their first win of the season.
Combs should be making his second start of the season Saturday after breaking into the first-team line-up with a five-tackle, two-sack performance two weeks ago at Georgia Tech.
Combs is in his second year at Duke, having redshirted his first year to give himself time to develop physically. That duration helped the 19-year-old Roanoke, Va., native, as he has bulked up significantly since becoming a Blue Devil. He now stands at 6'6," weighs 250 lbs. and is one of the few linemen on Duke's roster who physically resembles his counterparts throughout the Atlantic Coast Conference.
After playing all of last year on the scout team, Combs has quickly emerged as a force on the line for the Blue Devils. He has received significant time on the field all season, playing mostly behind senior Curtiss Bunch.
Sophomore Chris Ruzic, who plays alongside Combs as a defensive end, is perhaps one of Combs' biggest fans, noting that he has become a totally different player since his arrival at Duke. He has done "a complete 180," Ruzic said, and now plays with greater intensity and focus.
Combs lettered in football, track and basketball in high school and is the son of a former ABA player. Taking into consideration his size and background, it seems as though basketball may have provided many opportunities as well.
"I grew up playing basketball and [my dad] always coached me," Combs said. "But it didn't take me long to realize that my future was probably in football."
That future is now, however, as Combs hopes to help lead Duke to some midseason success after an obviously frustrating first half to the year.
"It's disappointing [to keep losing], but that is part of sports," Combs said. "You have to move on and not worry about what happened last Saturday. I can't just fold my tent and give up because that's a loser's attitude. We're not going to get better unless people try their best to improve."
Taking into consideration that they are college students who have to interact with their biggest fans on a day-to-day basis, this season has been particularly difficult for members of the football team.
"It's embarrassing from the standpoint that everybody knows that I play football because of my size-you know I don't look like the average Duke student," Combs said. "When we are going through losses like this, it's not easy. I try to block that out. I try and focus on classes, and then football practice.
"I haven't had too many negative comments from people, but you can just tell by the way people look at you."
Combs realizes that the team's lack of success is likely to affect attendance at this week's game in Wallace Wade Stadium, Duke's first home game in almost a month.
"I can't blame the fans for the way things are," Combs said, "because we have got to produce out there on the field."
Despite all adversity, however, Combs maintains his no-excuses attitude-which is exactly what Duke needs to get into the win column.
Laura Huang contributed to this story.
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