As the Blue Devils start gearing up for the 2015 season, Duke head coach David Cutcliffe met with the media Wednesday to give his take on the state of his team heading into fall camp and preview some of the intriguing position battles. Here are some of the highlights:
"When you have a quarterback who’s a fourth-year guy in the system, you’re not trimming because of the quarterback, and that’s always an advantage in transition."
One of the more pressing questions from the outside looking in at the Blue Devils this preseason has been the quarterback position. Redshirt junior Thomas Sirk takes over the reins from Duke's all-time winningest quarterback—Anthony Boone—having attempted just 14 passes to date in his college career. As he has throughout the preseason, Cutcliffe praised Sirk and downplayed the effect of a changing of the guard under center.
A reminder for Cutcliffe of how well those things can go: his 1998 Tennessee squad went 13-0 and won a national championship with Tee Martin at quarterback. Martin, a junior, had spent his first two years in Knoxville backing up Peyton Manning.
"If I were a wide receiver I’d not only be working to start but I’d be working to try to make us want to be a four-wide offense. But flip it over, let’s go to tight end. There’s competition at tight end. If I’m those guys, I’m trying to run those wide receivers off the field."
Although famous for his work with the Manning brothers, Cutcliffe wants to be a running team first, and will have a quartet of running backs to churn up yards in 2015. But Sirk will have no shortage of weapons to throw to and the battles at the offensive skill positions figure to be some of the most hotly contested of fall camp. Senior Max McCaffrey and junior Johnell Barnes bring the most experience of the group, but freshman T.J. Rahming and redshirt freshman Chris Taylor will bring speed to the mix as offensive coordinator Scottie Montgomery looks to replace the productivity lost from the departures of Jamison Crowder and Issac Blakeney.
Veterans abound for Cutcliffe at tight end, with redshirt junior Erich Schneider, redshirt senior David Reeves and Braxton Deaver, who was granted a sixth year of eligibility after missing last year to an ACL tear. Between them, the trio has accounted for more than 1,000 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.
"The issue with playing at 8:30 Central Time in New Orleans is certainly humidity, not heat. We’re going to have more night work than we would normally have.... I’m hoping enough people earn their way onto the field where you can play quite a few people in the first half that are ready. You’re not going to play people by numbers just because you think you need to."
The Blue Devils open the season away from Wallace Wade Stadium for the first time since 2005, on the road at Tulane in the Thursday night primetime slot. Cutcliffe said the preparation for the Louisiana humidity was factored into the summer's conditioning work, and that he will rotate exposing his team to the North Carolina heat and humidity during camp. Referencing a road opener at Memphis from his time at Ole Miss, Cutcilffe pointed to the benefits of being able to go deep on the depth chart to keep players fresh for the fourth quarter.
Near the beginning of his press conference, Cutcliffe noted that wide receiver Terrence Alls and defensive back T.J. Douglas—who were suspended from game competition in March—remain suspended, with no firm timetable for their return. Both will practice with the team during fall camp. Asked if it was possible for the redshirt sophomores to return at some point this season, Cutcliffe said he will be evaluating the situation day to day to make sure Alls and Douglas are "living the life the way a Duke football player’s expected to live, long enough that I know it’s a habit."
Redshirt freshman defensive tackle Edgar Cerenord did not practice Wednesday, dealing with a hamstring injury suffered a few weeks ago, Cutcliffe said. Redshirt freshman Zach Harmon will also miss the start of camp as the center continues to work his way back from offseason knee surgery.
Amrith Ramkumar contributed reporting.
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