Richlands OL Josh Hess is receiving a lot of interest from ACC and SEC schools
In their three-plus years in Durham, Head Coach David Cutcliffe and Offensive Line Coach Matt Luke have built the Duke offensive line into a position of strength. The past two recruiting classes have brought in a very good group of offensive linemen, and the Blue Devils hope to continue that trend with the class of 2012. Josh Hess is a 6’7” 285 pound offensive lineman from Richlands, Virginia. As a junior, Josh played on both the offensive and defensive line, helping Richlands to the state championship game, and was named to the All-State, All-Region, and All-District teams. Highlights from Josh’s junior season can be viewed here.
BDN: Can you start off by describing your strengths for fans who haven’t had a chance to see you play?
Personally, I think I’m hard-nosed, I like driving people off the ball, that’s what I do. I’m a pretty good pass blocker, in my opinion, and I do whatever it takes to win.
BDN: What are some of the things you have been working on this offseason?
I dropped a couple pounds. I’m down to about 285 right now, and I’ve just been working on my lateral quickness, and just speed in general.
BDN: What are some of your goals for your senior year?
I want to go back to Lynchburg and play for another state championship, and come out winning next one. I’d like to make all-state again, all-region, all-district.
BDN: As you look at your college decision, what are the most important factors you are looking for in a school?
Education would have to be the first one. I’m big on academics, and so is my family. And then just the school itself. I like football tradition, and how the football program’s going. I’d like to go in and help a program out if they’re down, and if they’re a program that’s winning, to go in and keep it going.
BDN: Is there a specific academic field you are interested in?
Kinesiology, so the study of – it’s like athletic training, stuff like that, and how the muscles and stuff work.
BDN: Which schools have you heard from the most? Who were the first to contact you?
Duke, UNC, Maryland, Virginia Tech, UVA, Florida, Boston College. There’s a lot of SEC and ACC schools.
BDN: Are you primarily interested in ACC and SEC schools?
Well, it’d be nice to, but – I mean, as it comes down to it, I’ll go anywhere that’s within the United States.
BDN: Have you been able to talk with any schools about scholarship offers yet?
Really haven’t talked about offers yet, but most of them are trying to get me down on campus, looking at stuff like that, invite me to a bunch of junior days and stuff, but not really talked about offers yet.
BDN: Have you had a chance to visit any schools so far?
I’ve only visited Duke, I went down there for junior day, but the end of the football season I went all over the place, I went to like Kentucky, Boston College, Duke, Virginia Tech, UVA, Alabama, I was all up and down the coast, pretty much.
BDN: Have any schools stood out to you at this point in the process?
Josh Hess led Richlands HS to a state championship game as a junior
Not really, I like them all the same. All of them had different things that I like about them.
BDN: Do you have any other visits planned for this spring or summer?
I’m going down to UVA for Junior Day, and I’ll be at UNC after that. And then I’m not sure about camps yet, I know I’m gonna go and visit a bunch more, I’m gonna go – Florida wants me to come down and watch spring practice and get out there and get on campus and talk to the coaches, so I’ll probably end up doing that.
BDN: Do you have an idea for when you would like to make your college decision?
I might wait until the right school comes to me, but I mean, if the right school does come, it might be before football season. But then again, I might just wait it out, wait until signing day or after the football season.
BDN: Is there anything else you think is important for college football fans to know about you?
I’m a good student in the classroom, I’m a hard worker, my motto when I leave the weight room everyday is leaving thinking that nobody outworked me that day. That’s about it.
Jacob Ingle is one of the top offensive lineman in North Carolina
In their three-plus years in Durham, Head Coach David Cutcliffe and Offensive Line Coach Matt Luke have built the Duke offensive line into a position of strength. The past two recruiting classes have brought in a very good group of offensive linemen, and the Blue Devils hope to continue that trend with the class of 2012. Jacob Ingle is a 6’3” 280 pound offensive lineman from nearby Burlington, North Carolina. As a junior, Jacob started at left guard and left tackle for Walter Williams High School, earning 1st Team All-Conference and All-Region honors. Highlights from his junior year can be viewed here, and more information about Jacob can be found on his website.
