Tag Archives: Coach Cutcliffe

Duke Football

Duke Football Practice Report #7 Cutcliffe talks defense and more

[private]The Blue Devil Nation was once again on the scene for today's practice where Coach Cutcliffe took the time to give us a synopsis of the practice.

Coach Cutcliffe on today's practice- We had our second day in a row of physical practice in preparation for James Madison. I think we are on pace. We'll pick back up next week. Tomorrow we'll have a workout that's dedicated to the kicking game ... all phases and aspects. So we will cover every situation. I don't like putting a team out on a field when they haven't been put through every situation that can arise in a ball game. Coach Middleton and I met kind of late last night and developed a nice script. So we will add some strong meeting time and get that worked out. We'll do some heavy physical conditioning in the morning and we'll be ready to start game week on Sunday.

On the defense- I think there is a significant difference in our linebacker play because of our speed. Vinnie and Mike have totally different body types than they had a year ago. I think Coach Hobby has the defensive line playing really hard. I'm concerned about our depth there. Charlie Hatcher has put himself in a position to really help inside. Ayanga and Egboh are showing progress outside. I'm real pleased with the secondary. The consistency has been good, the tackling has been good. They're liking the tighter coverage ... the press coverage. There getting use to it now, it's fun to watch it work. I'm pleased, but the biggest concern I have with this football team is injuries. Knock on wood, we've been relatively injury free on defense and we need to stay that way.[/private]

Duke Football

“Meet the Devils” Photo Gallery

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The Blue Devil Nation strives to bring the best coverage available for Duke Football and Basketball.  Here is another photo gallery which features the festivities of the Meet the Blue Devils Day (be sure to click Meet the Blue Devils to view the gallery) where fans gathered for autographs from players and coaches.  Among the pictures are Coach Cutcliffe's SEC Western Division Champions ring and a more personal look at the new staff.

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Duke Football

Practice Report #4 – Duke holds scrimmage

Today's Duke scrimmage started with a penalty, but as the session went on, some positives emerged. 

Quarterback situation -  It has become obvious that Zack Asack will push Thadeus Lewis which is a good thing in that competition generally makes for a better starter.  Lewis was 9 of 13 for 92 yards.  He showed accuracy and stayed in the pocket.  Asack wasn't nearly as accurate going 6-14 for 67 yards.  However, one of those passes was for a T.D.  He also had 4 carries for 55 yards thanks to one big play.  If he can get a little better with his footwork and confidence in the pocket, he will be a nice dual threat.

Running Backs- Duke lacked depth at this position coming into the season.  It has gotten worse.  Boyette was penciled in as the starter but is out indefinitely.  To make matters worse, Clifford Harris is nursing an unknown knee problem and sat out the scrimmage.  Cameron Jones had a nice 35 yard burst on one play.  Jay Holligsworth a true freshman got some reps as well gaining a team 54 yards high on 10 carries.  Tony Jackson added 5 totes for 22 yards and Patrick Kurunwune, another freshman rolled off some blocks well with a couple of runs.  The team was better hitting the holes on the outside than the interior.

Tight Ends- In another depth challenged position, Tielor Robinson could be a go to guy.  He had 2 catches for 11 yards.  Brett Huffman also contributed with a couple of nice catches.  Brandon King is still sidelined and there is no timeline established for his return.

Receivers- A relatively quiet day for Riley who played sparingly.  Raphael Chestnut had 2 catches for 18 yards.  Jeremy Ringfield had an 18 yard scoring reception.  There were a couple of single catches as well.

Offensive Line- The team mixed and matched some linemen today in an effort to get players acclimated to playing together.  Upper class men played well.  They held up more often than not, but sometimes missed assignments which led to the QB.  Of course, this could also be blamed on the backs who may have missed their assignments.

Defense- Eddie Morgan (S) recovered a fumble and fellow safety Adrian Aye-Darko had an interception.  I focused mainly on the offense today.

Kicking Game-  Before the scrimmage, I saw some pretty good punts which showed increased hang time from last season.  During the scrimmage, Surgan continued his struggles from last season, missing one long field goal and a short one.  In fact, Cutcliffe as promised went for two on one XP situation and it was converted where Tony Jackson ran it into the end zone.

