Duke Football Recruiting 2011-12

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Great news!

I'm watching the video link of the 8:30 broadcast. Seeing WR Anthony Nash - 6'5", 190# with SUB 4.3 speed, all I can say is WOW! Just WOW! They commented that he came from a small, run oriented team so he was under rated by most of the services, and that he should have been a 5 star recruit! He'll look great across from Donovan Varner next year! No way this guy gets redshirted!

I see the list on Watzone's link that Nash is only a 2 star recruit. In Cut I trust! Great find!

I know that you know Varner graduated. But they don't know that that you know that Varner graduated.

But Vernon is coming back. Along with Braxton and Watkins.

Duke played two true freshmen WRs last year, Crowder and Holliday and redshirted Nick Hill. So, there's likely to be some real competition for Varner's spot.

Mea cupla! Oops, I meant Conner Vernon. Thanks for catching my error.

[OldPhiKap]

Mea cupla! Oops, I meant Conner Vernon. Thanks for catching my error.

Vernon could catch that error and then run for 20.

;>)

[Greg_Newton]

WOW!

For those who don't follow FB recruiting, Duncan and Rayner were two big fish that it looked like we would go 0/2 on. Duncan, in particular, has looked like the Tony Parker of our football recruiting (in that we've been on him forever but it seemed like we were out of it).

Great day for the program!

[HaveFunExpectToWin]

I have read with some interest one thing that the current Vanderbilt coach ( James Franklin)cites when confronted with the negative recruiting about tough academics. If he hears about it from a kid then he'll turn it on it's end. He'll reply " what is it then that really saying about you? That you're not smart enough to do the work?"

This is exactly right. CJF has spun the negatives about Vandy into positives. His main pitch is that a young man can get a world class education in the best football conference in the country, contribute early and live in one of the better cities in the Southeast. Its a surprisingly easy sell.

Looks like a good signing day in both Durham and Nashville today.

[watzone]

I just spoke with Coach Cutcliffe about an hour ago and we had a brief chat on this years class which can be seen here - http://bluedevilnation.net/2012/02/d...-devil-nation/ He is very happy with this class which he calls his best since he has been at Duke. He also warns of being careful of the ratings and how he dug up a diamond in the rough other teams overlooked.

[CameronBornAndBred]

This is exactly right. CJF has spun the negatives about Vandy into positives. His main pitch is that a young man can get a world class education in the best football conference in the country, contribute early and live in one of the better cities in the Southeast. Its a surprisingly easy sell.

Looks like a good signing day in both Durham and Nashville today.

The Commodores ranked 25th on ESPN's list of classes. Stanford was 16th.
http://insider.espn.go.com/college-f...viewmore%3dyes

Duke was ranked 12th in the ACC..which I don't give much credit to since I do believe our class will surprise people. But on paper..12th in our conference.

[mkline09]

I think this was a tremendously positive day for Duke Football. Listened to Watzone's interview with Cut and was blow away by some of his comments. First of all what a class act Cut is. How many coaches start off a signing day interview expressing happiness for the players and the academic opportunties that lie before them? And the talk about family is one that makes me proud to be a Duke fan.

But when he talked about players I was really wowed by his slight comparison of Anthony Nash to Randy Moss. The kid ran an amazing 40 time which obviously doesn't tell us much in the route running department and how he does with pads but you can't coach speed or 6-foot-5. Great size for a receiver. Duke hasn't had that in, well as long as I can remember.

Lots of quality kids and Cut I think does a great job of finding that under the radar talent that other schools over look but he feels like he can mold into quality football player. Good day all and all rankings don't mean much right now in my opinion. Coach'em up Cut and lets get this thing moving in the right direction. I'm ready for Spring Football!

Go Duke!

[jv001]

I can't remember the last time I was this excited about Duke Football. Some very good signings and we came away with 3 very good players at the last minute. We got an excellent punter in Martin(early commit) and a good runner in Duncan(late commit). The future is bright with the hardship approvals. Now if we can stay healthy next year, a bowl game is not out of the question. GoDuke!

