Head coach David Cutcliffe and his staff brought in a program-record seven four-star recruits in the Class of 2016.
But their best offseason addition might not even be part of that group or suiting up at all.
Former Boston College defensive line coach Ben Albert—who helped develop an Eagle unit that led the country in total defense last year—arrived in Durham this year to take the same post for Duke. As is the case with many recruits, family played a role in the former Massachusetts defensive lineman’s decision.
“Shoot, it was the easiest decision I’ve ever had to make in terms of moving my family,” said Albert, who has ties to Greensboro, N.C. “We make a pilgrimage every year during the holiday season. Up until this year, my children have only been able to see my mom once or twice a year. So to be closer to her, it doesn’t get any better than that.”
Albert is satisfied with his decision but now faces the tall order of improving a defensive line that was one of the worst in the country and lost three starters.
Duke ranked 114th out of 128 FBS teams in sacks last year, often giving opposing quarterbacks time to scan the field and hit open receivers who found room against a banged up secondary.
To address the weakness for a team hoping to run its bowl streak to five, Albert has coached with the same passion he wants his linemen to play with.
“He is relentless,” Cutcliffe said. “He can be hard on them, but I don’t know of anybody I’ve been around who loves them more than he does. He’s high energy.”
Success has followed Albert wherever he has worked the last four years.
In 2011, he coached linebackers at Temple, helping the Owls rank third nationally in scoring defense and win their first bowl game in more than three decades.
During his three years at Boston College, the Paterson, N.J., native helped the Eagles develop into one of the nation’s top defenses by training his players to attack the line of scrimmage rather than simply engaging offensive linemen. Last season, Boston College finished with twice as many sacks as the Blue Devils with 34.
Albert has already implemented a similar approach at Duke, with the Blue Devil defensive line wreaking havoc in the team’s first practice in full pads Aug. 13.
“They have a sole focus of getting to the quarterback,” defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said.
Although Albert has demanded that his players rush with reckless abandon, he still wants them to be responsible and work together.
One of his main priorities has been to teach Duke’s linemen to play as a unit and be aware of how their teammates plan to move up the field. For example, when one lineman rushes high, Albert wants someone else to rush low.
“He’s saying, ‘Guys we’ve got to rush together. If one guy misses, you have to be there to cover up,’” said redshirt senior defensive tackle A.J. Wolf, the team’s only returning starter up front. “If we all work together, we’re going to have more production than if we’re all doing are own thing.”
Wolf and redshirt junior defensive tackle Mike Ramsay will be integral pieces inside for a defense trying to improve on its total of 17 sacks from last season. Of those 17, only 6.5 came from defensive linemen.
With a linebacker turned defensive end in Kyler Brown and several undersized players rotating in, Duke was frequently gashed, allowing 300 or more yards through the air in four of its last five games.
“We were just kind of piecing it together up front,” Knowles said. “Over the course of the season, what it pretty much comes down to is you got to be able to beat somebody. And if you can’t, you’re going to struggle.”
With Brown, Deion Williams and Carlos Wray gone, the Blue Devils are counting on players with less experience but more raw tools to be more effective this year.
Along with Wolf and Ramsay, Edgar Cerenord, Quaven Ferguson, Zach Morris and Trevon McSwain—who moved from defensive end to defensive tackle—are expected to see playing time this year. Redshirt freshman Brandon Boyce, who is suspended for the team’s first three games, could also be a factor.
But Duke could make an even bigger jump with more production from its defensive ends.
Sophomore Marquies Price and redshirt junior Dominic McDonald will start on the ends, with former walk-on Danny Doyle and a trio of true freshmen—Chidi Okonya, Tre Hornbuckle and Terrell Lucas—also producing enough to earn spots in the rotation. One of the Blue Devils’ four-star recruits in the Class of 2016, Okonya in particular could make a big splash right way as a 6-foot-6, 220-pound edge rusher.
And having several different options is all part of Albert’s plan to reinvent a unit hoping to bounce back in a big way.
“Over the course of the season, there’s going to be a lot of different situations, so we need everybody,” Albert said. “It’s all hands on deck. That’s the philosophy.”
Hank Tucker and Amrith Ramkumar contributed reporting.
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