Freshman watch - Jay Hollingsworth averaged over 5 YPC today.  Also, Johnny Williams has really impressed me so far.  You can bet that freshmen will play big roles in the running game.

Cut Quotes -  Overview of the scrimmage - "I think we got what we wanted out of this scrimmage.  We had some two minute drills which were pretty dynamic.  We got some goal line work, we got a lot of third down work.  The offense took the ball right down the field making big plays but they turned it over in a forced error by the defense.  One big glaring thing right now is we've got to find somebody to run the football."

On current running backs - "Tony Jackson hasn't had a lot of practice at running back, because I moved him in spring practice from defense.  Jay Hollingsworth, Patirck Kurunwune and Cameron Jones are behind that, but nobody at this point has asserted itself.  So, I am kind of scouring the team looking at every situation to try to find help in that position."

On injuries - "I just don't dwell on injuries in football.  It's an unhealthy thing to do and I learned that early in my career.  We won't ever do that as a team."

On Vince Oghobasse - "Vince is a very talented player that was injured after he came.  When we came, to be quite honest with you, he wasn't in good enough shape to play like I think the guy can play.  He's now coming around.  Conditioning is a little challenging for him with his health status, bet he's coming around to becoming a pretty disruptive football player.  I'm real anxious to see what kind of year he has."

On the quarterbacks- "Thad has his best day today.  He's really done a good job getting a grasp of the offense.  His conditioning level is way beyond what it was.  Zack has shown he can make big plays.  What Zack has to do is show me more consistency in managing the offense and putting guys in the right place and more consistent running the football.  He's very capable of doing that."

Duke Football

What they’re saying about Coach Cutcliffe

[private]The final tour stop on the Cutcliffe Express stopped at Tyler's Tap House where Coach  Cutcliffe addressed aproximately 250 Iron Dukes.  He  later threw out the first pitch during the Durham Bulls game.  We'll have an in depth article up tomorrow where you will hear all the positive things said. So be sure to check back.   During the event, I was able to talk to some Duke players and fans.  Here is what they had to say about David Cutcliffe -

Hal McElhaney (Former Duke Football Great)- I've been to practice sessions all spring and observed his coaching style.  There is so much familiarity in the ways he does things to Coach (Bill) Murray that it's scary.  I think Coach Cutcliffe is what I term a throwback.  He grew up under the Bear Bryant regime and there is a lot of style in him.  I know we are going to improve.  I will guarantee you we will improve.  He's such a methodical well planned thinker.  He's demanding, he's tough, he's kind of ornery, but he also puts his arms around a player.  I have a tough time tempering my excitement. 

Bob Harris (Voice of the Blue Devils) - I have been on the tour with Coach Cutcliffe and he's got people interested and excited about Duke Football again.  Listening to him talk, you can see just how committed he is and how much he believes they're going to win.  He's the ninth head coach that I've worked with and only two others have been a head coach prior to coming to Duke.  David brings a pedigree that none of the others can touch.  The job he did at Mississippi, going to four straight bowl games which is phenomenal.  I'm not predicting anything like that for Duke but he will have them much better quicker some might think.  I'm excited about the way he does things, the way he conducts himself and the changes within the team in the short time he has been here.

Roger Neighborgall (Former Duke Quarterback 72-75)- Coach Cutcliffe is going to focus the kids priorities.  That's very important at Duke.  In the past they have put their focus in a lot of different directions.  These kids are going to know they have a proven winner.  I liked that he mentioned faith and family as two of the key points.  What Coach Cutcliffe was saying is that he is going to respect which ever faith you may bring to the table or encourage you to have some kind.

Don Fowler (Former Duke Baseball Player)- What has most impressed me is that Coach Cutcliffe has figured out that there are kids in North Carolina that can play.  As a North Carolina native that played at Duke I know the importance of having in state kids.  I like that he said he was going to be out there visiting every town and getting to know the coaches.