[Olympic Fan]

I know Duke's class is not going to be rated very high (ESPN ranked it 12th in the ACC), but I also know that the Duke staff THINKS it is by far the best class they have landed since coming to Duke.

Let me suggest that it includes some real strengths:

-- Two big-time linebackers in Keiln Rayner and Deion Williams. Rayner is especially important -- a late addition (Cut went into Wednesay morning not knowing if he was coming) and the kind of big LB that Duke has lacked. He's 6-3, 245 and benches 450. he picked Duke over ECU after UNC tried to get in on him at the end and failed. Williams, a champion wrestler and an extremely aggressive OLB with decent size (6-0, 225) was the No. 30 OLB by rivals.

-- Two big-time RBs in Jela Duncan and Shaquille Powell. Both 5-10, 200. Powell rated the No. 6 all-purpose RB in the country by rivals. Duncan the No. 23 RB by rivals. Powell has the speed (4.5 40). Duncan is slower, but strong and shifty.

-- Perhaps the best PK prospect in the country in Russ Martin. Prep All-American.

-- A big-time WR propspect in Max McCaffrey. Great bloodlines - his father was a 13-year NFL veteran, his uncle was a former Duke/Vandy basketball star and his grandfather was Olympic sprinter Dave Sime (maybe the greatest pure athlete ever to attend Duke). Max was a prep All-America who starred on three straight state championship teams in Colorado. I was told that he's very much in the mold of Conner Vernon -- same size, same speed, same toughness.

But the unltimate value of the class will be decided by several guys who are only moderately to poorly rated. Let me mention two:

-- WR Anthony Nash. Mentioned before in this thread, but his measurables are unbelievable. He stands a legit 6-5, weighs betwen 190 and 200 and consistently runs under 4.3 in the 40. Cut had him in camp and couldn't beieve it when he ran a 4.25, so he asked him to run it again ... and he ran another 4.25. He played on a run-oriented team in Pennsylvania's Class 4A level. He averaged more than 20 yards a catch for his career. Also an all-confrerence basketball player (always a good measure of a WRs athleticism). Hard to believe he's "just" a three star. His only other big-time offer was from Purdue, but he committed to Duke back in July before interested programs like Miami, Nebraska, Maryland and Michigan State could offer.

-- DE/DT Carlos Wray: This is the biggest disconnect between the ratings and what Duke believes they got. He's a two-star prospect listed as a 6-3, 246 DE by Scout ... Duke lists him as 6-2, 280 (which sounds more like a DT than a DE). Cut raves about this guy's strength and aggresiveness. He was saying today that Wray "looks" like an SEC DL. Minnesota recruited him hard, even after he committed to Duke. ECU and Wake also offered.

I don't think Cut did as well on the OL as he has the past two years, although Casey Blaser is a big time prospect. A lot of no-names in the secondary (although Michael Westray looks good and DeVon Edwards might be a surprise). Two very big TE prospects (Beilinson is big time) and a big-time DE in Allen Jackson.

QB Thomas Sirk is already enrolled and will go throuh spring practice. Cut confirmed that Sirk is in the pass/run mold of Brandon Connette and Anthony Boone rather than a pure drop back. Certainly has good size, speed and he put up good numbers. Made the Times-Union Florida Super 24 team ... MVP of the Florida North-South All-Star game. He'll almopst certainly redshirt next season, but he should be in the mix to battle Boone and Connette for the starting job in 2013.

Throw in Ohio State transfer S Jeremy Cash (eligible in 2013) and it looks like Cut has added a lot of talent -- no matter what the recruiting services think.

[jimsumner]

More on Wray. Cut suggested that one or more of the true freshmen DL would compete for immediate PT. Not only is Wray listed at 280 but Cut said he benches 415. Sounds like he could be in the mix.

Cut also indicated that the staff was looking at some position changes which he was not prepared to discuss. That should fuel some speculation. Lots of OL. Move one or two to DT?

Said that lots of OL would be in the mix for PT. Duke seems to like a number of the OLs they redshirted as freshmen this past season, so that could be interesting. I would expect Moore, Harding, Tomlinson and Simmons to start but the rest could be in a dogfight for PT.

