Tag Archives: Duke Football

Duke Football

Coach Cutcliffe pleased with progress during scrimmage

DURHAM - The Duke Blue Devils held their final viewable scrimmage before the season opener with Elon last evening and BDN took in the action catching up with Coach Cutcliffe for his comments.  There were lots of fireworks on offense where several players made big plays,  Cutcliffe talks of this and development of young players and much more in this informative two part interview.

Part One -

And be sure to catch part two where Cutcliffe talks about August Campbell, the offensive line, depth, Josh Snead's long T.D. run, the backup quarterback and more -

Duke Basketball, Duke Football

Monday Musings – Pro Am, Football Practice and more

Kyrie Irving, pixbyrick.com/BDN

There is always a lot going on if you cover Duke Athletics and as a busy summer around here gives way to September, Duke Football hits the field.  In fact, they hold their first practice this evening where Coach David Cutcliffe will continue to work on getting the Blue Devils to a bowl game.

Duke is picked fifth by the ACC media in their division which features in my opinion, the four best teams.  In fact all of the teams ahead of Duke are ranked in the season's first Top 25 poll.  Before Duke worries about Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Miami, they will focus on the business at hand which is the opener against Elon.

They will then turn their attention to an early season ACC battle on the road at Wake Forest before coming home to face the nation's number one team in Alabama who returns a ton of talent including last years Heisman Tropy winner Mark Ingram.

BDN will attend practices to bring you our usual coverage, so if you are a football fan be sure to bookmark the Blue Devil Nation.

John Wall and company fall to  Wheel Chair All Stars

Where else can one find the NBA's number one draft pick, John Wall playing hoops in a wheel chair?  The answer is at the N.C. Pro Am, an event that wrapped up another strong season this past Sunday

Wall was unable to participate in a real game due to contractual obligations with the Washington Wizards but he told BDN that he wanted to see what it was like to play without the use of his legs to give him a better understanding of the plight some must go through.

Area participants filled the wheel chair game earlier and Wall joined C.J. Leslie and others to take on the all stars from the first contest.  Several crowd pleasing moments ensued, bringing some light moments.  In the end, Wall and company shot all clankers and were handed a 15-0 loss.

Also there promoting his foundation, Rodney Rodgers, the former Wake Forest star and Durham native spoke to the crowd about his hope to walk again against all odds.  Rodgers was also able to shed light on his foundation which can be found on line by a simple google search for those interested in supporting his cause.

Blue Devils solid at the Pro Am

We'll touch on the N.C. Pro Am's final day a bit here, but an article will follow.  In short, all of the Blue Devils had their moments in the event and we will break down our thoughts on each player in the coming week and talk of off season improvements.  BDN has covered this event since it's inception and will continue to for we feel it is a very positive and good experience for Triangle area fans.

Recruiting

We will focus on Duke Football recruiting more and more now that the dust has cleared on a few things we have been working on behind the scenes.  Cutcliffe and company have the bulk of their allotment filled but there are some key recruits we'll keep an eye on down the stretch.

Basketball is on somewhat of a hold with Coach Krzyzewski and Chris Collins doing duty for Team USA.  Of course, Duke's Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith are with them for now in New York but they will return in a week or so, yet the coaches will be gone another month or so.

As for the Austin Rivers watch, I can tell you that he will not do a thing before the Duke coaches return, so the daily watch to see what he eats for breakfast to provide a sign is fruitless.  We will have an interview up shortly with Amile Jefferson to update his recruitment and will have more on other targets as well.

Vincent Rey makes his mark with the Bengals

Duke will sorely miss linebacker Vincent "Vinnie" Rey this coming season but the Devils loss could be the Bengals gain.  Rey had five tackles in Cincinnati's 16-7 loss to the Cowboys in the NFL's pre season opener.  BDN will keep an eye on his play as the pres season progresses.

Video coming to BDN

We wanted to refine things a bit before we moved into video and in the coming months you will get a taste of vids BDN style.  We are in negotiations with three different service and will inform you when the dust clears.

In closing ...

I admittedly am not a big fan of sites like Bleacher Report where anybody off the streets can pen something good or bad on their team.  Most of the time little research is done on these sites and opinion is often stated as fact, but I think Justin McTeer is the exception and he has a nice piece up on Seth Curry so check it out here.

We'd also like to encourage Duke fans to visit Duke Update and Duke Report, two solid link sites for all things Duke.  Duke Update is one of the original Duke Sites on the net where Jason D'Amico works it as a labor of love not taking one dime from advertising.  Duke Report is the new kid on the block, but they do a great job as well and BDN enjoys working with these two sites. 

 
 

 

Duke Football

Optimism Surrounds Duke Football

Optimism surrounds Duke Football as the third season under Coach David Cutcliffe is set to commence. The Blue Devils will take to the practice field on Monday having won nine football games in Cutcliffe's first two seasons, an accomplishment which may not impress a casual observer, but for a program which won only eight games over the five seasons prior to Cutcliffe's arrival, it signifies significant progress toward reestablishing pride in a program which has deep historical success.

