BDN caught up to former Duke quarterback Thaddeus Lewis, who spoke of his young career with the St. Louis Rams, Duke Football, the NFL lockout, Sean Renfree and Duke Hoops. Lewis, who has been working out at Duke, was the back up quarterback for the Rams in his rookie season.
Many consider the strength of Duke’s last recruiting class to be the offensive line, led by Cody Robinson, Marcus Aprahamian, Lucas Patrick, and Matt Skura. Coach Luke and the staff would love to add a few more impact linemen to the roster in the class of 2012, but it’s been a slow start at the position so far. With camp season in full swing, recruiting has picked up quickly, and Duke has extended offers to a number of top offensive linemen across the country, and some close to Durham. One of the top linemen in the state of North Carolina resides in Southern Pines, and 6'3" 285 pound prospect Bryce Kennedy added a Blue Devil offer to his list a few weeks ago.
BDN: Can you start off by describing your strengths for fans who haven’t had a chance to see you play?
My biggest thing is I’m fast for my size, I get off the ball pretty quick, so I think that’s my biggest strength.
BDN: What are some of the things you have been working on this spring?
Trying to get stronger, I’m in the weight room a lot, doing a lot of weights. I’ve started the speed process, I’m doing less weights, a lot of reps, trying to get faster for the season.
BDN: What are your goals for your senior year?
My senior year I plan on giving my all, making plays, helping my team out, and I hope my team takes after me and gives it their all.
BDN: As you look at your college decision, what are the most important factors you are looking for in a school?
Main thing I’m looking for is if they have a good program in academics. I’m big on academics and my mom is too, so I know she’s going to want me to go to a school that’s big on academics.
BDN: Is there a particular academic program you’re interested in studying?
Not right now, I’m still looking around, but I mean schools like Duke and [North] Carolina, top academic schools.
BDN: What schools have you been in contact with the most?
South Carolina, East Carolina, NC State has been by. Clemson has been by, North Carolina by, and Duke has been by. I think that’s been about it. Wake Forest has been by. The schools I’ve been to already has been South Carolina, Duke, and North Carolina and I’m going to NC State this weekend or next weekend. Oh yeah, Stanford came by, too.
BDN: That was going to be my next question. How did your visits go to South Carolina, Duke, and North Carolina?
They’re all great, they’re all great schools. From what I saw, they’re all just great schools and would be great places to go to school.
BDN: Do you have any visits planned for this summer other than NC State?
I plan on going to Stanford this summer and Wake Forest and probably East Carolina. I’ll probably go back to South Carolina, Duke, and UNC too.
BDN: Have any schools stood out to you at this point in the process, either from your visits or your relationships with the coaches?
They’re all new to me, so they’ve all really, really, really surprised me. South Carolina, I know the coaches a lot, I know the OLine coach since I’ve been a freshman he’s been there and what type of guy he is. I like Duke and [North] Carolina a lot because of the campuses and I know how the academics are. I’ve talked to the coaches a lot and they seem like good coaches to have, like they’d be there for me and everything.
BDN: Do you have an idea for how you would like to narrow things down and make your decision?
Yeah, I’m going to talk to my parents about and see what schools are at the top.
BDN: Is there anything else you think is important for college football fans to know about you?
The only thing that’s really important to me is that I’m going to give my all on every play, I’m going to be there to support my team, and I’m a player that they can count on.
BDN: Thanks a lot, Bryce, and best of luck to you.
Alright, thank you sir.
The Duke coaching staff has been scouting the country in search of players to help improve the Blue Devil defense, but they have been focused on an in-state linebacker for several months now. Keilin Rayner is a 6’3” 220 pound linebacker prospect from Leland, North Carolina. As a junior, Keilin played primarily defensive end, helping North Brunswick HS to the state playoffs and a 5-7 overall record. The Duke coaching staff would love to add Rayner to the class of 2012 at linebacker, where he could make an early impact for the Blue Devils. Highlights from Keilin's junior year can be viewed here. Duke and ECU were the first two programs to offer a scholarship to Rayner, whose recruitment has taken off this spring. When BDN last spoke with Keilin, Duke was a program that had impressed him, but with over half a dozen offers now, where do the Blue Devils stand?
BDN: What coaches have stopped by to see you this spring?
