When Duke hit the practice field for the first time Wednesday, the Blue Devils had an audience looking on.
Representatives from many of the ACC-affiliated bowl games were in Durham to watch head coach David Cutcliffe and his squad kick off fall camp and begin preparations both for their season opener Sept. 3 in primetime at Tulane and a run at a fourth consecutive bowl appearance.
Cutcliffe noted that the Blue Devils had enjoyed the benefits of bowl week hospitality in the past three years and were attempting to return the favor. That bowl representatives would come to Durham in early August for a potential postseason audition is a sign of the new normal—Duke now expects to go to a bowl game year after year, and the outside world is starting to take note.
"I think that it means a lot of people are watching us now—they see that Duke can play football," redshirt junior safety DeVon Edwards said. "They see that we produce great athletes and know how to win games. I think that’s the plus with getting us more exposure nationwide."
If the Blue Devils are to get back to a fourth straight postseason—and break a bowl win drought that dates back more than a half-century—they will have to do so after successfully replacing the program's all-time winningest quarterback, its first first-round NFL pick in 28 years and the game-changing explosiveness of former wide receiver Jamison Crowder.
Cutcliffe has maintained that he is not concerned with the transition under center. Redshirt junior Thomas Sirk enters his fourth year in the program, taking over for Anthony Boone. Sirk went 10-of-14 last season and was successful as a rusher in short-yardage situations, but will now get control of the entire playbook, which he has spent the past several years learning.
"He’s been here longer than most seniors, he’s the old guy here, so we all are very comfortable with Thomas," senior wide receiver Max McCaffrey said. "He’s developed a repertoire, he really has a feel for the offense now, I think he’s going to have a great year."
The Castle Rock, Colo., native will welcome new teammates alongside him at the wide receiver position, as freshman T.J. Rahming and redshirt freshman Chris Taylor are expected to compete with him and junior Johnell Barnes. Sirk will also gain another valuable weapon in tight end Braxton Deaver, who makes his return to the field after missing last year with a torn ACL and earning a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA.
Deaver said he felt good by the end of June and has enjoyed working with Sirk. Like most tight ends for quarterbacks seeing their first full season of action, he said he hopes to be a security blanket for his new signal-caller.
On the defensive side of the ball, Duke returns its entire secondary—safeties Edwards, Jeremy Cash and Deondre Singleton and defensive backs Breon Borders and Bryon Fields—but must accelerate the learning curve up front, where several key departures have left holes needing to be filled.
"This is the fastest team and certainly the fastest defense we’ve put on the field," Cutcliffe said. "Our young guys were running around and moving around well."
Wednesday's practice was conducted with helmets, but no pads. Although there was no full contact, Cutcliffe said at his press conference earlier in the afternoon that he would evaluate his team's conditioning, attitude and retention of information.
And as for the audition in front of the bowl representatives?
"I went back earlier today and I watched last year’s first day. It’s something I’ve kind of always done to get a comparison," Cutcliffe said. "I thought we really threw and caught the ball well today compared to what we’ve gone through since we’ve been here, which is a good thing to see."
Amrith Ramkumar contributed reporting.
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