BDN: Can you start out by describing your strengths for fans who haven’t had a chance to see you play?
Personally, I would say more like base blocking, run blocking, just one on one, so that’s one of my favorite things to do, and just regular pass blocking. One of my favorite things to do, I think I’m best at, is just one on one base run blocking, I would say.
BDN: What are some of the things you are working on this offseason?
Right now, this off-season, I’m just trying to get as strong as I can, get faster, same thing I’ve been trying to do every offseason, but the other thing I’m gonna focus on is just getting better, technical-wise, just to get ready for this season, so I haven’t really been doing it all season, but this year I’m gonna try to focus more on getting better with my techniques.
BDN: What are your goals for your senior season?
Well, I want my team to – we haven’t had a winning season yet since I’ve been here. First thing I want to do is just one thing at a time, first of all, I just want to have a winning season with my guys, ‘cause just senior year, I’ll probably never get to play with any of them again, really just have a good time playing football, but I would like for us to go as far as we can in the playoffs more than anything, possibly win state. I guess individually, my ultimate goal is to win all-state this year, and possibly further than that if I can. Mainly I just want to have a really good senior season with all my friends from football.
BDN: As you approach your college decision, what are the most important factors you’re looking for in a school?
Mostly, I’ve been looking at how good schools are academically, and if they have majors, how good their programs are for possible majors I want to have. And then I just look at the football team, see what the coach is and what the atmosphere – like go to their game, mainly just look at schools that have the majors I really want, have a good academic program.
BDN: You mentioned some possible majors you’re interested in; is there a specific field you are interested in?
One is exercise science, and also – either that or I want to major in music, something in music.
BDN: Which schools have you been hearing from the most? Who was the first to contact you?
In-state lineman Jacob Ingle is high on the Carolina schools early
This season, when they could first officially send out mail, I got my first letter from Duke, inviting me to their games, to check out and the other one being [North] Carolina, East Carolina State. Wake Forest is sending me stuff, and I’ve got a lot of letters from Georgia Tech as well, and a couple from Nebraska, as well as – and a couple from West Point, I’m also looking at that.
BDN: Have any schools offered you a scholarship at this point in the process?
The closest I’ve talked about for a scholarship was at [NC] State, the recruiting coach came to my school, he told me that – I said I haven’t been to there camp yet, but they want me to come to their camp, and if I do good there, they said they’ll offer me at [NC] State.
BDN: Have you had a chance to take any visits?
Yes, this past season, I’ve been to games that they invited me to, and I’ve been to Duke’s games, [North] Carolina’s, [NC] State’s, Army’s, Vanderbilt, and ECU’s games. Yeah, also, I've been to [NC] State’s Junior Day and Duke’s Junior Day, and I’ll also be at Wake Forest’s Junior Day.
BDN: Have any schools stood out to you at this point in this process?
Not really standing out, but honestly all the schools I’ve gone to I wouldn’t mind going to, but none of them stick out. I wouldn’t mind going to any of the schools that I’m in contact with right now.
BDN: Do you have any plans for additional visits or camps this spring or summer?
I don’t know which ones they are, but I’m definitely – my summer’s gonna be full of camps, I’ll definitely go to [NC] State’s, [North] Carolina, Wake Forest’s, probably Vanderbilt again. I’m just gonna try to sign myself up for as many as I can without conflicting with any other dates.
BDN: At this point in the process, do you have an idea about when you would like to make your college decision?
I’d say probably the last possible second or day that I can make my decision. Unless a school pops up that I really like, or if I change my mind about school and feel like I could commit there early, but as of right now I’ll probably wait until next year’s signing day.
BDN: Is there anything else that you think is important for college football fans to know about you?
The only thing I can think of is that I don’t think most people realize I like music as much as I like football, and that’s part of the reason I want to major in it.
