One of the candidates for the recently vacated starting quarterback job, Chris Wispelwey, was charged with driving while impaired as well as three other misdemeanor counts Sunday, July 14 at 2:08 a.m.
Wispelwey registered a 0.17 blood-alcohol level and is scheduled to appear in Orange County District Court, Aug. 20. He also faces charges of driving after consuming alcohol while under 21, driving the wrong way on a multi-lane road and attempting to use a drivers license that was not his.
According to a police report, the Pompton Plains, N.J., native was driving on the wrong side of the street<west in the eastbound lanes of Franklin Street<forcing oncoming traffic to drive onto the sidewalk to avoid head-on collisions.
The 20-year old then turned right onto Estes Drive and continued driving despite being pursued by police cars brandishing lights and sirens. The officer had to pull up beside Wispelwey1s vehicle and tell him to pull over.
The report also said that when the police officer asked for Wispelwey1s license and registration, Wispelwey attempted to give the officer his brother1s drivers license.
3I1m aware of it, we1re monitoring it,2 coach Carl Franks said. 3I1ve talked to Chris, we1ll handle it internally and the court system will certainly handle their end of it. It1s unfortunate for that to happen to any young person... if it all proves out to be correct. We all make mistakes in life, and fortunately no one was injured in his accident. Hopefully we1ll move on from that.2
Bryant suspended for 2002 season
Starting quarterback D. Bryant was ruled academically ineligible for the 2002 football season and will not play his final year for the Blue Devils according to a statement made by the football program June 12.
The loss means that Duke, which has not won a game in its last 23 tries, will be without an experienced play caller when the season opens Aug. 31 against East Carolina.
3This is an unfortunate situation under difficult circumstances,2 Bryant said. 3I have enjoyed my time here at Duke and have made great relationships with many people. I will certainly miss my teammates and wish them the best of luck. I hope to play college football at another school this fall and return to Duke in the future to earn my degree.2
Franks said the decision was made by the University, but is effective at other NCAA schools. He added that Bryant would probably transfer to an NAIA school, and hopefully play during the upcoming season.
Franks said that Bryant probably has more eligibility remaining at an NAIA school because they calculate it by semester rather than year. After redshirting his freshman year, Bryant walked onto the basketball team and saw game time, thus relinquishing his freshman year of eligibility.
Franks did not say where Bryant would transfer.
It is not the first time Bryant has been suspended from the football team. After his freshman season he was also suspended for undisclosed reasons.
The Blue Devils currently have four quarterbacks on their roster, but the trio of sophomores Chris Dapolito, Adam Smith and Wispelwey are expected to contend for the staring job.
According to Franks, the team has not made a decision on who its starting quarterback will be. The head coach also said that he did not have a time frame for the decision and that it could happen any time up to the first game. He also said he has not ruled out the possibility of rotating two quarterbacks, if he thinks they are both deserving of the starting job.
3Their main responsibility is learning to play quarterback, not answering a bunch of questions about who1s going to play quarterback,2 Franks said. 3What they need to be doing is getting out here and working with their team so that they1ll have a lot of confidence.... There are three of them and they have an equal chance to be the guy.2
Fowler under a new Roof
The defense has received a much needed makeover after Ted Roof took the reigns as defensive coordinator. Roof, who called the defensive plays at ACC rival Georgia Tech for the past three seasons and is a former All-ACC linebacker himself, has moved some of the players on the defensive line around in an effort to make it quicker.
3Ted certainly gives us some new-found enthusiasm,2 Franks said. 3Change can be good, and that1s a place where we needed to have some change.2
The most notable change Roof has made is moving Ryan Fowler, arguably Duke1s top defender, from outside linebacker to the inside. The coaching staff hopes that the move will increase the line1s speed up the center and make it easier for Fowler to tackle and to get at the opposing team1s quarterback.
Franks said he would not reveal any other strategic changes his team has made because he is hoping to catch a few coaches off guard when the season starts.
No JUCO anytime soon
Despite the fact that almost every other program in the country recruits junior college transfers, Franks said that Duke has no intentions of starting the practice anytime soon.
He did add that it was a possibility down the road<something his staff 3kicks around a little bit2<pointing to the practice at academic peer institutions like Stanford, but that under the current Duke system it is extremely difficult.
Currently, Duke graduates most of its players in four years; but at other schools it is the norm to stay five or six.
In its history, Duke has had just a few junior college players, most recently in the 1970s and 1980s. Currently there is a movement in NCAA Division I football to make it harder to transfer credits between schools and thus harder for schools to accept junior college players.
3Duke has never made a commitment to recruiting junior college players,2 Franks said. 3It would be pretty difficult for us to find enough guys who would be able to come in and be eligible.2
Franks said that for a junior college player to transfer to Duke and graduate in four years he would have to be extremely dedicated to academics and have 60 to 75 percent of his coursework done before he stepped onto campus. He also noted that with only 12 scholarships to give next season, it is even more unlikely.
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