Coach David Cutcliffe and his Duke Football staff continue to recruit well in the state of North Carolina landing Takoby Cofield over the weekend. Cofield (Tarboro HS, North Carolina) 6-6, 280) chose Duke over East Carolina, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest from his offeres. Clemson and Tennessee were close to offering and Cofield believed that North and South Carolina would follow suit.
Cofield is the first lineman in the class of 2010 and Duke now has a total of seven players (five in state) committed early in the process. While Cofield plays tackle at Tarboro, it is believed that he could play either guard or tackle at the college level.
Any way you cut it, Cofield is another key ingrediant for Coach Cutcliffe and his staff. As their recruiting efforts continue to flourish, look for positive changes on the field where Duke is poised to bring consistent winning football to Durham.
DURHAM, N.C. – Duke sophomore Olek Czyz had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee last week to remove loose cartilage. The surgery was successfully performed by Dr. Dean Taylor and Czyz is expected to be out of action for the next four weeks.
"Olek had a minor knee surgery last week and is expected to make a full recovery," said head coach Mike Krzyzewski. "We are looking forward to Olek getting back out on the court to continue his development in our program."
Czyz, a Reno, Nevada, product, played in 13 games as a true freshman. He scored eight points and grabbed 12 rebounds in 51 minutes. Czyz helped the Blue Devils to a 30-7 record, the ACC Championship and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2008-09.
BDN's Andrew Slater just reported that Kyrie Irving sat out eleven minutes with a knee injury, only to come back in and score 26 of his 28 points in the second half willing his team to victory. BDN Premium will have an interview up with Kyrie soon and Andrew will continue to chime in on the members only message board with the latest from the Rumble in the Bronx AAU event.
BDN caught up with P.J. Hairston (Class of 2011) during a recent AAU event and we have some audio from that conversation for our members. Hairston visited Duke unofficially a short while back. Hairston is a 6'-5" shooting guard from Greensboro, North Carolina, where he plays his ball for Dudley. He is a member of the CP3 All Star team in [private] AAU play.
Head Coach - Frank Beamer 177-89-2, bowl record 7-9
BDN's early predicted order of finish - 1st in the Coastal Division, projected record 9-3
tyrodtaylor.com
When one starts to preview the 2009 ACC Football season it becomes clear that once again the league will feature a lot of balance. But if you are looking for a front runner, look no further than Virginia Tech. The Hokies are coming off a 10-4 campaign which includes an Orange Bowl win over Cincinnati. Some in Blacksburg might consider that record a disappointment, but how much can they complain with another ACC Championship.
There were three main reasons why the Hokies dropped four games in 2009, the first being breaking in inexperienced players at key positions, the second was a lethargic offense and the third was the special teams sudden inability to come up with points. Virginia Tech head coach was breaking several new players at key positions and that early season inexperience allowed a fired up East Carolina team to win a close battle in the opener.
I wouldn't necessarily look for that to change in 2009 in that the opening day opponent is Alabama in Atlanta, Georgia. However, the Hokies can pull out a win if their offense shows off season improvement. Yes, one of the other weaknesses I alluded to was last seasons offensive production. How many times did the Hokies score 30 points or more? The answer is twice against Nebraska on the road and Boston College in the ACC Championship Game.
The bottom line is any time the Hokies offense clicks they tend to win just as they did in the two aforementioned contests. Beamer will work with nine returning starters this season including junior quarterback Tyrod Taylor (923 passing yards, 53.7%, 425 rushing yards) who will have some familiar cohorts to team with. One of those teammates is running back Darren Evans a sophomore who emerged as the starting back in his freshman season. Evans ran for a school record 253 yards against Maryland and seems primed to become a premiere back in the ACC.
The offense will be balanced by solid senior tight end Greg Boone who had over 500 yards in caches at around 13 yards per catch. Then there is Jarret Boykin who averaged 14.7 ypc as a true freshman. In fact, all of the Hokie receivers were green last season and should benefit from last seasons inexperience.