In their four years in Durham, Head Coach David Cutcliffe and Offensive Line Coach Matt Luke have built the Duke offensive line into a position of strength. The past two recruiting classes have brought in a very good group of offensive linemen, and the Blue Devils hope to continue that trend with the class of 2012. Mark Harrell is a 6’5” 260 pound offensive lineman from Charlotte, North Carolina. The standout junior offensive lineman has an offer from Duke among his impressive list of offers, and hopes to have a final decision before his senior season. Mark’s highlights can be viewed here.
BDN: Can you start off by describing your strengths for fans who haven’t had a chance to see you play?
Well, blocking is my strong suit. We run an offense where primarily blocking, run blocking, but yeah, have good leverage, good explosion off the ball, good feet, and yeah, primarily run blocking.
BDN: What are some of the things you have been working on this offseason?
Pass blocking, I’ve been getting in the weight room, but during basketball season it’s hard to really keep up with that, but I’ve been definitely working on pass blocking, that’s something I need to work on because we run the ball a lot, but my offensive line coach used to play for the Panthers, so he knows what he’s talking about, and he’s teaching me a lot about pass blocking.
BDN: What are some of your goals for your senior year?
You know, keep the tradition going of another good, winning season, take it home this year. We felt we were so close but fell short last year, but this year I want to take it back home.
BDN: As you look at your college decision, what are the most important factors you are looking for in a school?
Primarily academics. Also, if I like the campus, if I like the location where I am, since I’m gonna be living there for the next 4 or 5 years, depending on whether I get redshirted or not, but that, and also depth chart, I want to see if I’m gonna have a chance to play. But yeah, primarily academics.
BDN: Is there a specific academic field you are interested in?
Probably business or management.
BDN: Which schools have you heard from the most? Who were the first to contact you?
The first schools to contact and offer were – Duke was the first to offer, then came Georgia Tech to offer, then UVA offered, Kentucky, and then NC State last night, but other than those 5 that offered, I’ve been hearing a lot from Clemson. I’ve also been hearing a lot from Wake Forest. I’ve been hearing some from Michigan and West Virginia, and I’m also starting to hear some stuff from Tennessee and Notre Dame as well.
BDN: Have you had a chance to visit any schools so far?
BDN: Have any schools stood out to you at this point in the process?
I mean, I like all of them, all said. I’m not gonna try to pick any favorites, you know, I like all schools, yeah, just basically like all of them.
BDN: Do you have any other visits planned for this spring or summer?
I’m going down to UVA for a junior day. I’m also going back to Duke, and I think Clemson as well. Hopefully that’ll go well, but other than that, I’ve been trying a lot more visits. I think I’m trying to go down, fly down to Notre Dame, see what that’s all about. But other than that, I’ve been planning – other than the ones that I’ve mentioned, but I’m sure I will in the summer.
BDN: Do you have an idea for when you would like to make your college decision?
I’d like to pick a top 5 by the start of summer, hopefully, and then maybe make a decision before – early into my senior – high school season, but that’s in a perfect world, so we’ll see what happens, but that’d be ideal, where I’m going before the season starts, before my senior year starts.
Even in the middle of March Madness, Football Friday is back to satisfy your weekly craving for Duke football. So far, we’ve covered Duke’s incoming freshman class, football recruiting 101, and a look at the fall schedule. While we love us some good recruiting scoop here at BDN, we think it’s also just as important to talk about the players we already have. With that in mind, this week’s Football Friday takes a look at the early reviews from Duke’s 2011 spring practice. [private]
Sir Nolan Smith leads Duke to Chapel Hill - Lance King Images
Duke travels to Chapel Hill
This weekend is all about Duke vs. North Carolina. The Tar Heels have dominated the Blue Devils on the gridiron of late, and that’s a trend that we’d all like to see come to an end this fall. More importantly, however, is to come away with a victory and the #1 seed on the hardwood Saturday, and I think the Blue Devils have a great chance to do it. The two teams match up with each other poorly, and that should make for another very interesting game. In the first game, UNC had no answer for Duke’s guards, while Duke struggled to contain UNC’s bigs. Kyle Singler and Harrison Barnes essentially neutralized each other. I expect to see much of the same on Saturday, and if either team can get a boost from their bench, that could end up being the difference. It’s Duke and Carolina, with the ACC regular season championship on the line, which means we’re in for another thriller.