Duke has played in eight bowl games including six New Year's Day games between 1939 and 1961 (actually two of the games were played on January 2nd). Those six New Year's Day bowl appearances include two trips to the Rose Bowl and Orange Bowl, and one trip to the Sugar Bowl and Cotton Bowl. Duke achieved a 2 - 4 record in those six games:

- Rose Bowl (January 2, 1939): Wallace Wade's famed Iron Dukes enter the game against Southern California undefeated, untied, and unscored upon. Duke holds a slim 3-0 lead when the Trogans scored on an 18 yard pass with 40 seconds left in the game to secure a 7-3 victory.

- Rose Bowl (January 1, 1942): The game is played at Durham Stadium (renamed Wallace Wade Stadium in 1967), due to a ban on large crowds on the West Coast, in the aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor less than a month earlier. Oregon State defeats Duke 20-16 in a thrilling game before 56,000 spectators.

- Sugar Bowl (January 1, 1945): Coach Eddie Cameron's Blue Devils roll up 336 yards of rushing in a 29-26 victory for the Southern Conference Champions over the Alabama Crimson Tide.

- Orange Bowl (January 1, 1955): Returning to bowl action, after a 10 year absence, ACC Champion Duke rolls over Nebraska 34-7.

- Orange Bowl (January 1, 1958): Oklahoma converts six Duke turnovers into touchdowns enroute to a 48-21 victory over the Blue Devils.

- Cotton Bowl (January 2, 1961): the Blue Devils march 73 yards to score with 2:45 remaining in the game to notch a 7-6 victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks.

While returning to a New Year's Day bowl game, or more accurately stated in today's vernacular a trip to a BCS Bowl, is definitely a future goal, the immediate objective for Blue Devil fans is to see their team qualify for any bowl game. Duke hasn't been to a bowl game since a January 2, 1995 appearance in the Hall of Fame Bowl, in which Wisconsin defeated Duke 34-20. Duke's last bowl game victory was the 7-6 win over Arkansas, in the Cotton Bowl, on January 2, 1961.

Coach Cutcliffe has the background to lead Duke to bowl game success. At Mississippi, he compiled a 44-29 record and coached the Rebels in five bowl games, over seven seasons, rolling up a 4-1 record, including a 31-28 victory over Oklahoma State in the Cotton Bowl. Current New York Giant quarterback, and Super Bowl XLII Most Valuable Player, Eli Manning was the signal caller for Mississippi in that Cotton Bowl victory. As the Offensive Coordinator at Tennessee, Cutcliffe coached Super Bowl XLI Most Valuable Player Peyton Manning as well as Heath Shuler and Erik Ainge.

Coach Cutcliffe's success with quarterbacks is a major source behind the current optimism in Durham. Projected starter Sean Renfree has the skills to excell as the leader of an offensive unit with the most talented receiving corps in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Renfree completed 34 of 50 passes for 330 yards and four touchdowns as a backup to Thaddeus Lewis last season. Renfree, who redshirted in 2008, has been being groomed by Cutcliffe since his arrival in Durham.

Taking a look at the talented receiving corps, junior Donovan Varner was a preseason All-ACC selection, while sophomore Conner Vernon earned First Team Freshman All-America honors last season. Duke's third wide receiver, senior Austin Kelly, caught 54 passes for 645 yards in 2009. Seniors Brett Huffman and Brandon King give Duke experience at tight end, while redshirt freshmen Tyree Watkins and Corey Gattis provide depth at wide receiver.

Another reason for the optimism in Durham is the potential pay-off from the strategy of redshirting players over the first two years of Cutcliffe's regime. This season there will be 10 redshirt sophomores and 17 redshirt freshmen on the roster. The redshirt strategy provides a program with depth and experience which are critical elements to competing at the Division 1 level. The Blue Devils should start to reap the benefits in 2010.

Duke faces a couple of tough challenges in the quest to qualify for a bowl game in 2010. First, the schedule is very tough. Second, the team lost many key players off last season's squad, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

In the USA Today preseason Top 25 coaches' poll, five Duke opponents show up in the Top 20: Alabama (1), Virginia Tech (6), Miami (13), Georgia Tech (17) and North Carolina (18). Additionally, Navy (38) and Boston College (40) show up in the other teams receiving votes section. With seven of 12 opponents being amongst the 40 best teams in the nation, Duke will need to be ready to play at their best each and every week of the season.

On defense, with the departure of starters Vince Oghabaase (DT), Vincent Rey (LB), Leon Wright (CB), Ayanga Okpokowuruk (DE) and Catron Gainey (S), new Defensive Coordinator Marion Hobby must devise a strategy which accounts for the Blue Devils youth and emphasize speed. The performance along the defensive line will go a long way toward predicting the success of the defensive unit. As the defensive line goes, the Blue Devils go.

The 2010 season will be a challenge as the Duke Blue Devils attempt to turn the corner under the tutelage of Coach David Cutcliffe. In the end, success will depend upon multiple factors, some of which are fickle, but as the season rapidly approaches, optimism is the noun best associated with Duke Football.