The Duke Blue Devils became the ninth school to offer junior quarterback Brock Berglund this past weekend. Berglund stands 6-4 and weighs in at 205 pounds making him a prototypical size for the position. Berguland is a Colorado native playing his high school football with Victory Christian. He grew up a Colorado Buffaloes fan but he recently claimed that other schools were in the running for his services. Among the schools that have offered are Colorado, Colorado State, Utah, Kansas and Kansas State. When Cutcliffe targets a signal caller he knows what he's looking for and Berglund has all the tools to be one of the nation's best. The Blue Devil Nation will have more on the latest offer later in the week.
Tag Archives: Football Recruiting News
Duke lands Offensive Guard Marcus Aprahamian
Marcus Aprahamian, a junior offensive guard from Brookfield, Wisconsin, committed to Coach Cutcliffe and the Duke Football Program this week and had the following to say to the Blue Devil Nation:
“I have been a Duke commit for almost a day now and still feel on top of the world.
For the last month I have been thinking about the offers I already had and the other schools that were still interested in me. I had already stopped sending out materials to some schools because I knew that, even if they offered me a scholarship, I would not select them over Duke. There were a couple of schools, including Stanford, that were interested and that I was still considering along with Duke. After considering the other options, however, I realized that Duke was just the right school for me.
I really like Coach Cutcliffe, Coach Luke and Coach Sarrett, the football program is on the rise, the academics are unbeatable, and just walking around the campus I got the feeling that Duke could most definitely be home for my future. I want to play for the team that rebuilds the program and brings an ACC championship to Duke.”
Welcome to the Duke family, Marcus!
Shaquille Love is on the Duke Radar
Shaquille Love is a 6’5” 270 pound defensive tackle from Harriman, Tennessee. Recruiting is starting to pick up for the Harriman Blue Devil lineman, and BDN recently spoke with Shaquille to check in on his process.
BDN: Can you briefly describe your game for us?
Love: My game is based on my speed and quickness. That’s what the coaches who have been recruiting me are telling me they love about me. I use my strength, too, but I rely on my speed.
BDN: What have you been working on as you head into your senior season?
Love: The two biggest things are my footwork and my strength. I want to help our team win a state championship. Individually, I just want to keep progressing, do better this year than last year.
BDN: Do you have any plans for visits or camps this summer?
Love: I’m still deciding on camps with my coach. I’ve taken a lot of unofficial visits this spring and want to sit down with my coach and decide on my camps and official visits.
BDN: What are you looking for in a college, and more specifically, a college football program?
Love: Really, it’s where I feel the most at home and the most welcome. I want to go where I can help the team the most, get a good education, and grow the most. Being part of a family is really the most important.
BDN: What schools are you currently considering?
Love: I have offers from Middle Tennessee, Memphis, Kentucky, and Duke. And I’ve heard from Arkansas, North Carolina – I just heard from them last week, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Illinois, and there are a few others I can’t think of right now. The Illinois thing is funny – they said I could say I have an offer, but they have to see me first, so I don’t actually have an offer from them yet.
BDN: What schools have you been able to visit so far?
Love: I visited Kentucky, Duke, Western Kentucky, and UT (Tennessee).
At UT, I watched a practice, but didn’t get to talk to the coaches. I got introduced to them, but didn’t talk to them. Coach (Jim) Chaney has been recruiting me pretty hard.
Duke was my first visit. I went up there with my coach, it’s about a six hour drive and we stayed overnight. We got up and saw their scrimmage and then toured around. At the end, I got to meet with Coach Cutcliffe and he offered me right then.
I went to Kentucky and saw the campus, visited with the coaches. Their program is really progressing. I met with their coach at the very end of my visit and he offered me then.
BDN: What is your timeline for making a decision?
Love: I am just waiting on the Lord to show me were to go, man.
BDN: Is there anything else you would like our members to know about you?
Love: Nope, I think that covers it.
BDN: Thanks so much for your time, Shaquille, and best of luck with your decision.
Love: Thank you and if you want another interview, please let me know.
Kyler Brown holds Duke offer but still looking
Kyler Brown is a 6’5” 215 pound junior out of Charlotte Christian High School in Charlotte, North Carolina. Duke football fans are familiar with the Brown family, as Kyler’s older brother, Kelby, will be joining the Duke program as a freshman linebacker this fall.
In his junior year, Kyler played on both sides of the ball, lining up as a defensive end and also as a wide receiver. Most college programs are looking at Kyler as a defensive player, but his quickness makes him an intriguing prospect at several potential positions. On defense, Kyler’s strengths are his ability to bring pressure off the sides and “use speed to attack the ball.” He currently runs about a 4.80 second 40-yard dash, but continues to work on his strength, speed, and hands going into his senior year. Kyler believes that his ability to use his hands is one of his strengths on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Off the field, Kyler describes himself as a “quiet guy,” but on the field, he is an enthusiastic competitor and a great teammate. Coming off of a 2009 NCISAA 3A Championship, Kyler and his senior class hope to win a state championship of their own in 2010. Individually, Kyler said it would be “awesome to get All-State or All-Conference,” but listed a state championship as his primary goal.
When approaching his college choice, Kyler is placing an emphasis on academics, as he knows that a college degree is a great “back-up plan if football doesn’t work out.” He’s also looking for a program that will develop him as a player and allow him to build strong relationships with the coaching staff.