Recruiting news
The Blue Devils hosted 26 prospects on February 19th for the second of their junior days. The prospects took in Duke’s practice, toured the facilities, and met with the coaches.
Duke commit Erich Schneider enjoyed his visit to Durham
Current Duke commit Erich Schneider made the trip from Florida and got to spend a lot of time with Coach Middleton and the tight ends. The long distance award goes to QB Bart Houston, who flew in from California for the weekend. Houston’s recruiting has recently picked up and offers are starting to come in for the talented signal-caller. A few other prospects were in town this past weekend to take in Duke’s spring practice, including offensive lineman Andrew Jelks. Jelks told BDN he really liked Duke and had high praise for Coach Cutcliffe and Coach Luke. The top Tennessee prospect intends to make visits to Knoxville, Tuscaloosa, and Oxford, Mississippi this spring.
Congratulations are due for Duke TE commit David Reeves, who helped Greensboro High School capture a Regional Championship on the hardwood. Best of luck to David and Greensboro as they continue their quest for an Alabama State Title.
With only 12 seniors scheduled to graduate this season, the Blue Devils will be particularly selective this year with their recruiting. No new offers were extended this week, and the top targets remain the same as we discussed in our earlier Football Friday. Invitations have been sent out to prospects for the spring game on March 26, and it will be important for the Blue Devils to have a good showing, both on the field and in the stands.
Spring Practice
Duke wrapped up the first half of spring practice on Wednesday, and will take a much-needed two-week break for spring break. No coach or fan wants to hear that Duke is banged up this spring, but it’s the truth. Duke has been practicing with about 55 players this spring, which can make it difficult to assess individual performances. In particular, the Blue Devils are thin on the defensive side of the ball, where Kenny Anunike, Kelby Brown, Lee Butler, and Quan Stevenson are out for the entire spring, and other key players have missed time. At this point, everyone is expected to be healthy for the fall, which obviously is most important, but with a young team, you’d like to see players play as many snaps as possible this spring.
QB Sean Renfree is off to a good start this spring - BDN Photo
Right now, the strengths of this team should be no surprise to most fans, and it starts with the play at quarterback and receiver. Sean Renfree has had a very good start to spring practice, and Brandon Connette and Anthony Boone have also made strides since the fall. Renfree told BDN last week that he feels as comfortable as he ever has playing football, and it’s shown on the field. For the most part, he’s been on the same page with his receivers and his offensive line, which has made things difficult for the Duke defense. As we mentioned last week, the Duke offense must take a big step forward in taking care of the football if the Blue Devils are to have any success this fall. So far, Renfree and co. look poised to do just that.
For those who have followed Duke’s spring scrimmage statistics, you’ll note that the running backs have put up some impressive numbers. Josh Snead has been out with a MCL sprain, but Desmond Scott. Patrick Kurunuwe, and Juwan Thompson have played well and shown the ability to break out big runs. The real credit here goes to Duke’s offensive line, where they lose only one starter in center Bryan Morgan. Brian Moore shifts over from right guard to take the starting center spot, and Duke has been working in Conor Irwin, Joey Finison, and Dave Harding as well. Overall, the line looks much improved, and projects to start Moore at center, Kyle Hill at left tackle, Harding at left guard, John Coleman at right guard, and Perry Simmons at right tackle. Redshirt-freshmen Laken Tomlinson and Tacoby Cofield have both played well this spring and will likely back-up Coleman and Simmons this fall.
As you can expect with several starters out, defensively, Duke has had mixed results this spring. The theme on defense seems to be athleticism and inconsistency; Duke is clearly stronger and faster than they have been in past years, but they are extremely inexperienced with only 5 seniors on the entire defensive unit. The key for the Blue Devils will be the play up front, and newcomers Jamal Bruce and Jordan Dewalt-Ondijo have shown some play-making ability and will compete for playing time this fall. New DL Coach Rick Petri is working hard with his young linemen, which include 10 underclassmen. Over the course of the spring and fall, the expectation is that this group, led by returnees Charlie Hatcher, Sydney Sarmiento, and Justin Foxx, will develop under Coach Petri into a solid ACC defensive front, but there will continue to be growing pains along the way. Among the defensive backs, the Blue Devils’ athleticism has been evident, as players such as Austin Gamble, C.J. France, and Jordon Byas appear ready to contribute this fall. Duke has the athletes on defense to improve from last season’s ACC-worst unit, and consistency will be the key to the group’s success this fall.
