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Duke Football

Blue Devils are among the first to offer Alabama DE Torey Agee

Duke and South Alabama are the first schools to offer DE Torey Agee

After finishing last in the ACC in sacks and rushing defense in 2010, Duke hopes to upgrade the defensive front in 2011 with a group of young linemen. While the fate of the 2011 Blue Devil defense rests with Coach Knowles and the players already on campus, the Duke staff continues to work the recruiting trail in search of future stars. Duke was among the first schools to offer a scholarship to a talented run-stopper from the state of Alabama. Torey Agee is a 6’4” 247 pound defensive end from Opelika, AL. The son of former Auburn fullback Tommie Agee, Torey helped Opelika to the playoffs as a junior and has impressed scouts on the spring combine circuit with his speed and technique. The Blue Devils are hoping to get Torey on campus this summer for a visit. Highlights from his junior year can be viewed here.

BDN: Can you start off by describing your strengths for fans who haven’t had a chance to see you play?

I think my biggest strength is my ability to stop the run. I’m pretty explosive off the ball, so that’s my strong points.

BDN: What are some of the things you have been working on this offseason?

Big thing I’m working on is pass rush, finishing pass rush, stuff like that.

BDN: What are your goals for yourself and your team for your senior season?

This season I plan on leading my team in sacks and I think we have a good enough team to make it to state this year, so we’ll see how it all plays out.

BDN: As you look at your college decision, what are the most important factors you are looking for in a school?

Most important thing for me when I’m deciding on college is academics, because that’s really big for me and my family. Any school that’s strong academically, that’s at the top of my list.

BDN: You stressed the importance of academics; is there a specific field that you’re interested in studying?

Right now I think my major is going to be computer engineering, but it could change at any time.

BDN: What are the other schools that you’ve been in contact with the most so far?

I’m getting a lot of interest from Auburn right now. Auburn, Georgia Tech, and South Alabama [USA].

BDN: Have you had a chance to visit any schools so far?

I’ve visited USA, Auburn, Georgia Tech…that’s about it.

BDN: Do you have any other visits planned?

I might be taking a trip up to Duke in the summer, but other than that, none yet.

BDN: You said that you’ve been getting a lot of interest from Auburn. Being close to there and with your father’s history there, is that a program you’ve grown up following closely?

Oh yeah, you know growing up in my house I was always a big Auburn fan.

BDN: Are there any schools that you feel you have a good relationship with at this point in the recruiting process?

Yeah, USA, I think I have a pretty good relationship with the coaches down there, and Georgia Tech.

BDN: Do you have an idea for when you would like to make your final decision or how you would like to narrow your list down?

I plan on taking as long as possible to think this whole thing through, because it’s a huge decision and I don’t want to rush into anything.

BDN: Is there anything else that you think is important for college football fans to know about you?

I broke my school’s power clean record.

BDN: That’s great. Thanks a lot, Torey, and best of luck to you.

Same to you, thank you.

 

Duke Football

California WR Justin Johnson plans to visit Duke in June

St. John Bosco WR Justin Johnson has a good relationship with Coach Lubick

With Duke’s prolific passing offense, it’s no surprise that the Blue Devils have had success recruiting and developing talented wide receivers in Durham, most notably All-ACC performers Eron Riley, Donovan Varner, and Conner Vernon. After adding a talented California WR in the class of 2011 in Blair Holliday, the Blue Devils continue to recruit West Coast receivers in 2012. Duke is the first school to offer Justin Johnson, a 6’1” 190 pound receiver from St. John Bosco in Bellflower, CA. As a junior, Johnson formed one of the country’s top receiving tandems with Bryce Treggs, finishing with 27 catches for 365 yards. Highlights from his junior season can be viewed here.

 

BDN: Can you start off by describing your strengths for fans who haven’t had a chance to see you play?

As a receiver, my strengths are, I’m kind of a power runner, I’m not as quick as some of the smaller receivers because I’m like 190, and I get good releases when someone’s in my face. I run good routes, my catching ability is good, and I’m an excellent blocker, all of the things a receiver needs to play in a football game.

BDN: What are some of the things you have been working on this offseason?

This offseason I’m working on getting off on bigger corners, because I know when I go to college, the corners are going to be way bigger than the corners that are in high school right now. I’m working on getting out of my breaks a little better than I already do. And I’m just working on breaking the cushion on corners, so I run track and am getting faster at doing that.

BDN: What are your goals for yourself and your team for your senior season?

We plan on winning it all, going to state. I think it’s the perfect year to do because we have all the talent and the discipline we need to do it. We didn’t do it last year, last year was a shaky season and this year should be better than last year. I’m just trying to better myself so I can do better than we did last season.

BDN: As you look at your college decision, what are the most important factors you are looking for in a school?