Don McClintock (Fan from Durham)-  He's doing exactly what I think needs to happen.  There has to be a change of culture and that's exactly what he is trying to instill.  We're excited ... all of my family has tickets and we are looking forward to go watch Duke play.  Obviously, the Duke fans want to win, but they really just want to see a good brand of Duke Football.  If they win they're going to be really excited.  If they don't win and play a good brand of football, that'll be okay in that they understand it's going to take a little while to get it turned around.

Stan Ellis (A fan from Durham)- I think its great having Coach Cutliffe at the helm.  It's motivating and that's something that Duke has lacked for a long time.  I've been going to Duke Football games all my life and it's good to see someone come in that can motivate and get them back to where they use to be.  I invite all Duke fans to "Charlies," a Duke friendly place.

Check back in for the best Duke Football coverage on the web. Oh! And since Charlie's was mentioned I have to plug my bud Gene Devines place, Devines.[/private]

Duke Football

Duke Football Practice Report #2 – First Unit Offensive Line Pleases Cutcliffe

[private]Coach Cutcliffe sang the praise of the number one offensive line unit on Wednesday evening.  “It was good to put the pads on where we could get some work on the line of scrimmages with the offensive line against the defensive line.  It really starts telling the tale of who is ready to play,” said Coach Cutcliffe.  He continued, “I was encouraged by the offensive lin in our inside running drills today.  It was the best I’ve seen them play since spring.”

“Get up, get up, get up!,” echoed in the background from various parts of the field as dusk closed in on Duke Football’s third practice of the season.  In short, when a player hit the turf, they we immediately encouraged to get up so that they could still make the play.  “One of our rules is to treat the ground like a hot stove.  Nobody has ever won a football game laying on the ground.  I think it’s critical that our guys understand.  That’s how we play football, we’re back on our feet.  That’s the biggest emphasis we have right now, that everybody get back on their feet, stay on their feet and keep moving.  There is an old saying I like from the years I heard from old Jim Neyland, “No feet, defeat,” and I think that’s very true in football.  If you don’t have good feet you’re gonna get beat.”

With regards to the passing game, Cutcliffe stated, “We have miles to go, but we are making a lot of progress in throwing and catching the ball route running and understanding spacing versus zone and separation versus man.”  Coach then said that they had slowed the process down and got back into the teaching mode saying,  “We don’t want the cart to get ahead of the horse trying to do too much.”  This was in reference to similar mistakes this unit had been making in Spring ball which once again caught his watchful eye.  He also mentioned that the receivers were starting to learn how to separate and that the quarterbacks were starting to play a little faster saying, “It’s a fast mans game and we’ve got to get to that point.”

While a lot of the focus has been on the offense, it’s defense that often wins you the ball game.  “I see our defense managing our zone blitz game and disguises.  You can tell they’ve done a lot of group and individual work on it,” said Cutcliffe.

Notes- Much like Coach K, Cutcliffe is active when talking about changes he feel will help the college game.  He feels there should be some sort of exhibition game in order to work out the kinks, stating the NFL got four games to work with.  He also talked of some rule changes which I will elaborate on later.  A couple of freshman caught my eye and it is being discussed on the BDN Premium Message Board.  Tielor Robinson is running with the tight ends.  There is no word on the status of Brandon King.  Coach Cutcliffe will be speaking at Tyler’s Tap House in Durham tomorrow with tickets still available.[/private]

Duke Football

BDN’s Duke Football Practice Report #1 (corrected)

[private]Duke Football held their second practice of the season last evening and it was evident that some changes have been made. I’ve been going to practices for many years having seen every coach run their version since Mike McGee. Wallace Wade would often be right beside me, yet he never commented but so much. There was one exception which was Red Wilson’s 1981 season which was the last time Duke beat Virginia Tech on a Dennis Tabron interception. Wade stated, “now that’s good football,” after a play fake which resulted in a forty yard scamper by the tailback.

I couldn’t help but wonder what Wade might have said about David Cutcliffe. Wade of course coached Alabama before coming to Duke and Cutcliffe graduated from ‘Bama in 1976. While Wade was a man of few words at practices, he always had that “legend” thing going on, where he commanded attention. It got to the point where I could almost tell when he was not impressed by reading his facial expression and there were quite a few times when he must have been thinking what happened to the once proud tradition that was Duke Football.