In summary, at this point in the spring, the offense is clearly ahead of the defense, which is what you would expect to see with a more veteran group. I think Coach Cutcliffe said it best with his assessment of the first half of spring practice: “I’m not disappointed at all. What you see is that we don’t have a lot of people who are ready to play 50 or 60 snaps of ACC football, so there’s a learning process to that.” Overall, the effort and energy from the Blue Devils has been excellent. The team continues to work hard this spring and improves each day, which is exactly what you want to see from a young team.
Next week
We’ve got lots more football prospect interviews coming your way, so be sure to check back during your March Madness downtime. Until next week, GTHC.
QB Casey Cochran was the 2010 Gatorade Player of the Year in CT
Head Coach David Cutcliffe is known for his ability to develop quarterbacks, thanks to his work with Thad Lewis and Sean Renfree at Duke, and Peyton and Eli Manning at Tennessee and Ole Miss. In the class of 2012, Duke has already been in contact with many of the top quarterback prospects around the country, including Casey Cochran of Connecticut. Cochran is a 6’1” 205 pound pro-style quarterback from Masuk High School in Monroe, CT. As a junior, Cochran led the top offense in the state to a championship, earning himself the state Gatorade Player of the Year award. Highlights of his junior season, during which he threw 2,670 yards and 36 touchdowns, can be viewed here.
BDN: Can you start off by describing your strengths as a quarterback?
Some of my strengths are, I think, are accuracy in all throws, moving in the pocket, arm strength, and reading coverages.
BDN: What are some of the things you have been working on this offseason?
I’ve been working on depth and quickness of my drops, footwork. Every day I’ve been working on footwork. Throwing on the run was a big thing to work on; I didn’t do it much this year, but work on that a lot.
BDN: Are there any quarterbacks in the NFL or college game that you have studied or modeled your game after?
Definitely, I’ve been watching a lot of Aaron Rodgers this year, he has like impeccable form. It’s perfect. Same thing with Tom Brady. He holds the ball a little low, but I love watching him. They’re 2 great quarterbacks I love watching, as well as Peyton Manning, just how he runs offense is awesome.
BDN: What are your goals for your senior season?
Definitely want to win the championship again, go undefeated, we did that this year, and I definitely want to repeat, go out with a bang. I want to be the number one offense in the state, and just do better than last year.
BDN: What are the most important factors you’re considering when looking at colleges?
First of all, academics. Academics are the strongest thing I’m looking for. Also facilities and academic support, as well as the type of offense run there.
BDN: Is there a specific academic field you think you would like to study in college?
Yes, sports medicine, I’d like to get into physical therapy or personal training.
BDN: Do you have a preference for a particular offensive style?
Yeah, I’m looking for pro-style, with a mix-up of spread too.
BDN: What schools have you had the most contact with so far and who were the first schools to contact you?
Cochran has an early offer from Boston College
The first – I have an offer from BC, and they were the strongest at first. I have – I went to the UConn and Rutgers Junior Day, and I am scheduled to go to Virginia, Duke, and NC State Junior Days, as well as Penn State this spring.
BDN: Have any schools stood out to you at this point in the process, either on your visits or through your contact with coaches?
Not necessarily yet, no, it’s still pretty early.
BDN: Do you know what camps you plan on attending this summer?
Not yet, but I’m definitely going to UConn and Rutgers. We haven’t planned every camp out yet, but definitely UConn and Rutgers and BC.
BDN: At this point in the process, do you have an idea when you would like to make your college decision?
No, I’m taking my time now, but I am scheduled to graduate January of my senior year, so I’m trying to take my time, but before then I would definitely make my decision.
