When David Cutcliffe was hired as Duke's new head football coach back in December, he promised to resurrect the school's program with his experience, innovative offense and aggressive recruiting. In just his seventh week on the job, he's already made one of the biggest splashes in recent Blue Devil history.
Notre Dame Prep (Scottsdale, Ariz.) quarterback Sean Renfree, ranked as the No. 10 field-general in the country by scout.com, shocked the college football world Monday when he verbally committed to play at Duke next season. The other schools on his list were Arizona State, Oregon State and Boise State, which combined for a record of 28-9 in 2007.
When asked why he thought Renfree chose Duke, Notre Dame Prep head coach Scot Bemis said the three biggest factors were academics, the possibility of early playing time and Cutcliffe, who recruited Renfree last summer as Tennessee's offensive coordinator.
"Tennessee threw 500 times last season," Renfree told The Arizona Republic. "There's a great opportunity for me [at Duke] in the long run."
Renfree led the Saints to the Arizona 4A-II state championship this season, throwing 41 touchdowns versus just six interceptions. He averaged nearly 240 passing yards per game and finished the season with an impressive 118 quarterback rating. Although listed as a traditional pocket passer with pro-style experience, which should greatly help him integrate into Cutcliffe's offense, Renfree can also tuck it and run. When forced to vacate the pocket, he can accelerate his 6-foot-3, 205-pound frame across 40 yards in just 4.50 seconds.
The four-star recruit will compete for playing time against redshirt junior Zack Asack and junior Thaddeus Lewis next fall. Although Renfree said he would consider redshirting his freshman year to add some bulk, Bemis said early playing time was certainly one of the reasons why his quarterback chose Duke over the other, more established programs.
"Sean's a player," Bemis said. "He's going to want to be on the field, and I think you guys will want him on the field, too."
During his junior season, Renfree was still relatively unknown by recruiters nationally. With his strong interest in academics-he boasted a 3.9 GPA last year-the highly accurate gunslinger was planning on playing for the likes of one of the Ivies, Stanford, Northwestern or even Duke.
But then he became a household name among college recruiters when he earned admission into the most exclusive and prestigious quarterbacks camp in the nation last summer: the Elite 11. Every year, the camp directors evaluate 1,000 quarterbacks in person and thousands more by film. After several rounds of tryouts, eventually the top 11 quarterbacks in the country are chosen to participate in a rigorous three-day camp, in which passing and footwork drills are conducted during the day and film sessions during the night. The players watch tape in order to improve their ability to breakdown coverages, something Renfree did very well this season.
"He's way ahead of the game as far as reading defenses," Bemis said. "He's a gym rat on the football field-first to practice, last to leave. He studies his opponents and learns what he has to do to get the job done."
Among the camp's alumni are the last three quarterbacks to win the Heisman trophy (Tim Tebow, Troy Smith and Matt Leinart) as well as the three BCS title game winners prior to this year (Chris Leak, Vince Young and Leinart). Renfree's commitment to Duke makes him the fifth participant from the Elite 11's class of 2007 heading to an ACC school.
Renfree originally committed to Georgia Tech last summer, but things changed after the Yellow Jackets fired then-head coach Chan Gailey. Once Georgia Tech hired Paul Johnson, known for his triple-option offense, Renfree knew it was no longer the place for him and decommitted. And when Renfree chose to become a Blue Devil a little more than a month later, Bemis said his quarterback felt Duke was the perfect fit for him.
Although it will take some wins on the field to truly validate Cutcliffe's hiring, this impressive, if not surprising, nabbing of a highly touted quarterback such as Renfree is certainly a giant leap in the right direction.
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