Although I like to stay away from using the term "case of the Mondays" for reasons, that was just the diagnosis for Duke during its first scrimmage.
The worst news of the scrimmage has dominated the Blue Devil twitterverse during the past 12 hours—Kelby Brown went down with an apparent knee injury on the second play of the scrimmage.
What makes this so scary is that apart from being a preseason All-ACC selection and the clear leader of the defense, Brown is also a player with a long list of injuries in college. In addition to concussion run-ins, he has torn his right ACL twice, with the second time costing him the 2012 season. His right MCL was also torn in his freshman campaign.
There hasn't been much said about the injury, as Brown was off to be treated and have an MRI after being helped off the field. We'll keep a very close eye on this in the coming days, as a Brown-less defense would greatly alter the Blue Devils' look and approach.
“When you have a great person, a great player and a guy that’s a stalwart in the program that’s had two knee surgeries, it’s upsetting to say the least,” Cutcliffe said. “Kelby is a very strong spiritual person, too, so he’ll be fine.”
From that point on, the scrimmage's edge was lost and the rain, which moved in during the latter half of the 80-play scrimmage, didn't help.
“I’m not sure the crispness or the effort was what we’re used to seeing,” said Duke head coach David Cutcliffe. “We normally don’t see a scrimmage from up top, so I’m getting to see it as I would see it on tape, but I would like to see it a lot crisper than what I saw."
But before you go and hit the panic button on Duke football after one scrimmage, rest assured that as with everything, there was a silver lining. After the scrimmage, Cutcliffe pointed to the play of Jordan DeWalt-Ondijo—he registered 1.5 sacks—and the offensive backfield as the two bright spots on an otherwise rainy, dismal day.
"There were some people individually that I saw, like Jordan DeWalt-Ondijo, who continues to show up," Cutcliffe said. "He did some really good things. There were some other people in the secondary who made some plays. I didn’t see anyone on offense really stand out, other than probably the three running backs. I thought they did some solid things in the scrimmage.”
Shaquille Powell led the ground attack, as he rushed for 65 yards on 10 attempts. Redshirt senior Josh Snead, who is slotted to join Powell as the top-two backs in the rotation, was withheld from participating due to a possible concussion, according to The Herald Sun's Steve Wiseman. Redshirt freshman Joseph Ajeigbe and freshman Shaun Wilson stepped up in his place, as Ajeibe rushed five times for 40 yards while Wilson carried the ball twice for 14 yards.
Quarterback Anthony Boone also had a solid outing, as the redshirt senior threw for 175 yards on 11-of-16 passing Monday night. He added a pair of scores, connecting with Issac Blakeney and Jamison Crowder.
The Blue Devils will take the field once again for a second scrimmage Friday at 10:30 a.m. at Wallace Wade Stadium.
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