Cut's eyes lit up when he talked about Nash. Said no one could guard him at Duke's camp. 6-5 and runs a 4.25? Be still, my beating heart.

Spring game 3-31.

I know Duke's class is not going to be rated very high (ESPN ranked it 12th in the ACC), but I also know that the Duke staff THINKS it is by far the best class they have landed since coming to Duke.

Let me suggest that it includes some real strengths:

-- Two big-time linebackers in Keiln Rayner and Deion Williams. Rayner is especially important -- a late addition (Cut went into Wednesay morning not knowing if he was coming) and the kind of big LB that Duke has lacked. He's 6-3, 245 and benches 450. he picked Duke over ECU after UNC tried to get in on him at the end and failed. Williams, a champion wrestler and an extremely aggressive OLB with decent size (6-0, 225) was the No. 30 OLB by rivals.

-- Two big-time RBs in Jela Duncan and Shaquille Powell. Both 5-10, 200. Powell rated the No. 6 all-purpose RB in the country by rivals. Duncan the No. 23 RB by rivals. Powell has the speed (4.5 40). Duncan is slower, but strong and shifty.

-- Perhaps the best PK prospect in the country in Russ Martin. Prep All-American.

-- A big-time WR propspect in Max McCaffrey. Great bloodlines - his father was a 13-year NFL veteran, his uncle was a former Duke/Vandy basketball star and his grandfather was Olympic sprinter Dave Sime (maybe the greatest pure athlete ever to attend Duke). Max was a prep All-America who starred on three straight state championship teams in Colorado. I was told that he's very much in the mold of Conner Vernon -- same size, same speed, same toughness.

But the unltimate value of the class will be decided by several guys who are only moderately to poorly rated. Let me mention two:

-- WR Anthony Nash. Mentioned before in this thread, but his measurables are unbelievable. He stands a legit 6-5, weighs betwen 190 and 200 and consistently runs under 4.3 in the 40. Cut had him in camp and couldn't beieve it when he ran a 4.25, so he asked him to run it again ... and he ran another 4.25. He played on a run-oriented team in Pennsylvania's Class 4A level. He averaged more than 20 yards a catch for his career. Also an all-confrerence basketball player (always a good measure of a WRs athleticism). Hard to believe he's "just" a three star. His only other big-time offer was from Purdue, but he committed to Duke back in July before interested programs like Miami, Nebraska, Maryland and Michigan State could offer.

-- DE/DT Carlos Wray: This is the biggest disconnect between the ratings and what Duke believes they got. He's a two-star prospect listed as a 6-3, 246 DE by Scout ... Duke lists him as 6-2, 280 (which sounds more like a DT than a DE). Cut raves about this guy's strength and aggresiveness. He was saying today that Wray "looks" like an SEC DL. Minnesota recruited him hard, even after he committed to Duke. ECU and Wake also offered.

I don't think Cut did as well on the OL as he has the past two years, although Casey Blaser is a big time prospect. A lot of no-names in the secondary (although Michael Westray looks good and DeVon Edwards might be a surprise). Two very big TE prospects (Beilinson is big time) and a big-time DE in Allen Jackson.

QB Thomas Sirk is already enrolled and will go throuh spring practice. Cut confirmed that Sirk is in the pass/run mold of Brandon Connette and Anthony Boone rather than a pure drop back. Certainly has good size, speed and he put up good numbers. Made the Times-Union Florida Super 24 team ... MVP of the Florida North-South All-Star game. He'll almopst certainly redshirt next season, but he should be in the mix to battle Boone and Connette for the starting job in 2013.

Throw in Ohio State transfer S Jeremy Cash (eligible in 2013) and it looks like Cut has added a lot of talent -- no matter what the recruiting services think.

[username]

The Commodores ranked 25th on ESPN's list of classes. Stanford was 16th.
http://insider.espn.go.com/college-f...viewmore%3dyes

Duke was ranked 12th in the ACC..which I don't give much credit to since I do believe our class will surprise people. But on paper..12th in our conference.