DL Carlos Wray says that Duke has stood out to him early.
Football Friday is back for its second week and BDN’s Patrick Cacchio offers up a brief introduction to Duke Football recruiting. Join Blue Devil Nation Premium today to get an inside look at Duke athletics and become a part of our growing community. [private]
We did it! We all survived another week and we’re back for our second installment of Football Friday. Somehow, enough of you read this column last week that they're letting me write it again. It’s all thanks to you, our members, with your emails, your PMs, your tweets, and your Facebooking. And as a big thank you to you, we’ll give you what you want this week – recruiting updates.
Kudos and other random thoughts
I figure I’ll get the simple stuff out of the way first each week. Duke had 13 players named to the ACC All-Academic team, more than twice any other ACC school. In fact, add together any other two ACC schools and you’re still not even close. Virginia and North Carolina? 5 players combined. The 2 Techs? 9 players combined. The Duke players who were recognized are some of the team’s stars on the field - almost all of them are starters. Obviously, having the smartest players doesn’t translate into wins on the field, but academic excellence is an important part of Duke culture, and it’s great to see that as Duke football becomes more competitive, we’re not forgetting our roots (cough, tarheels, cough). Congratulations to all of the well-deserving student-athletes.
I feel obligated to get on my soapbox for a minute and talk about what happened at Toomer’s Corner in Auburn. It’s a great reminder for all of us that our individual actions (and tweets/Facebook posts) reflect on our fan base as a whole. A proud tradition at Auburn has been forever tarnished by one severely misguided Crimson Tide fan. The bottom line is that all of us as fans need to do a better job of cheering for our own team and respecting our opponents, as difficult as that can sometimes be.
Football recruiting 101
For those who have heard Coach Cutcliffe and his staff talk about recruiting, much of the rest of this article may be review, but bear with us, there are big names at the end.
I’m going to go out on a ledge here and assume that if you’re a BDN member, you follow Duke basketball recruiting pretty closely. And why wouldn’t you? All you have to do is find a ranking of the top 25 or so prospects in a given class, read one of Mark’s magnificent basketball updates (or should it be magnificent Mark’s basketball updates?), check out highlights on YouTube, and you’re pretty much a Duke basketball recruiting insider, right? That doesn’t work so well for football. ESPN lists over 15,000 prospects in the class of 2011, and already has about 10,000 prospects in the class of 2012. Unfortunately, Duke cannot just target the top 25 or so from the rankings, since they have to fill out a roster with 85 scholarships. So somehow, we have to sort through all of those football prospects to find our future Blue Devils. I should have asked for more cell phone minutes for Christmas.
Luckily, the list gets broken down several ways. First, each member of the Duke coaching staff serves as the recruiting coordinator for a geographic area. For example, as you might expect, Matt Lubick is the lead recruiter for most of the west coast. Then, within a region, there are only a certain number of FBS-caliber athletes, which can be determined by evaluating game film and transcripts (or paying for a scouting service). At Duke, the next step is probably the most restrictive, and that’s whether or not the student will qualify academically for admission to Duke. The staff will then focus their recruiting efforts on this remaining group of core prospects. Obviously, hundreds of hours of work go into the evaluation process alone, but luckily for us, we don’t have to really start following all of this until Duke starts recruiting a prospect to see if there's a mutual interest. I won't be needing those cell phone minutes after all!
A word on in-state recruiting
Duke was the first to offer Tarboro RB Todd Gurley
Ok, a couple hundred words. A common misconception/criticism seems to be that Coach Cutcliffe and his staff are almost exclusively focusing their recruiting efforts on North Carolina prospects and failing to “leverage the Duke brand” at a national level. This is simply not true, and the numbers prove it. Duke’s current roster has about two dozen players from North Carolina, which is by far the least among the 4 North Carolina ACC schools. The Duke staff has placed an emphasis on in-state recruiting, but it’s by no means exclusive.
