When I feel that chill, smell that fresh cut grass
I'm back in my helmet, cleats, and shoulder pads
Standing in the huddle, listening to the call
Fans going crazy for the boys of fallKenny Chesney
THREE WEEKS...
...to kickoff, boys and girls!
Coming off back-to-back winning seasons, and three straight bowl appearances, the Blue Devils will look to compete for another Coastal Division Championship this fall, and it all begins with a late-night rendezvous with the Green Wave in New Orleans. Duke routed Tulane, 47-13, in week 4 last season. The key to that game was turnovers, where Duke held a 5-2 advantage and scored 21 points off the Green Wave miscues. Aside from the takeaways, the Duke defense actually struggled to contain then redshirt-freshman Tanner Lee and the Tulane offense, giving up 375 yards of total offense, including 231 yards on the ground. Carlos Wray and the Duke front six will have their work cut out for them as they try to contain the speedy Lee and company in the swampy heat.
You know who might be looking forward to seeing the Green Wave again? Thomas Sirk. He scampered for 94 yards and a touchdown on the ground a year ago in Durham. But all eyes will be on his arm, not his legs, as he lines up under center on September 3rd. I bet Braxton Deaver is equally excited, as he will see his first game action since 2013.
Running Backs, revisited
Our Bob Green put together a brilliant preview of what most considered to be the strength of the 2015 Blue Devil offense - the running back #STABLE. That strength turned into a question mark in the course of one practice this past week, as both Jela Duncan (upper body) and Joseph Ajeigbe (lower body) went down with injuries. Neither has a definitive timetable for returning at this stage, though the staff is optimistic both will play this season. Shaun Wilson continues to nurse a hamstring injury as well, leaving the Blue Devils with one healthy scholarship running back in senior Shaquille Powell. Ruh-roh.
If only Duke had landed Johnny Frasier or Nyheim Hines...but that's in the past. Winning football teams take adversity or injury and turn it into opportunity. The Blue Devils are hoping to do just that, and I see three potential solutions.
For starters, Shaq Powell has demonstrated that he can be an elite running back in the ACC, and has at times dominated football games. In his final year in Durham, Powell may have the opportunity to become essentially an every-down back, or at least warrant a consistent 10-15 carries per game.
Second, Duke has two extremely mobile quarterbacks in Sirk and Parker Boehme. Behind a strong offensive line, there is no reason Scottie Montgomery won't be confident in calling designed runs for his two signal callers.
Third, the move of Nico Pierre to running back is intriguing. Pierre could bring a new dimension to the Duke running game. While Powell and Ajeigbe have proven to be strong, physical runners, Pierre brings an element of size that has been lacking from the Duke ground game in recent years. At 6'2" and (according to Coach Cutcliffe today) nearly 225 pounds (though listed at 210 pounds), Pierre could try to replicate some of the "big-back" success of a guy like James Conner (6'2" 240 pounds). As a quarterback, Pierre is more than comfortable with the ball in his hands and has an exceptional understanding of the Blue Devil offense. He was likely at least a year away from seeing snaps at quarterback, and the injuries at running back have created a golden opportunity for Duke to try and get another athlete on the field with the ball in his hands. We'll get our first look at Pierre as a running back on Saturday night under the lights, during Duke's first scrimmage.
New uniforms unveiled
Count me in the group of people who do not get excited about these things, but Duke did unveil their new Nike uniforms today. The shoes look cool. Uniform updates and combinations have proven to be popular on the recruiting trail, so it is good that Duke continues to stay current.
Special Teams Preview
With a senior punter, kicker, veteran long-snapper, and an explosive return man in DeVon Edwards, expectations for Duke's special teams are deservedly high in 2015. That being said, it will be up to the supporting cast that will determine the ultimate success of this unit in 2015. As a unit, the Blue Devils ranked 1st in the ACC in punt returns and punt coverage, and 3rd in kickoff returns in 2014.
Senior Ross Martin returns as the all-time scoring leader in Duke Football history. Let that sink in for a moment. He still has an entire season left to add to the record books. Throughout his career, Martin has proven to be a reliable weapon for the Blue Devils, nearly perfect on both extra points (154/155) and field goals (19/21 a year ago). Martin appears poised to cap off his record-setting career with an All-American senior campaign.
Similarly, Duke returns one of the top punters in the country in redshirt-senior Will Monday, who averages over 43 yards per punt over his career. A year ago, Monday downed 17 punts inside the 20-yard line, a number the Duke defense hopes to see increase in 2015. And in the good-to-know category, he's a perfect 4 for 4 in passing attempts in his career, another weapon for Coach Cutcliffe to toy with.
The Blue Devils do have two key positions to replace on special teams, namely punt return and kickoffs. Coach Cutcliffe has said he does not want the punt return unit to drop off with the graduation of Jamison Crowder, and that will certainly be hard to do. While Max McCaffrey has proven sure-handed in fielding punts, he lacks the explosiveness of Crowder, and that will open the door for Ryan Smith or even freshman T.J. Rahming to get a look in some live action this August. Ross Martin is the likely replacement for the departed Jack Willoughby, who admirably manned kickoffs for much of the past two seasons.
While the specialists themselves have proven to be quite, well, special, throughout their careers, Duke's kickoff coverage unit will need to take a step forward in 2015. The Blue Devils ranked 13th in the conference in coverage in 2014. Improved depth in the secondary should help this unit, but it remains to be seen if Duke can avoid lapses like we saw late in the Sun Bowl.