FWIW rivals has us #8 in the ACC. Scout has us at #10.

[-bdbd]

Thanks for that summary Olympic. Very helpful. I'll be interested in the feedback from those who are attending the signing-day party right now...

But it sure sounds like we addressed specific areas of need (or of coming need): D-backs, DL, RB, WR and K. You can really see a "master plan" of sorts at work here - how the last three recruiting classes seem to dovetail nicely together, complimenting each other.
(I agree that the OL haul may not appear as strong this year, but that's not a concern given how spectacular we've done on the OL over the last two recruiting hauls.)

I particularly enjoyed watching the highlights of Nash, as one after another, he just reached over shorter defenders to pick off lob passes. That'll be very nice to have in our red-zone offense! Wray's highlights, too, are impressive - just a total bull on the D-line!

I know Duke's class is not going to be rated very high (ESPN ranked it 12th in the ACC), but I also know that the Duke staff THINKS it is by far the best class they have landed since coming to Duke.

Let me suggest that it includes some real strengths:

-- Two big-time linebackers in Keiln Rayner and Deion Williams. Rayner is especially important -- a late addition (Cut went into Wednesay morning not knowing if he was coming) and the kind of big LB that Duke has lacked. He's 6-3, 245 and benches 450. he picked Duke over ECU after UNC tried to get in on him at the end and failed. Williams, a champion wrestler and an extremely aggressive OLB with decent size (6-0, 225) was the No. 30 OLB by rivals.

-- Two big-time RBs in Jela Duncan and Shaquille Powell. Both 5-10, 200. Powell rated the No. 6 all-purpose RB in the country by rivals. Duncan the No. 23 RB by rivals. Powell has the speed (4.5 40). Duncan is slower, but strong and shifty.

-- Perhaps the best PK prospect in the country in Russ Martin. Prep All-American.

-- A big-time WR propspect in Max McCaffrey. Great bloodlines - his father was a 13-year NFL veteran, his uncle was a former Duke/Vandy basketball star and his grandfather was Olympic sprinter Dave Sime (maybe the greatest pure athlete ever to attend Duke). Max was a prep All-America who starred on three straight state championship teams in Colorado. I was told that he's very much in the mold of Conner Vernon -- same size, same speed, same toughness.

But the unltimate value of the class will be decided by several guys who are only moderately to poorly rated. Let me mention two:

-- WR Anthony Nash. Mentioned before in this thread, but his measurables are unbelievable. He stands a legit 6-5, weighs betwen 190 and 200 and consistently runs under 4.3 in the 40. Cut had him in camp and couldn't beieve it when he ran a 4.25, so he asked him to run it again ... and he ran another 4.25. He played on a run-oriented team in Pennsylvania's Class 4A level. He averaged more than 20 yards a catch for his career. Also an all-confrerence basketball player (always a good measure of a WRs athleticism). Hard to believe he's "just" a three star. His only other big-time offer was from Purdue, but he committed to Duke back in July before interested programs like Miami, Nebraska, Maryland and Michigan State could offer.

-- DE/DT Carlos Wray: This is the biggest disconnect between the ratings and what Duke believes they got. He's a two-star prospect listed as a 6-3, 246 DE by Scout ... Duke lists him as 6-2, 280 (which sounds more like a DT than a DE). Cut raves about this guy's strength and aggresiveness. He was saying today that Wray "looks" like an SEC DL. Minnesota recruited him hard, even after he committed to Duke. ECU and Wake also offered.

I don't think Cut did as well on the OL as he has the past two years, although Casey Blaser is a big time prospect. A lot of no-names in the secondary (although Michael Westray looks good and DeVon Edwards might be a surprise). Two very big TE prospects (Beilinson is big time) and a big-time DE in Allen Jackson.

QB Thomas Sirk is already enrolled and will go throuh spring practice. Cut confirmed that Sirk is in the pass/run mold of Brandon Connette and Anthony Boone rather than a pure drop back. Certainly has good size, speed and he put up good numbers. Made the Times-Union Florida Super 24 team ... MVP of the Florida North-South All-Star game. He'll almopst certainly redshirt next season, but he should be in the mix to battle Boone and Connette for the starting job in 2013.

