Head football coach Ted Roof has his first two commitments from the previous recruiting weekend, each of whom figures to impact Duke's recruiting rankings considerably.
"I verbally committed to Duke," said Ronnie Drummer, a 5-foot-9, 165-pound running back who reported running a 4.2 40-yard dash at Florida State camp last summer. He cited academics and coach Roof as major reasons for his commitment.
Drummer opted for the Blue Devils over an offer from Wyoming, and consideration from Notre Dame, California, Colorado, Kansas State.
But perhaps the bigger catch--more literally--was Izzy Bauta, an offensive lineman from Poly Prep in New York. Bauta, whose brother Lavdrim is a redshirt freshman at Duke, turned down scholarships from Rutgers, South Florida, Maryland and 2002 National Champion, Ohio State.
In an interview with Buckeye Sports Bulletin, Bauta said, "I committed to Duke earlier today. Duke had a lot of stuff I was looking for. I think they are going to turn the program around. I felt comfortable there. Plus my brother is an offensive guard there."
Bauta has cancelled his scheduled visits to Rutgers and South Florida, respectively. He had already been to the campuses of Maryland and Ohio State for his official visits.
A 6-foot-4, 275-pounder, Bauta led his high school to an 8-1 record, and is the No. 47 offensive guard prospect in America.
Drummer's decision appeared to focus on Duke's educational strength.
"There aren't many schools that are academically as great as Duke," the Salinas, Ca., speedster said. "Nobody's really guaranteed to make it to the NFL, and I know that if I graduate from [Duke] I have some pretty good job offers waiting. A degree from Duke is always impressive."
"I can tell that...he really did a tremendous job," Drummer said of Roof. "I can tell that the players really trust him and I felt that from talking to him just for a few days that he knows what he's doing."
Drummer rushed for 1,800 yards and 19 touchdowns last year for North Salinas High School. One of the fastest players in the state of California, Drummer placed in the 100-m and 200-m dashes at the state track meet. In addition to his jaw-dropping 4.2 second 40-yard dash he has also clocked a 4.34 second 40-yard dash at a Nike camp. Despite the verbal commitment, however, he plans on taking one more official visit.
Drummer is the twelfth football commitment in the class of 2004 and the first from a mammoth Blue Devil football recruiting weekend. Roof welcomed 20 Blue Devil recruiting targets to the Gothic Wonderland this weekend in addition to announcing the hiring of former Stanford offensive coordinator David Kelly.
"He came over to the program because he really believes in coach Roof," Drummer said of Duke's newest assistant coach. "They think they can win."
Drummer also mentioned Jon Haskins, a current Blue Devil graduate assistant, as one of the coaches with whom he had contact. Additionally, Drummer talked with San Jose, Ca., quarterback Darrin Bragg and Buford, Ga., linebacker Zach Smith and "a few linemen" on his visit.
The California track star also hinted at possible future Blue Devil coaching announcements, including a possible NFL hiring.
"There was one coach from the Arizona Cardinals," Drummer mentioned. "I think he was offensive coordinator."
Drummer's comments echo those spoken by Bauta just two days ago, when Bauta said, "The New OC is a former Arizona Cardinals coach."
Editor's note: Information from theinsiders.com and rivals100.com was used in this report. The headshot photos of both Bauta and Drummer were used with permission from theinsiders.com (thedevilsden.com).
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