A lot has changes since the days when Wade stalked the sidelines, but good football is still good football. Wade always talked about protecting the ball and the advantage of a good kicking game. He would often crack a slight grin watching Scott McKinney nail field goals on a consistent basis in 1981.

Well, Coach Cutcliffe preaches ball protection too. And he also knows how important the kicking game is for Duke this coming season. I couldn’t help but gravitate towards the kickers where I watched the footwork of Joe Surgan and incoming freshman Paul Asack. Cutcliffe most recently stated that he would go for extra points if their wasn’t significant improvement.

That is but one of the concerns the new staff will address. North Carolina is known for it’s sometime schizophrenic weather and on this evening, the humidity increased as the night went on. So, did the intensity of the pace which ended with the dreaded one legged suicides while pulling a significant amount of weight.

The practice seemed much more uniform than last season. Players would run to their stations and if they let up, a coach was sure to be in their ear. In fact, watching Coach Middleton at work broght back memories of old school discipline. Middleton is an imposing figure that will not hesitate to tell a player what he feels. During one drill with the tight ends he let one player know that his intensity was as soft as, well, you get the idea.

Watching the intensity of Vince Oghobasse and others on the defensive front was a refreshing sight. It was nice to see Ayanga Okpokowuruk return to his natural position of defensive end as well. No matter where you looked, each coach was focused and on the same page. Simply put, there is more organization.

Cutcliffe lets his coaches do a lot of the work. He will float from offense to defense, from lineman to backs, letting them know what he expects. Cutcliffe will insist certain plays are run over again or that an individual players take more reps.

The team as a whole looks svelte. They are not that imposing physically on the whole, but they are in good shape. Duke will employ new schemes which will require mobility and of course the emphasis has been on being fresh in the fourth quarter since Spring.

Cutcliffe mentioned that he was anxious to see what the team carried over from the Spring and his reaction was mixed. “I thought our team was fresher from start to finish tonight,” said Coach when comparing it to the first nights practice. He was ready to get off the field and get right into watching the tape. “Okay, let’s make it quick, I have work to do,” he bellowed as print media gathered after and extended local TV piece.

The work ethic was also mentioned again by Senior leader Eron Riley, “We worked really hard in the off season conditioning wise. We made it through practice, we’re tired but we are making it through it. We need to be more consistent, but we’ve got good work in the last two days.” Riley was gasping for breath having just completed the aforementioned suicides to close Duke’s second practice.

Cutcliffe mentioned that he felt there was balance to the practice and that he would have to look at tape to reaffirm that. “We really went back and focused on fundamentals on both sides of the ball which I think payed dividends,” he said. After watching the first nights tapes he mentioned, “We were making some of the same mistakes that we made in Spring. We can’t go another day making the same mistakes.”

Cutcliffe also mentioned that he threw in some unexpected changes on both sides of the ball to keep the team on it’s toes. he then segued into the secondary after being questioned about it. “I think we’ve really gotten off to a good start. We talked about it as a staff this morning … Coach Jones and Coach McIntyre. We’ve got to get settled, Glen Williams is a good cog. We are trying to get the best four or five on the field. We are not a team that’s afraid to play nickel and dime and getting our best guys in the game for we want our speed on the field.”

He went on to sing the praises of Leon Wright who had a good start. He also mentioned that he wanted to become more physical and consistent at safety, then mentioning Catron Gainey.

The Blue Devil Nation will continue it’s coverage of practice and we have plenty of notes and quote which we will share in the coming days. If you are a football fan, be sure to check in often and get an almost daily fix of information and analysis.

Pictures - (1) Coach Cutcliffe instructs Patrick Egboh, (2) there will be a battle foe the place kicking job. Joe Surgin looks on with freshman Paul Asack looming over his shoulder, (3) Coach Middleton is all business when running drills, (4) Vince Oghobasse shows off his quickness after trimming down in the off season. No reproductions are allowed without prior permission from BDN staff.

**- My faulty memory was off six years on Wade in the original print :)[/private]