Throw in Ohio State transfer S Jeremy Cash (eligible in 2013) and it looks like Cut has added a lot of talent -- no matter what the recruiting services think.

[OldPhiKap]

I just spoke with Coach Cutcliffe about an hour ago and we had a brief chat on this years class which can be seen here - http://bluedevilnation.net/2012/02/d...-devil-nation/ He is very happy with this class which he calls his best since he has been at Duke. He also warns of being careful of the ratings and how he dug up a diamond in the rough other teams overlooked.

Mark, thanks. That is EXACTLY what I needed tonight.

Go Duke!!!

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Coach Cut is jazzed about the incoming class! The highlights we saw were significantly better than last year! We've got both a 6'5" and a 6'7" tight end, and Nash the 6'5" wide receiver with 4.25 speed. Our red zone offense has improved IMMENSELY with these three guys, and they can all catch! And he is very relieved to have a new kicker! And he just happens to be the #1 rated guy in the country We saw a 40 yard FG that he kicked, and from that distance, it cleared the TOP of the goal posts by a foot or more, right down the middle. Cut says he kicks a straight ball - very little bend in it

[OldPhiKap]

Coach Cut is jazzed about the incoming class! The highlights we saw were significantly better than last year! We've got both a 6'5" and a 6'7" tight end, and Nash the 6'5" wide receiver with 4.25 speed. Our red zone offense has improved IMMENSELY with these three guys, and they can all catch! And he is very relieved to have a new kicker! And he just happens to be the #1 rated guy in the country We saw a 40 yard FG that he kicked, and from that distance, it cleared the TOP of the goal posts by a foot or more, right down the middle. Cut says he kicks a straight ball - very little bend in it

thanks for the report, OZZIE!!!!! Looking forward to the season, hope to get up there for a game this year!

[Greg_Newton]

It seems like this class has by far the most upside of any of Cut's classes. The rankings aren't overwhelming, but when you look at who we've actually got... Nash and Edwards are two guys that are ELITE physical prospects (see: Nash, Edwards), yet were completely passed over by the ratings services. A lot of the guys have the feel of prospects who can not only compete with high-level competition, but potentially excel against it. Not something you could say about a lot of previous classes. I like it.

Throw in the Cash and the return off Blakeney, and this was a HUGE offseason for the program, IMO.

[jafarr1]

There is a whole lot of upside in this class. The only problem with upside is that it doesn't always pan out.

Two other guys with big upside are Sirk and McCaffery. Sirk got the ratings at times, but I'm not sure they do justice to his upside. He could become a stellar QB - he's a phenomenal athlete, he's got a gun for an arm and he's got nice height at 6'4". McCaffery comes from a family of athletes (Ed McCaffery is his father, and Billy is his uncle, I believe), and while it's tough to judge how could a player he is from Colorado high school football, he might develop into something special. Duke's offense could be perfect for both.

BTW, Nash has a Hudl video (http://www.hudl.com/athlete/165022/anthony-nash) that's includes his senior year, where he starts to show off his speed. It seems like the other team almost always gave him a 10-15 yard cushion, as if they were terrified he'd run by them.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

This is the best class I've seen since Coach Cutcliffe arrived. He targeted and signed a couple of TE's who fit the emerging prototype we see in Jimmy Graham of the NOLA Saints. He's signed a QB who fits the height specifications advocated by many in previous discussions of football on this board and elsewhere. There are a couple of safeties who can turn on the speed to elude their tacklers. He's signed the top kicker in the country ... the kid kicks the ball straight and high... almost like a beautiful punt, only he sends it through the uprights.

Despite the disappointment many felt at the end of the 2011 season, there was a happy optimism last night that's been absent for a while.

I look forward to seeing how these guys develop.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

We enjoyed watching the Killer V's in previously seasons, now we look forward to the M&M's (Monday and Martin) work their magic.

[airowe]

Caught up with Shaquille Powell last night: http://www.dukehoopblog.com/2012/02/...012-rb-commit/