Duke football head coach David Cutcliffe held his weekly press conference Tuesday, addressing Duke’s 55-0 victory against N.C. Central and the upcoming matchup against Northwestern. The head coach touched on several topics including recruiting and kicker Ross Martin’s college career. Duke (2-0) faces the Wildcats (2-0) for the 17th time with Northwestern having won six of the last seven showdowns. Here are some of the more notable sound bytes from Cutcliffe’s press conference:
The showdown against No. 23 Northwestern marks Duke’s first true test of the season. In their home-opener, the Wildcats upset then-No. 21 Stanford 16-6. The Wildcats then defeated Eastern Illinois 41-0. Northwestern features a versatile offensive attack that uses a variety of schemes to surprise opposing defenses. Among the team's strengths are its big offensive line and rushing attack. Although they have a deep stable of running backs, the Wildcats rely mostly on sophomore Justin Jackson who recorded 1,187 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns in his freshman season.
“This is certainly one of the better if not the best Northwestern teams I’ve seen through these years of watching them play football. [Northwestern head coach] Pat Fitzgerald and his staff…do a great job of coaching. A great first win over Stanford, which was really impressive.”
With the departure of last year’s starting quarterback Anthony Boone, Jamison Crowder and Isaac Blakeney—as well as the injury to running back Jela Duncan in fall camp—Duke’s offense faced many questions heading into the season. But through their first two games, the Blue Devils have answered those concerns. Led by redshirt junior quarterback Thomas Sirk, Duke has amassed over 500 total yards in each of its first two games.
“We had 10 people catch passes. We’re not going to always go in knowing where the ball should go. One of the positives about our offense is you couldn’t just say who you have to stop.”
Freshman defensive end Marquies Price has been named a starter at defensive end. Although he only has one tackle thus far this season, the Fort Valley, Ga., native has impressed coaches. Price has held his gaps well and created opportunities for other defenders to make tackles.
“He had a good day today. He played very hard. I think Marquies probably has gained strength and size quicker than you would expect a true freshman. He really did a great job in the weight room right off the bat.”
Northwestern and Duke often compete with each other on the recruiting trail. The Wildcats and Blue Devils are known to chase the same recruits who excel both on the football field and in the classroom. There are several Northwestern players that Duke recruited heavily.
“When you have a great player that you know is a big-time student, you know we’re going to be knocking on that door. But its not always just them. We start with North Carolina. Northwestern can certainly tell you they’re going to hammer Chicago.”
Senior kicker Ross Martin set the school record for career field goals a week ago. He also passed current NFL and former Florida State kicker Sebastian Janikowski on the ACC scoring list.
“There is nobody that comes to work focused more than Ross every day. I see it in his eyes. I don’t talk to him much in our pre-practice work. If I see something, I will. Consistency is what Ross Martin is. Greatness is not in skill. It’s in consistency.”
Stay with the Blue Zone for continued coverage of Duke football as the Blue Devils look to move to 3-0 for the second consecutive season.
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