There are two primary benefits to Duke’s emphasis on North Carolina and surrounding areas. First, prospects within driving distance of Durham are the easiest to get on campus for unofficial visits, which allow prospects to build relationships with the coaching staff and grow comfortable with the Duke campus. The Duke staff places a lot of stock in the ability to get to know a player at a personal level, and the best way to do that is to have as much face-to-face contact as the NCAA allows. Second, it’s important to a lot of players and their parents that they go to school close to home. This may be more significant for athletes than the average college student, as it is usually important for the player’s family to be able to watch him play on Saturdays. Most college football rosters are made up of a significant number of in-state recruits, and this probably has a lot to do with it.
Breaking down the 2012 board
The Duke staff maintains a recruiting board of a few hundred prospects. Each prospect is evaluated individually by the entire coaching staff and a collective decision is made whether to offer that prospect a scholarship or to evaluate again at a later time in the recruiting cycle. For the class of 2012, there are already well over 100 prospects on Duke’s board, and roughly a third of them have received verbal scholarship offers to date. In addition to the board, there are several hundred other prospects that Duke will invite for unofficial visits to Junior Days, summer camps, and games during the fall as part of their ongoing evaluation process. Keep in mind that just by taking a quick look at Duke’s current roster, it’s easy to see that there won’t be many scholarships available in 2012 (think 15, give or take a few).
So how does the board breakdown? Since I mentioned the in-state emphasis, let’s start there. Duke is currently evaluating or has offered about 30 players from North Carolina, and roughly another 30 players from neighboring states. There are also over a dozen prospects from Florida and Ohio, and another dozen from California and Colorado as well.
Position-wise, Duke has clear needs at QB, RB, and DL in 2012. As such, there are 18 quarterbacks already on the board, 10 running backs (4 with offers), and 16 defensive linemen (8 with offers). The offensive line is a position that is best built by signing a few prospects in each class, and Coach Matt Luke has done a great job getting in early with top prospects. Duke has already offered 10 offensive linemen, all of whom are highly-coveted by programs around the country. Obviously, there are a handful of players that have been offered at other positions, but for now, we’ll just focus on the key areas of need.
Bilal Marshall is the first 2012 QB with a Duke offer
Top targets
QB: Right now, Bilal Marshall is the only quarterback with a Duke offer. Coach Cutcliffe, known as a QB guru for his work with the Mannings, tends to keep his quarterback recruiting close to the vest, but we know that most of the top high school quarterbacks in the country are on his list (Gunner Kiel, Zeke Pike, Bart Houston, Casey Cochran). Even though Marshall seems to be at the top for now, we know that Duke has also been involved with Ian Fisher from Maryland, and that Bart Houston will visit this weekend. Several other top quarterbacks are giving Duke a serious look and it seems safe to say at this point that Duke has a good chance of landing an elite quarterback in this class, though it's too early to say which one.
RB: Keith Marshall is a perfect example of why it’s important for Duke to build its relationships and reputation in-state. Many consider the speedy prospect out of Raleigh’s Millbrook High School to be the top running back in the class of 2012, and Duke was among the first to offer him. It’s too early to tell where his recruitment will go, but he’ll have his pick of schools from around the country and Duke remains in the mix. Another top in-state RB is Todd Gurley, who took in Duke’s win over North Carolina in Cameron Indoor Stadium last week. At this stage in the process, Duke is in good shape with Gurley and will be a major player in his recruitment.
DL: Vince Oghobaase was probably the last elite defensive line prospect to commit to Duke, but early indications are that Duke will land one in 2012. Early on, Duke is in good shape with Carlos Wray, D.J. Reader, Matt Godin, and Allen Jackson. All four look to be solid 4- or 5-star caliber prospects and have all made visits to Durham and came away impressed.
LB: This is another area of need and Duke is in good shape early with two top prospects in Preston Durham and Keilin Rayner.
2011 preview next week
In case you didn’t know, Duke’s schedule was released this week, spring practice kicked off Wednesday, and Duke hosts its second Junior Day this weekend. Oops, probably should have written about those this week, but I had to give you guys what you wanted. I guess we’ll tackle those issues next week. Again, I have to give you a reason to keep coming back (as if my wit and charm aren't enough). Best of luck making it through another week. Until then, WE ARE DUKE.
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