I’m just looking for academics first, the sports will come, because when I graduate, even if I don’t make it to the NFL like I plan to, I can always have my degree to fall back on, and graduating from a place like Duke, all the doors that can be opened for me with a degree from Duke.

BDN: You stressed the importance of academics and a degree; is there a specific field that you’re interested in studying?

Right now, I’m thinking about aerospace engineering or computer science, but I’ve looked into majors, those are the two that I’m interested in, it might change, it might not change. I wanted to be business, but some schools don’t offer business as an undergraduate major, so I would have to do that postgraduate.

BDN: You mentioned you have an offer from Duke, but what are the other schools that you’ve been in contact with and have a good relationship with?

I’m developing a relationship with Northwestern, with Cal, with Stanford, San Diego State is coming, and Washington, I’m going to their spring game next week.

BDN: Ok, so you’ll be visiting Washington next week; have you had a chance to make any other visits or do you have any other visits planned?

I went to Junior Day at Stanford back in February, I believe. And that’s about it. I’m going to visit Duke the first weekend of June.

BDN: Are there any coaches in particular that you have a good relationship with at this point in the recruiting process?

As of right now, the only coach that I’m really close with is Coach [Matt] Lubick from Duke, and Coach Jerry Brown from Northwestern. Those are the only coaches that have had a lot of contact with me.

BDN: Do you have an idea for when you would like to make your final decision or how you would like to narrow your list down?

I would like to weigh all my options at the end of the summer and then probably make my decision before the season or midway through the season. If it’s a real hard decision, then I’ll probably wait until after the season.

BDN: Is there anything else that you think is important for college football fans to know about you?

As a player, when I go to college, I like to bring a bit of excitement to the team and I have a winning aspect about myself, I don’t like to lose, so I will do anything in my power when I do get to college to make the team win and put us on top of the map as far as rankings or however it goes. I just want to win.

BDN: Thanks a lot, Justin, and best of luck to you.

Thank you, Patrick, for talking to me.

 

Duke Football

Duke interested in 2012 FL WR Jared Crump

Duke has interest in Bartram Hill WR Jared Crump

With Duke’s prolific passing offense, it’s no surprise that the Blue Devils have had success recruiting and developing talented wide receivers in Durham, most notably All-ACC performers Eron Riley, Donovan Varner, and Conner Vernon. The Blue Devils received their first commitment in the class of 2012 from the Jacksonville, Florida area in TE Erich Schneider, and hope to add another talented receiving prospect in Jared Crump. Crump is a 6’3” 195 pound wide receiver from Bartram Trail High School in Jacksonville. As a junior, the big, physical receiver finished the year with 34 receptions for 683 yards and 11 touchdowns, averaging an impressive 20 yards per catch. Highlights of Jared’s junior year, which earned him 3rd Team All-First Coast honors, can be viewed here.

BDN: Can you start off by describing your strengths for fans who haven’t had a chance to see you play?

I have good jumping ability. I have big, strong hands. I run pretty precise routes

BDN: What are some of the things you have been working on this offseason?

I think route running, and just the little stuff that you can always work on, that’s about it.

BDN: What are your goals for yourself and your team for your senior season?

For our team our goal is to go all the way and win state. So just keep our eye on the prize. That’s what we’re going for.

BDN: As you look at your college decision, what are the most important factors you are looking for in a school?

The reputation of the school, do I get along with the people at the school and the coaches, the people who play in front of me, who they recruited the year before, a little bit of playing time. If I wasn’t playing football, could I picture myself going there and being there for four years without sports.

BDN: Which schools have you been in contact with the longest or most often?

I have offers from West Virginia, Troy, Southern Miss, Wake [Forest] and FIU so far. Spring football, there’s supposed to be a lot of coaches coming down. And they said that they’re really interested and probably will make an offer once they come down and see me.

BDN: Have you had a chance to make any visits or do you have any visits planned?

I went to a lot of Junior Days and I went to some spring football games. Over the summer, me and my dad are going to go to a lot of schools this summer and visit schools.

BDN: Are there any schools in particular that you’re looking forward to visiting?

Me and my dad are going to sit down and make a list of schools that we think would be a good choice.

BDN: You mentioned your comfort level with the coaches and people at a school as important. In your contact with coaches so far, do you feel like you have a good relationship with any coach in particular?

I feel close with, I have a good contact with Coach [Kris] Cinkovich at Arkansas, Coach Steve Spurrier Jr. at South Carolina. The coaches at the schools who have offered me, I feel pretty close with them, and just a lot of coaches from other schools who say that they’re going to come down.

BDN: Do you have an idea for when you would like to make your final decision or how you would like to narrow your list down?

I think towards the end of summer and towards the beginning of the football season, I’ll have an idea of some of my top schools, but right now it’s kind of broad. But I think after the summer I’ll narrow it down once I visit schools and see how I like them all.

