Tag Archives: Duke Football

Duke Football

Quick Hitter #8 – Thaddeus Lewis talks Navy, getting over Northwestern

[private]On Navy - 

They will come at us hard every down.  You'll never play against anyone that comes at you harder. They are disciplined and sound and they do all the little things correctly.  They will use the cut block, so we'll have to stay up and fight all the time.

On the Northwestern game -

We were very upset with last week.  The guys ... nobody had their heads down, we just all said "next week."  We are going to practice well and make sure that doesn't happen again.  The guys aren't going to let anybody slack and that's a great thing.

We learned if you are there you have to make the play.  A couple of things happened during the game ... finger tipped balls ... problems in the open field.  We're a real good offense right now but if we make those big plays we could be a great offense

We could have easily gone into a shell, bit that's not happening.  Guys are confident in what we're doing and we have to go out there and come together as a team and show this week and play better and get us over the hump.

On the Seniors - 

The seniors are not going to let anybody slack up and we'll have to help them out.  We've had some guys in the past moping around, but that's not it - they say are you ready to go watch some film?  Coach Cutcliffe challenged them after the game and they will make sure we get better this week.

What was Cut's message? 

He just said two turnovers to none and if you didn't turn the ball over the outcome of the Northwestern game would have been different.[/private]

Duke Football

The word is out! Duke freshman Johnny Williams can play!

[private]True Duke freshman Johnny Williams had a coming out party on Saturday where he pulled in eleven catches for 135 yards in a loss to Northwestern.  The performance earned him Rookie of the Week in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

No Blue Devil freshman has posted those kind of numbers since Walter Jones in 1988 who tallied 139 yards versus the Citadel.  "Johnny Williams is a great player.  The kid came in and worked hard in the weight room.  He was actually the only freshman here and we put him in the fire early in seven on sevens and he came along nicely," said Duke quarterback Thaddeus Lewis during this weeks press conference.

Williams was the first freshman on campus and learned his way around during the hot summer months.  He was a three year letter winner at St. Stephens HS in Alabama where he helped his team to a 39-4 record during his career.  He missed five games due to injury in his senior season, yet still managed 25 catches in limited action.  As a junior, Williams had 893 yards on receptions and 312 rushing.

Anyone who watched the Northwestern game would agree that Duke has landed a special player which will help build the program during his career in Durham.  Williams played with a confidence ahead of his years. 

"He's a competitor and he was telling me during the game, they can't check me, they can't stop me and if you throw it I'm going to make a play.  And he was out there making plays.  The thing is when he catches the ball he's making moves and making people miss and that's a good addition to this offense," said Lewis

Coach Cutcliffe was just as impressed with Williams play stating, "Johnny had a tremendous game.  He's a really fierce competitor.  What we are looking for more from him is consistency.  If Williams pulls in anywhere close to as many passes as he did this past weekend, it will benefit players like Eron Riley who might not draw as many double teams.

Cutcliffe went on to say that he challenged Williams and all the freshman to be all they could be during a morning practice.  "In my opinion, Johnny could have had 14 or 15 catches in that game.  He could have been a little sharper down the stretch and maybe have been national player of the week," said Cutcliffe.

Only time will tell if Williams can achieve lofty goals such as national player of the week, but if he shows the consistency the staff is looking for, there is no reason to think it can't happen.[/private]

Duke Football

Quick Hitter #7 WR Austin Kelly talks moving ahead to Navy

[private]You had some key catches on Saturday ...

Eron went down and Coach stressed to us he needed somebody to step up.  I was able to get open, got the ball in my hands and I made the play. 

After a tough loss, how do you rebound?  What is your overall feeling going into the Navy game?

Going into the Navy game, it's really just getting back to the basics.  We felt like we dominated the last game, but we just couldn't finish.  Our defense did a great job of keeping there offense off the field and letting us stay on the field.  We just have to get back to the basics and work hard this week.

Is it easy to move on after a tough loss or do you think about twenty or so plays where if two had been different you would have won the game?

It still lingers, but we've got another game - an important game coming up this week with Navy.  They got us last year in a close win, we're still think about that ... I mean it's just going out hard in practice this week and if we finish those practices off right we'll feel good about our chances against Navy.

Is it safe to say that you guys are itching to get back out on the field?