For those players to flourish, the offensive line has to close some gaps which allowed for 54 sacks in 07 but showed improvement last season. Several key starters return which should help Beamer have a more productive offense.
The defense returns seven starters and is always formidable and this year will be no different. The defensive line is anchored by Jason Worilds and John Graves and continues to be a strength.
The linebackers are led by two of the leagues best in Cam Martin and Cody Grimm. It's worth noting that this unit has more experience this season after breaking in several young players in 08. The Hokies will look to build experience in the pre season and see which players step up. With a solid defensive front and secondary, more consistent play from the linebackers would make this already solid defense even tougher.
Dorian Porch is probably the best of the bunch in the secondary, but this is the are where a lot of off season work took place due to the loss of Victor "Macho" Harris to the NFL. Still, with seven of your top eight back, look for this unit to be one of the ACC's best.
Matt Waldron returns as the kicker, but the Hokies will be breaking in a new punter on special teams. An off season emphasis was to get their special teams coverage to score more points after struggling to do so in 08.
Final words - Virginia Tech was the first ACC team to win a BCS bowl game since 1999. The offensive line must come together for the offense to use several weapons in 09. The defense looks to be one of if not the ACC's best. The Hokies play in the very competitive Coastal division which includes Georgia Tech, Miami, and North Carolina, all teams capable of going to the ACC Championship game. BDN's early pick is that the Hokies will go 9-3 and win their division. Despite being ranked as high as 5th in the country in one pre season publication, the fact that many of their victories were close last season prevents us from picking them to rumble through the conference. The Hokies get Miami, Boston College, North Carolina and N.C. State at home and Duke, Georgia Tech, Maryland and Virginia on the road. Should the Hokies defeat Alabama in the opener, a banner season could be in store. It's worth noting that game will be played on artificial turf and is the only game the Hokies are off grass all season long.
Virginia Tech visits Durham and Wallace Wade Stadium on October 3rd. For season or individual tickets contact GoDuke.com
BDN Premium will follow Kyrie Irving at this weekends Rumble in the Bronx - Photo- BDNP
I finally located the second audio interview with Kyrie Irving after he tossed in forty points in Cameron Indoor Stadium. If you have followed this site, you are aware that we broke Duke's interest in this talented young star long before others picked up on it. BDN has covered Irving at many events and that will continue this weekend, when Andrew Slater attends the "Rumble in the Bronx, event. The great thing about Andrew is his knowledge of national prospects, but when it comes to the East coast, he is more than just a little plugged in. So, why not join Blue Devil Nation Premium and get full access to the fastest growing subscription site around. We think you will quickly learn that this site stays ahead of the curve with the information you covet and that we take a hands on active role in our coverage of all things Duke. We are dedicated to bringing you a great Duke fan experience in a professional manner and when we talk of prospects, we have seen them play firsthand. We never deal in rumors at Blue Devil Nation, but we sure as heck are forced to squelch a few along the way on our members only message board. Our site sees no use in having a public message board, for they turn into quite the mess in a short time. We do value our visitors though and we'll continue to offer free content and peeks at what we cover in our premium section. When I first started Blue Devil Nation, there was a need for a site which was accurate, dependable and personable. I can promise you that we'll strive to add features we think you'll love in the near future. We have a Twitter page to keep you in touch with our offerings and tidbits on whats going on Duke Athletics. We are adding feature writers, all of which you have heard of as well. In short, I am excited about our coverage and the BDN team hopes you are as well. Thanks to all of you for making up the Blue Devil Nation. Now, on to the interview with Kyrie [private] Irving -
We will return to one on ones interviews, so stay tuned for a more streamlined experience. Talk about thi interview on the message board. [/private]
Coach David Cutcliffe and his Duke Football staff continue to recruit well in the state of North Carolina landing Takoby Cofield over the weekend. Cofield (Tarboro HS, North Carolina) 6-6, 280) chose Duke over East Carolina, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest from his offeres. Clemson and Tennessee were close to offering and Cofield believed that North and South Carolina would follow suit.
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