BDN: Is there anything else that you think is important for college football fans to know about you?

I’m easy to get along with, I’m very coachable, really respectful and a good teammate.

BDN: Thanks a lot, Jared, and best of luck to you.

Thank you very much.

 

Duke Football

California WR/DB Jonavaughn Williams has a Duke offer

Duke hopes to add another talented California WR in Jonavaughn Williams

With Duke’s prolific passing offense, it’s no surprise that the Blue Devils have had success recruiting and developing talented wide receivers in Durham, most notably All-ACC performers Eron Riley, Donovan Varner, and Conner Vernon. After adding California WR Blair Holliday in the class of 2011, the Blue Devils hope to continue that trend in the class of 2012, and have offered another top California receiver. Jonavaughn Williams is a 6’0” 197 pound WR/DB prospect from Jserra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, CA. As a junior, Williams caught 5 touchdowns and received All-Trinity League honors. Highlights of his junior year can be viewed here.

BDN: Can you start off by describing your strengths for fans who haven’t had a chance to see you play?

For DB, I’m bigger, I’m 6’0” and weight 197, so I’m bigger, which helps me fight with the bigger receivers that I play against. Also, the toughness that Jserra brings to the table for an athlete. Also, the league that I play in with Servite and Mater Dei and all these good schools out here, it definitely helps me mentally be a better player.

BDN: What are some of the things you have been working on this offseason?

Right now I’m working on my speed definitely, that’s the man thing I’m working on. I’ve been working in the sports lab at my school just stretching and getting a lot faster so that I can be prepared to compete at the college level.

BDN: What are your goals for yourself and your team for your senior season?

The goal for my senior season is to make the playoffs because we’re a relatively new school and we haven’t made the playoffs yet, so that’s a main goal for my team and I, to make the playoffs this year.

BDN: As you look at your college decision, what are the most important factors you are looking for in a school?

In a school, I’m definitely looking for location and the weather, but moreso for how they treat their athletes as far as housing and academics, tutoring, so academics is a big part, and that they treat you like a student, not just an athlete.

BDN: Which schools have you been in contact with the longest or most often?

I’ve been offered by four schools, and that’s Duke, Arizona State, Washington, and San Diego State, but I’ve been in contact with some smaller schools like Northern Arizona and a few smaller schools like that.

BDN: You mentioned location being important; do you have a preference to stay on the west coast?

Well, it doesn’t really matter to me, just wherever I feel comfortable. I just want to visit as many schools as I can so I can find out if I like the east coast or I like the west coast, or south or north, whichever place fits me the best.

BDN: Have you had a chance to make any visits or do you have any visits planned?

Definitely I have plans for visits. I’m trying to go up to Washington for their spring game and get out to Arizona State for their spring game. I went to a camp at UCLA and that campus was beautiful. I’ve been to San Diego State, competed at a couple tournaments there, and I’ve been at USC. All these schools are beautiful and nice, but I’ve just got to find my place.

BDN: Do you have any plans for east coast visits?

Yeah, they can be expensive, so I’m planning on my east coast visits for officials.

BDN: Do you have an idea for when you would like to make your final decision or how you would like to narrow your list down?

I’ll probably make a decision before the new year, definitely. I want it to be set in stone so I won’t have to worry about where I’m going to college. I just want to try and get out to as many schools as I can. I want to get it done before the new year, definitely.

BDN: Is there anything else that you think is important for college football fans to know about you?

About me personally, I work really hard, I’ve been competing very well, you have to work all year. Football in the summer,  getting up at 6:15 for football in the morning and then doing it again in the afternoon, it’s just a grind, but it’s finally paying off for me with these offers. I just have to put the work in to be successful.

BDN: Thanks a lot, Jonavaughn, and best of luck to you.

Thank you, sir.

 

Duke Football

TE Evan Baylis has a Duke offer, along with several west coast schools

Duke has offered top TE Evan Baylis

Tight end is a position that Coach Cutcliffe and Coach Middleton hope to develop into a consistent strength within the Duke offense. In the past few seasons, Duke has featured a dynamic group of tight ends, including Brett Huffman, Brandon King, and Cooper Helfet. The Blue Devils will add freshman David Reeves to the depth chart this fall, and are looking at several prospects in the class of 2012. Along with verbal commit Erich Schneider, Duke has offered top TE Evan Baylis. Baylis is a 6’6” 225 pound prospect from Aurora, Colorado. Highlights from his junior year can be viewed here.

BDN: Can you start off by describing your strengths for fans who haven’t had a chance to see you play?

I guess I’d have to say my footwork and feet for how tall I am. And my aggressiveness, maybe.

BDN: What are some of the things you have been working on this offseason?