Pretty much all of them, Clemson, Maryland, Virginia Tech, [NC] State, [North] Carolina, ECU, and Wake Forest came by.
BDN: When we last spoke Duke and ECU were the first two schools to offer you; what other schools have offered you this spring?
[North] Carolina, [NC] State, Duke, ECU, Wake, Clemson, South Carolina, Florida International, I think that’s about it.
BDN: Which schools have you visited so far?
I didn’t get to visit any this spring, but previously I visited ECU, [NC] State, and Duke. I’m hoping to visit [North] Carolina maybe next week.
BDN: Do you have plans for any other visits this summer?
Maybe some camps, but other than that I don’t know yet.
BDN: With recruiting picking up for you, what are your thoughts for when you want to narrow things down and make your decision?
I would like to visit all the schools that have offered me and some other schools that haven’t, probably make my decision later after I’ve visited.
BDN: Which schools or coaches do you feel like you have the best relationship with?
Coach Cutcliffe and Coach Luke from Duke.
BDN: What are your plans for the summer?
Just work out, pretty much.
BDN: That’s great, I know you mentioned you would be playing more linebacker this fall, what kind of things have you been working on?
A lot of coaches said to work on my hip flexibility and getting off the ball, working on that.
BDN: Thanks a lot, Keilin, and best of luck.
Thank you.
The Duke staff continues to work hard on the class of 2012 and are excited to add the 6th commitment today in DE Carlos Wray. Wray informed the Duke coaching staff of his decision this morning and becomes the second defensive line commit along with DE Allen Jackson in the class of 2012. Wray is a 6’2½” 250 pound standout from Shelby, North Carolina. As a junior, he helped Shelby to a 9-6 overall record, totaling 78 tackles, 14 sacks, and forcing 3 fumbles on the year. Wray chose the Blue Devils over offers from Ball State, East Carolina, Minnesota, Wake Forest, and VMI, and had interest from Clemson, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and UNC.
Check back with BDN for more from the newest Blue Devil!
This spring, the Duke coaching staff has been scouting the country for the best defensive talent in the class of 2012, and they found an outstanding linebacker prospect in the state of California. Jeremiah Allison is a 6’1” 210 pound linebacker prospect from Dorsey High School in Los Angeles. The Blue Devils have had recruiting success on the west coast, bringing QB Brandon Connette, TE Cooper Helfet, WR Blair Holliday, and current 2012 LB commit Deion Williams to Durham in recent years. They hope that trend continues with Allison, who has received a verbal scholarship offer from Duke, along with Boise State, Colorado State, Nevada, SMU, and UCLA. As a junior, Allison was first team all-state, all-city, and all-league, totaling 88 tackles and 24 sacks. A standout both on the field and in the classroom, Allison is the prototypical play-making defender the Blue Devils are looking for in the class of 2012.
BDN: Can you start out by describing your strengths as a player?
Some of my strengths are that I’m a student of the game, I always want to learn more about the game. I’m very competitive and I’m able to get to the quarterback quite well. I’m always going one hundred miles per hour, and I never dwell on a bad play, I just try to move on to the next play.
BDN: What are some of the things you have been working on this spring?
I’m playing outside linebacker and I’m working on a lot of coverage, that’s a big key that I’ve been working on. Of course, you know, I can get around the corner and get to the quarterback, but the main priority is covering, so I’ve been working on that a lot.
BDN: What are your goals for yourself and for your team in your senior year?
Of course a championship, I want to bring a championship back to Dorsey. I want to break the sack record, which is 26. I came 6 short, well actually 2 because I had half-sacks. I want to make sure my teammates around me are able to get into colleges, so I just want to make sure we have an all-around great season.
BDN: What are the most important factors you’re looking for in a college?
Of course academics, with me being a 4.25 [GPA] student, I really stress the importance of education. The name of the player is a student-athlete, so being a student is a really big priority, and the college education is really big as well. So I’m really going to focus on education when I pick a college.
BDN: You mentioned academics as important to you; is there a particular field you are interested in studying?
Right now I’m thinking of two. Either going into law, because I love to debate and I feel that no one can beat me in a debate, or also anesthesiology. I really became fond of science so I’m thinking of going into medicine.
BDN: What schools have you had the most contact with this spring?
They’re all basically the same. They all contact me around the same amount. All the schools have really reached out to me.
BDN: Which schools have you had a chance to visit so far?
