No. 7 Clemson Tigers come to Durham on the prowl
Apparently, Duke's quarterback position is not the only spot that's up for grabs in the Blue Devils' game against Clemson tomorrow. While coach Carl Franks mulls over his decision to start either D. Bryant or Bobby Campbell at quarterback, he will also be pondering whether or not to start freshman inside linebacker Ryan Fowler over that position's previous first-teamer, sophomore Jamyon Small. Fowler, a 6-foot-3, 223-lb. newcomer from Redington Shores, Fla., has upped the ante for performance in Duke's linebacking corps, as he collected his first career interception and eight tackles last week against Vanderbilt. And as a result, he has created a situation in which Franks has been hard-pressed to name a starter at the inside-linebacking position. "Oh I don't know, we'll have to talk about that," Franks said of possibly replacing Small with Fowler. "Who starts doesn't make a great deal of difference because they both play a whole lot. I guess there's some kind of honor in starting, so we'll figure out who deserves it, but they're both going to play. We look at them both as starters in some sense, because they both play a lot." According to Fowler, though, there is no controversy. "Hopefully Jamyon can go if his hip feels good," Fowler said. "He got a few snaps today and hopefully if he's better by Saturday, he'll be starting." Regardless of whether or not he starts, Fowler has amassed some impressive numbers in Duke's first four games. The rookie is third on the team with 21 tackles, one of which resulted in a loss of yards. He also holds claim to the Blue Devils' only interception of the year. While he has been a steady contributor all season, his true "coming-out party" came last week, where he was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise disappointing effort by the Blue Devils. The reason for this success against the Commodores came partly by accident, as he replaced an injured Small in the second quarter. Knowing that he was going to have to take the remainder of the defensive snaps, as well as competing on special teams, was somewhat disalarming for the inexperienced freshman, who described the situation as both "exciting" and "nerve-wracking." When Fowler made his first career interception in the fourth quarter, his feelings changed to sheer happiness. "It was pretty numbing at first," he said. "I really didn't realize it until I got back to the sidelines and everybody was congratulating me. It was really moving." And unlike many of the Blue Devil wide receivers, Fowler was also credited with a reception last Saturday-the first of his career-on a botched punt while he was on special teams. "That was an accident, that was not planned at all," Fowler said. "Brian [Morton] just had the whereabouts to throw the ball to me, although I don't think it did us any good. I think I was worried about getting chewed out for it more than anything." Regardless of what his coaches thought about that particular play, his teammates have clearly been pleased with his progress so far. Among his admirers is Duke's leading tackler, outside linebacker Todd DeLamielleure, who thinks that Fowler's performance has pushed all of the defensive unit to exert a greater effort, especially its freshman members. "I think it'll help the freshmen work harder, because a lot of them expect to redshirt," DeLamielleure said. "Then they see Ryan doing well and say, 'Wait a minute, maybe I have a chance to do something too.'" Even though Fowler has impressed just about everybody on the Duke football team, he and Franks both caution that he still has many areas in which he can improve. According to Franks, many of these improvements need to be made in areas where almost all true freshman need to get better. "I thought he gave us a great effort and made some big plays [against Vanderbilt]," Franks said. "He also made a few mistakes and he's got a few things he needs to get better at, but we expect those kinds of things to happen." And even with these mistakes, the overall strong play of Fowler has opened up a potential pipeline in the recruiting hotbed of Florida. His hometown, Redington Shores, Fla., is just a stone's throw away from St. Petersburg. Fowler's recruitment was part of a larger plan by Franks to upgrade his personnel-and getting recruits from the Sunshine state is always a good way to do so. "He's from St. Pete, and we'd like to continue to recruit that area," Franks said. "And him having some success gives us the chance to go down there and recruit some more guys."