QB Thomas Sirk committed to David Cutcliffe and the Blue Devils on Wednesday morning
Head Coach David Cutcliffe received a pleasant surprise on his family vacation this morning, as Baker County (FL) QB Thomas Sirk committed to the Blue Devils. At 6’6” and 212 pounds, Sirk impressed the Duke coaching staff at camp earlier this month with his arm and athleticism, earning himself a coveted Duke offer. Remarkably, the Blue Devils’ newest commitment has never played a full season at quarterback, but has been working with former Ole Miss and NFL QB David Morris this summer, and his recruitment has taken off. His recent highlight video has impressed coaches throughout the country, and Sirk was planning on camping at several ACC and SEC schools, but ultimately decided the opportunity at Duke was too good to pass up. The Duke coaching staff is thrilled to have a commitment from a player they believe will soon be leading the Blue Devils’ offense in Wallace Wade Stadium. After watching the development of Thad Lewis and Sean Renfree, Duke fans have high expectations for Coach Cut’s newest protégé. Welcome to Duke, Thomas!
BDN spoke with the new Blue Devil QB shortly after his commitment Wednesday.
BDN: How did you come to your decision to commit to Duke today?
Well, I have been talking with my family about it a lot, over the week since the camp, and I’ve been looking forward to going to some other camps and things like that, but I got to thinking about the opportunity I have to play at Duke, and the scholarship that I’m going to receive, the degree from Duke, is going to top everywhere. Duke’s program is rising, it’s a rising program and there’s a lot of great opportunities that are going to come for the program. They’re having a great recruiting class this year, they’ve got two guys committed out of my area in Jacksonville, Florida, and I just didn’t want to let this opportunity to pass me at quarterback, it’s the biggest offer I have so far.
BDN: How did you let the coaches know about your decision and what did they say to you?
I called Coach Cut today, he’s on vacation with his family right now. I called him and talked to him a little bit, I asked him some questions about other quarterback recruits, who they’ve offered and do they have anybody committed, and he told me the answers that I wanted to hear. We just talked about the opportunity that I have at Duke and where I stand as far as getting a chance to start after I redshirt. All those answers…he was talking about he wanted me to make my decision soon, and that’s when I said to him, I think I’m ready to make my decision and I want to verbally commit to Duke.
BDN: You mentioned plans to take some other visits; who were the other schools you were considering before you decided on Duke?
I was going to get up to Tennessee, Florida State, Florida, Georgia Tech, and I was going to go to those schools, but unfortunately the way it worked out, I decided to commit to Duke.
BDN: I’m sure those schools are sorry they weren’t able to get you in camp. What are your plans for the rest of your summer now that you’ve ended your recruitment?
Well, I just continue to work on my football team here in high school, obviously I got a lot off my shoulders committing to Duke, so I don’t have to worry about the recruiting process as much anymore, so I don’t really have to think about it as much. Now I can just think about me and my team and where we have to go. Do 7-on-7 camps with my team, continue to work out everyday over the summer and get ready for camp in August and get ready for our first game, so that’s where I stand now.
BDN: Best of luck with your preparation for this fall, and welcome to Duke!
Yep, I appreciate everything, Patrick.