Oh definitely!  I think I can speak for the whole team saying we are ready, but we have to dedicate ourselves this week.  Saturday will come, but we have to take care of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday first.[/private]

Duke Football

Quick Hitter #5 – OG, Rob Schirmann talks fundamentals and appreciation for the Wade Crazies

[private]The Duke offensive line played very well in the opening day win over James Madison last Saturday. They will test themselves against the Northwestern defense this weekend in a battle of two 1-0 teams. Rob Schirmann is an offensive guard and leader who is part of a senior core for Duke. Schirmann's 25 career starts is tops among the interior lineman.

It took Duke its first four games last season to gain as many yards on the ground as you all did this past Saturday. What do you attribute the improvement to?

We’ve been working pretty hard on our run game. We’ve been working on all of our skills. We’ve practicing pad level, our steps and all the fundamentals. We’ve just been working hard on that and you can see it in a game.

Are you part of the Cutcliffe weight loss plan? What did you weigh last year?

I was about 285 and I’m about 275 now. I lost more in the off season, but tried to gain a little bit more. It’s increased my strength and I’ve lost a couple of percentages of body fat and I’ve gotten a little quicker in the off season. It’s all been very positive.

It’s been awhile since you’ve won a game, how do you think you will react to that this week?

We will not focus on that this week. There’s no big heads around here and there’s no big ego’s. Nothing from last week will effect how we focus and prepare this week, how we go into this game. We’re strictly focused on Northwestern.

What is your reaction on the crowd this past Saturday and the Blue Devil Walk?

Personally, I thought that was great. And the Blue Devil Walk pretty much amazed me. I was extremely excited and pumped up to see all the students out there on that and in the stadium, seeing them all out there through the rain delay … I’m real happy we had that kind of support.

What did you do after the victory?

The first thing I did was smile. Then I looked over at the student section and not a single person had left. It was unlike anything I had seen in the past during the four years I had been here. It was a good feeling and was pretty exciting.[/private]

Duke Football

Are you ready for some football?

[private]

I'm ready for some football? Trust me, there will be a lot of newness tomorrow. New Coach, new hope, new attitude, new uniforms, new cheerleaders in new uniforms, new Devil (you'll see), new entrance, new traditions born, new closed end scoreboard, new sounds, new promotions, new student section, new programs ... you get the picture yet? Folks, this is the dawn of a new era, so be there early to greet the team during the Blue Devil Walk and soak in the new traditions. As always the Blue Devil Nation is on the scene and here are a few pictures that may just get you riled up. That said, be loud, be proud and wear DUKE BLUE!

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Duke Football

Duke football equals family fun

[private]Football season kicks off next Saturday and the excitement around Duke is palpable. I have some very strong and pleasant memories of Duke football. As a young boy, my father took me to games at Wallace Wade Stadium (some of those games before the horseshoe was renamed) a couple of times a year. Those trips were always a great day so I thought I’d share a couple of memories.

Duke hosted South Carolina on September 30, 1967, and the game started fast. My father and I were in our end zone seats with the Duke kick returners lined up right in front of us as South Carolina kicked off to start the game. Duke failed to handle the kick and the ball bounced into the end zone where the Gamecocks covered it for a touchdown. There were only a few seconds gone off the clock and Duke was down by a touchdown. South Carolina went on to win 21-17. Duke may have lost on that particular afternoon, but as an eight year old rabid Duke fan, I still had a great time.

In the early days, we always sat in the end zone general admission seats that sold for $1 back in the sixties. On one Saturday afternoon, I don’t remember the year or who was the opposing team, every point scored in the game was scored at the closed end of the stadium right in front of us. Our seats were worth every one of those hundred pennies that day.

During the 1974 season, I went to the Purdue game with an older friend who lived across the street. The previous Saturday the Boilermakers had defeated Notre Dame in South Bend. My friend and I had seats on about the 35 - 40 yard line on the East side of the stadium. Duke defeated Purdue 16-14 and as time expired everyone in the stadium was chanting, “We want Notre Dame!” I’m not sure why we wanted the Fighting Irish, they went 10-2 in 1974, but it was exciting at the time.

My last trip to Wallace Wade Stadium was almost 32 years ago in 1976. Tony Dorsett and the Pitt Panthers traveled to Durham. Pittsburgh won 44-31 as part of their 12-0 season. But 1976 turned into 1977 and I was off to the United States Navy traveling extensively and living overseas.

So with the 2008 season about to start I encourage all readers in North Carolina to take advantage of the opportunity for some great family fun and take in some of the games at Wallace Wade. We need fathers and mothers and grandfathers and grandmothers to gather up those youngsters and take them to a Duke football game. I will not be making it back to North Carolina this year, but I have a three year old grandson and I will be taking him to a couple of games in the future.[/private]