One of the many new faces on the football sidelines this year belongs to Rich McGeorge, who was appointed by head coach Carl Franks to take charge of the offensive line.
McGeorge will be returning to Duke for the third time in his career. He will replace Joe D'Alessandris, who resigned to accept a similar position at Georgia Tech.
"I think these guys enjoy playing for Coach McGeorge," Franks said. "I certainly did. I played for him when I was here. I think he's going to have them playing very well."
A former Elon College All-American, McGeorge had two previous coaching stints at Duke, one from 1981-1982 and again from 1987-1989. He played for the Green Bay Packers from 1970-1979 and in 2000 served on the coaching staff of that organization. He spent three seasons in the same position with the Florida Gators. McGeorge also served as tight ends and offensive line coach of the Miami Dolphins.
He will be making some changes to the line this year, mostly with the terminology used on the field and simplifying the calls.
"We're trying to not have too many of them so we can communicate," McGeorge said. "We need shorter terms because we obviously can't carry on a conversation out there."
Other changes have been made with positioning, mostly because the Blue Devils will have a different quarterback. Whoever Franks chooses will be protected by a new center, Luke Bayer, who played guard last season. Rusty Wilson will now start in the right guard position, and is also listed as the third center.
Daryl Lewis is slated to play left guard, though he alternated between the left and right positions last year. Christian Mitchell will start as right tackle, having played on both the left and right sides last year. Drew Strojny will remain in the left tackle spot.
"How [the offensive line] plays is pretty much reflective of how the offense plays," Franks said. "Everything starts up front. If we can protect the quarterback, we've got a good chance. If we can run the ball through those guys, we got a good chance. They're going to have to be the ones that make that happen."
McGeorge also noted that the team's running game will be similar to last year's, though they hope to be able to run the ball with more success. Having a strong running game will be crucial, since defenses will be going after the new quarterback.
"We want to mix it up and be able to have success both in running and passing," McGeorge said. "We're going to do both; that's the offense that Coach Franks likes to run."
McGeorge is pleased with his players' progress and is confident about their ability to protect the quarterback.
"It's a pretty good group, I'm really excited," McGeorge said. "They've worked awful hard and we feel like we're coming together."
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