Putting on some weight, I’ve actually gained 20 pounds and just adding some strength and speed.

BDN: What are your goals for yourself and your team for your senior season?

I want to go as far as we can in the playoffs, maybe win state if we can. For myself, I want to try and get All-State, I got honorable mention last year.

BDN: As you look at your college decision, what are the most important factors you are looking for in a school?

I’m looking at the tradition of the school, how well I get along with the coaches and the coaching staff, the campus, and how they use the tight ends in their offense.

BDN: Do you have a preference for a specific type of offense?

No, not really.

BDN: Which schools have you been in contact with the longest or most often?

Probably CU, Boise State, Michigan, Oregon, and Stanford.

BDN: Have you had a chance to visit any schools this spring?

I’ve been able to get out to CU, CSU, Boise State, Michigan, Oregon, and Stanford.

BDN: Do you have any other visits planned for this spring or summer?

None are planned, but I’m definitely going to try and see some other colleges, I’m not quite sure yet.

BDN: Do you have an idea for when you would like to make your final decision or how you would like to narrow your list down?

I definitely am going to want to make it before my senior year, probably sometime in the summer.

BDN: Have any schools stood out to you at this point in the process, either on your visits or through your contact with the coaches?

On all my visits, I’ve gotten along with the coaches really well with everything they’ve shown me is great. They’re all good choices and the coaches are all really nice, so it’s tough to choose.

BDN: Thanks a lot, Evan, and best of luck to you.

Alright, thank you.

 

Duke Football

Miami CB Larry Hope plans to visit all schools that have offered this summer

Duke has offered top Miami CB Larry Hope

While Duke worked hard to improve their defense on the field this spring, the coaching staff is also working hard to upgrade the defense with a talented group of prospects in the class of 2012. The Duke staff has targeted an elite group of defensive backs who already have received verbal scholarship offers from the Blue Devils, among several other top programs. The Blue Devils added a quality cornerback from Florida in the class of 2011 in Tim Burton, and hope to do the same in the class of 2012. One of the most recent prospects to pick up a verbal scholarship offer is Larry Hope, a 5’11” 167 pound prospect from Miami, Florida.

BDN: Can you start off by describing your strengths for fans who haven’t had a chance to see you play?

Well, I think, college coaches say they like about me is that I’m the best man-to-man coverage player that they’ve seen. I’m good for my height, I’m a very big player, strong and physical, and very fast. When it comes down to shutting down a receiver, I think I’m the guy. But I like my actions to speak for themselves.

BDN: What are some of the things you have been working on this offseason?

I’m working on getting stronger. I’m in the weight room every single day, even on weekdays, weekends I’m outside trying to get faster. We’re trying to get faster and stronger.

BDN: What are some of your goals for yourself and your team in your senior season?

As a team, I want to come together and bond so we can have a better year than last year and hopefully make it to the playoffs. Me, I just want to do what I’ve been doing, come out there and play my role as I’ve been doing.

BDN: As you look at your college decision, what are the most important factors you are looking for in a school?

I’m looking for a family bond and someone that can help me become a better player for the next level, because that’s what everybody wants to do. But I’m looking for a family bond, someone that’s like a father figure at college, and most of the colleges that I’ve been talking to that have offered me, has been that. They call me, I call them, and we talk on a daily basis, get that family bond. They mostly are defensive back coaches, and mostly played DB at the next level, so that’s what I’m looking for.

BDN: Which schools have you in contact with the most, and which schools have extended verbal offers?

I have seven offers from Wisconsin, Buffalo, Nebraska, USF, Louisville, Duke, and Kansas. West Virginia and Miami, Florida State, and Florida, they all want to come to my spring practice – Ole Miss and North Carolina are all coming to my spring practice, sometime around the first of May or the first week in May.

BDN: Have you had a chance to take any visits this spring?

In the summer I plan on visiting all the colleges that have offered me. When it comes to visits, so far I’ve visited Miami, Florida State, and Florida, and USF and UCF, and that’s it.

BDN: Have any schools impressed you or surprised you at this point in the process, either on your visits or your contact with coaches?

Well, no, all the colleges that have offered me are trying to impress me, so not yet.

BDN: Do you have an idea for how or when you would like to narrow your list of schools down and ultimately make a decision?

Me and my dad are weighing my options and just sitting back and relaxing. We’re trying to gain that bond, if I feel like I’m comfortable with a school, there’s no time limit on when I’ll decide.

BDN: Is there anything else you think is important for college football fans to know about you?

I feel like I’m more loyal to football now. Everything revolves around football and I’m working harder than I’ve ever been working, and I like what I’ve been seeing and I’m going to keep putting more into my craft.

BDN: Thanks a lot, Larry, and best of luck to you.

Alright, thanks a lot.