To date, Kyler has received scholarship offers from Duke, East Carolina, and Illinois. He has been in close contact with coaches from Stanford, Oregon, Virginia, North Carolina, NC State, West Virginia, Vanderbilt, and Wake Forest. He is hopeful to receive additional scholarship offers this spring, and he noted the possibility of an offer from Oregon coming soon.
During his brother’s recruitment, Kyler was able to tour many top football programs around the country, but is now setting out on his own process. In the ACC, he’s been impressed by all four in-state programs, having visited Duke, North Carolina, NC State, and Wake Forest. Kyler described all four programs as “getting better” with “good coaching staffs.” He was impressed with North Carolina’s preseason ranking and noted the winning tradition being built at Wake Forest.
Kyler is finalizing plans for summer camps and hopes to make a decision before the start of his senior season, but is not opposed to waiting until after the fall to make a decision, if necessary. After not receiving much playing time early in his high school career, Kyler had a breakout junior season; with strong summer workouts and a standout senior year, more offers may be on the way. Though some might believe Duke would have a natural advantage because of the opportunity to play alongside his brother, it sounds like Kyler is looking to make his own college choice. Kyler described Duke as definitely a “program on the rise,” but he plans to evaluate all of his opportunities before making a commitment.
More of Watzone’s Monday Musings
The Duke Blue Devils continue to reap the rewards of being crowned national champions. The team will go to the White House to meet with President Obama soon and some of the players helped with the Jon Scheyer Foundation's May Madness Gaming event this past Saturday in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Kryzyzewski and Duke's National Championship is the gift that keeps on giving in so many ways.
As you know by now, recruiting never stops and the men's basketball staff is mapping out their plans for the coming summer months. The Duke staff are not allowed to attend events in May due to NCAA rules. Speaking of rules, the NCAA will decide the future of camps soon, so stay tuned for that. The consensus is that they will not allow events like The Tournament of Champions to be played on major college courts and or in venues. This would drastically change the landscape and many of the current tournaments could soon be a thing of the past.
Speaking of events, BDN's Andrew Slater took in some action at the Spiece Field House event in Fort Wayne, Indiana this past weekend and he will soon be reporting on what he saw with interviews and a analysis for BDN Premium members. The coverage will likely start some time tomorrow so check back in with BDN as we remain the most active Duke subscription site on the circuit.
For you recruitniks [not a real word butr appropriate] it's also worth noting that Nike has already started to roll with changes in their camp sessions. The most recent Boo Williams event was coined Nike EYBL Development camp and teams now play an even amount of games. In the past, the teams played to meet in a championship game. The verdict is still pending on whether or not people like the changes.
The Duke Football coaches have been out on the road as well and they'll now sit down to see which kids warrant an offer. Duke most recently signed an interior lineman in
You may have noticed that BDN's Patrick Cacchio has been interviewing football prospects and he will continue to serve in that role. He concentrated on the offensive line prospects the past couple of weeks and we'll switch gears to some skilled positions in the near future. BDN is dedicated in covering Duke Football as many of you already know, but we've amped up our recruiting coverage and for now, all of the articles are free. So, be sure to tell your friends that BDN is the place for football and we are certain our coverage of prospects will be just as good as our infamous basketball offerings.
I had a friend say the other day that he knew I had been busy going out on the road to cover an AAU event after following the team every step of the way to the national championship. "You must be glad to have some free time now," he said. I wish! BDN stays busy all year round with recruiting and we constantly strive to come up with off season articles of interest. We cover the Duke beat and more and by more we are the only subscription site to offer a ton of free articles to the Blue Devil Nation. In short, check in often in the coming months or you'll be missing a lot.
You may have noticed a bit of slow coverage of late, well, we had a lot of our key people in transit on way or the other and every now and then I try to sneak a couple of days in. The trouble with that is it never fails that something happens when I let my guard down, so not a lot of rest for the weary.
In closing this weeks Monday Musings, I want to thank the Blue Devil Nation for their support. You guys make us constantly want to improve our coverage and we are always open to suggestions provided they are grounded in reality;)
2011 Prospect Lucas Patrick Verbals to Duke
Lucas Patrick, a 6’4” 287 pound junior offensive guard from Brentwood, Tennessee, became the eighth commitment in the Blue Devils’ class of 2011. The Duke coaching staff received the good news while visiting Lucas at his school on Friday.
In 2009, Brentwood finished second in the Tennessean’s year-end mid-state poll, falling one game short of the state championship. Lucas received the team’s Junior Weight Room Award, anchoring an offensive line that helped senior RB Jeremy Coffey run for a school-record 1596 rushing yards.
On the field, Lucas says, “I like to be physical, come out and hit somebody.” With Brentwood’s option-style offense, Lucas is able to get downfield and make big blocks for the running game. He hopes that he is thought of as someone who “plays smart and is a team player.” For his senior year, Lucas is looking forward to becoming a leader on and off the field. “I want to get the best out of my teammates and be someone who makes them work,” he said. With Lucas leading the offensive line in the option-style attack, Brentwood has their sights set on a state championship in 2010.
Prior to his commitment to Duke, Lucas received interest from Cincinnati, Vanderbilt, Virginia, and Tennessee, and also held offers from Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky, Memphis, and Arkansas. This spring, Lucas enjoyed visits to Duke, Cincinnati, and Vanderbilt.
During his visit to Duke, Lucas came away most impressed by the Duke players. “The players did not hesitate to talk with me, they didn’t even wait for a coach to introduce us. They came up and talked to me on the sidelines during practice.”
Lucas said that he definitely intends to attend Duke’s summer camp and has informed other coaches that he is solid in his commitment to the Blue Devils.
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