Duke will be missing it's All ACC starting tight end this season in Braxton Deaver who went out with an ACL injury this past week.   But despite the misfortune, there is reason for Duke fans to remain excited in that they still have a capable one-two punch in D.J. (David) Reeves and Erich Schneider.

"D.J. Reeves is a veteran guy.  He's experienced and knows exactly what I am doing, what I want to do and vice versa," said Duke starting quarterback Anthony Boone after todays practice.

Reeves definitely has experience at his position having 20 plus career receptions.

"We are pulling together as a team," said the redshirt junior Reeves.  He continued, "You have to build chemistry and I always want to be the best that I can."

Duke will be making some minor changes, but for the most part they will continue with their offensive schemes as they had planned .

"Systematically, we've just plugged right in, so there hasn't been any drastic changes offensively at all.  The only thing maybe are some special team switches but that is going to happen anyway."

Despite the injury to Deaver, the senior continues to encourage his teammates, especially Erich Schneider, who was originally recruited by Duke as a wideout, but has since moved to tight end.

"Deaver has kind of been my big brother so if I had a question on anything I would ask him what about this.  I try to mimic what Deaver does out there and we both have quickness for our size.  So we are just looking for those mismatches out there and to make some plays, " stated Schneider.

Boone also chimed in on Schneider, "Eric Schneider is very talented, he came in as a wide receiver so he can run routes and is very fast and has great hands.   He had to work on his physicality and he's done that this Fall Camp and he is understanding what it takes to be a tight end."

Gaining weight and getting bigger was the off-season emphasis for Schneider who said he is weighing in at about 245 pounds.

"We've got a lot of experience with D.J. and I splitting reps all summer and I didn't have a lot of experience with the Tight Ends last year splitting time at wide receiver, so this summer has given me a lot of experience and that's the best way to learn through a lot of experience," said the sophomore redshirt.

"It's all about learning by repetition.  I'm ready to take on anybody and can definitely hit a lot better now that I did my freshman year," said a clearly confident Schneider.

Standing at a listed 6-7, Schneider, a Florida native, is certainly a tall target and he split most of the snaps with the more experienced Reeves when Deaver was serving a suspension that he completed this off-season and for some of the pre season.  In a sense, he benefited from the absence of the player his teammates affectionately call "Devo."

"I think before Deaver went down we were all ready to split reps. It will be a matter of situations now and whatever coach thinks or which one of us fit better for the situation is the one who will play.  We are both well-rounded tight ends and we can block and we can catch," said Schneider.

While Duke will certainly miss the chemistry between Anthony Boone and the player he has played alongside since junior high in Braxton Deaver, Duke seems to still have what should be an effective one-two punch in D.J. Reeves and Erich Schneider for the 2014 season.  And that certainly helps to ease the pain of a very talented player being out for the year in Braxton Deaver.