I took two unofficial visits – I took three actually. I took one to Stanford, one to Cal, one to UCLA...and one to USC. I went to Stanford for a Nike camp, but we ended up going up the day before for their Junior Day. And I went to UC Berkeley with one of my friends for their Junior Day, and of course UCLA and USC are right in my backyard so they’re easy campuses to reach.
BDN: Do you have any plans to visit some of the schools that are farther away?
Most definitely, I do have plans to visit schools away from California just so I can get a feel for the other aspects of America.
BDN: Do you have an idea for how you want to narrow things down and make a final decision?
Right now I just want to get the season started and see how we progress as a team. If our season is running smoothly, and I don’t have a lot of things on my plate, I’ll be able to get more into the college recruiting process and sitting down and thinking about where I want to go. But if the team depends on me to help them out with anything, I’m going to really focus on the team because for us seniors, this is our last shot.
BDN: Is there anything else that you think is important for college football fans to know about you?
One thing, the people who are going to be helping me make my decision are my Coach Lonnie Pumphrey and Coach Knox and my mother and my grandmother. And I just cherish the game of football, every time I go out there I’m trying to get better and I’m always trying to uplift my teammates and do the right thing.
BDN: Thanks a lot, Jeremiah, and best of luck to you.
Alright, thanks.
Free Football Friday! We’re having so much fun building our football coverage here at BDN, we thought we’d share with the whole class this week. In case you have been living under a rock, BDN is quickly becoming the place for the best Duke Football coverage around. We follow recruiting all offseason with prospect interviews, commitment stories (yeah, we broke the last three commitments, but who’s counting?), and we’re the only site that’s with the team all season long. Football Friday is our weekly look inside the world of Duke Football, so let’s get after it.
One for the thumb
The Duke class of 2012 is up to five, after the commitment of WR Max McCaffrey earlier this week. Needless to say, the Duke staff is thrilled to add McCaffrey to the Blue Devil family. Max is the son of former NFL Pro Bowl receiver Ed McCaffrey, the nephew of former Duke men’s basketball player Billy McCaffrey, and the grandson of former Duke great Dave Sime. Max’s younger brother, Christian, is also a star at Valor Christian, defending back-to-back Colorado State Champions.
Preseason prognosticating
It’s the time of year when everyone gets to be an expert in college football. The 2011 preview publications are hitting newsstands and dozens of websites are publicizing their own predictions. Coming off a 3-win season, most of the prognosticators are not predicting a bowl for the Blue Devils in 2011, with many picking Duke to finish last in the ACC Coastal Division. Duke has a tough schedule in front of them this year, but a young and hungry team that is more than capable of winning ball games. We’ll have our full predictions in the coming weeks as the season approaches.
Kelby Brown preparing to lead Duke defense
Most of the aforementioned prognosticators have pointed to the ACC-worst Duke defense as the biggest concern for the 2011 Blue Devils, and it’s no secret. Duke has question marks on the defensive side of the ball, especially up front, where only a handful of upperclassmen return. The Duke linebackers should be led by a healthy Kelby Brown in 2011, who will be joined by his younger brother Kyler Brown. ESPN’s Heather Dinich caught up with Kelby this week, who sounds ready to bring some swagger back to the Duke defense.
Football camp kicks off next week
Duke will host dozens of high school prospects next week for the first of two one-day summer football camps. One-day camps have historically been a great chance for prospects to impress coaches and earn additional offers, and you can bet that BDN will bring you the best coverage possible from Duke’s camps this year.
Recruiting #SCOOP
You know we always save the best for last here at Football Friday, even when it’s free. Duke hosted California WR Justin Johnson on an unofficial visit today, and he had the following to say to the Blue Devil Nation:
The visit was great. I loved the campus, I love the way they have their academics set up to assit the football players. I just think it’s an all-around great school. I got a chance to check out all the facilities from the weight room to the locker room to the field and got a chance to see the new indoor practice field in the making. I met Coach Cutcliffe and I think he’s an awesome coach and I love his passion for the game. At the end I got a chance to check out the Duke annual sale and bought a lot of gear. Commitment is on my mind and may be done soon.
Needless to say, check back with BDN over the weekend for the latest from Justin on his visit and his decision. Have a great week – WE ARE DUKE!
You must be logged in to post a comment.