Duke Football 2015 Recruiting

[roywhite]

Could be a big year as Coach Cutcliffe continues to upgrade talent and recruits are seeing on-the-field results

Off to a good start, and in an area of need -- defensive line.
The first verbal was Zach Morris, a DE from Georgia, and today there is news of a verbal from Brandon Boyce, a DT from Florida.

[-bdbd]

Could be a big year as Coach Cutcliffe continues to upgrade talent and recruits are seeing on-the-field results

Off to a good start, and in an area of need -- defensive line.
The first verbal was Zach Morris, a DE from Georgia, and today there is news of a verbal from Brandon Boyce, a DT from Florida.


Boyce is reportedly a 3-star DT (6'0" and 250 lbs. as a HS Junior) in a couple of services. Great start at a position of need. Quick, with good instincts for a big man.

[chrishoke]

This is great news. D line is definitely a position of need and is the one area that Cut has been unable to significantly upgrade since his arrival. The Duke football future is indeed bright.

[OldPhiKap]

Very good news, hope we show something Tuesday night to open up the eyes of more young men too!

[uh_no]

This is great news. D line is definitely a position of need and is the one area that Cut has been unable to significantly upgrade since his arrival. The Duke football future is indeed bright.

So the d line is substantially similar to what it was under roof? I can't agree with that. ..

[chrishoke]

Actually, Roof had better success than Cut in recruiting Dlinemen - V.O. and A.O. come to mind.

[roywhite]

Jordan Hayes, a 6'1" Safety prospect from Loganville, GA now shows as a Duke commit on the scout.com list for the football signing class of 2015.

Perhaps Duke's appearance in the GA Dome for the Chick-Fil-A bowl helped this Georgia native decide?

[J_C_Steel]

The 2015 recruiting class will tell us what kind of impact Coach Cut and the 2013 Blue Devils made on the college football landscape. That is the year Duke needs to force its way into the top 25 recruiting classes nationally. I love this staff's focus on North Carolina players and other very good (though perhaps not "great") players in SEC territory looking for more playing time early in their careers.

The key, in my mind, is recruiting the most talented big men possible to fill the offensive and defensive lines with talent. It all starts up front.

What an exciting time to be a Duke football fan...

[Olympic Fan]

Just a note about Boyce ... he was just selected first-team 4-A all-state DT in Florida. That's a pretty significant accomplishment, especially for a junior (4-A is the second largest classification in Florida). BTW -- WR Chris Taylor, a member of this year's recruiting class, also made the 4-A first-team (as a senior).

The thing about these early recruits is that because they commit so early, they may not have glittering offer sheets, but with Cut and company expecting a stellar recruiting class, you know he's not handing out early commitments to marginal prospects.

Two top-flight DL prospects (one a DT and one a DE) so far is impressive for a team that had trouble getting top-flight DL signees. Adding another great safety is nice, but that's a position where Cut has recruited consistently well. The program is currently loaded with good young players at safety -- All-ACC soph Jeremy Cash, veteran soph Dwayne Norman, redshirt freshmen Devon Edwards and Corbin McCarthy, true freshman Deondre Singleton and at least four promising redshirt freshmen.

[airowe]

Just a note about Boyce ... he was just selected first-team 4-A all-state DT in Florida. That's a pretty significant accomplishment, especially for a junior (4-A is the second largest classification in Florida). BTW -- WR Chris Taylor, a member of this year's recruiting class, also made the 4-A first-team (as a senior).

Not to downplay Boyce's accomplishments, being named to the AP All-State team in Florida at any level is a great honor, but I don't believe that 4-A is the second largest classification in Florida. Starts at 8-A according to the All-State teams. (http://miamiherald.typepad.com/hssports/2014/01/ap-class-8a-florida-all-state-football-team-dadebroward-players-in-bold-type.html)

He is, however, transferring to St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale) after this season, which is a traditional South Florida powerhouse in the 7-A Classification.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Not an article about Duke, and we are only mentioned briefly, but it is a good mention.


Clark said Duke’s success this season didn’t have a major impact on this year’s recruiting class, but he expects the Blue Devils to have a big impact in the class of 2015. Reggie Gallaspy of Southern Guilford, a four-star running back, recently listed Duke as his top choice.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/01/12/4606796/nc-schools-pursuing-in-state-football.html#.UtQu9NJdXTp

[devildeac]

BTTT!

Some local 2015 targets:

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/01/21/3552947/raleigh-area-football-running.html

[Spoke]

From ESPN: Cutcliffe opines on recruiting nationally (http://espn.go.com/college-sports/recruiting/football/story/_/id/10337958/in-state-schools-no-longer-lock-top-football-recruiting-prospects).

[ForkFondler]

From ESPN: Cutcliffe opines on recruiting nationally (http://espn.go.com/college-sports/recruiting/football/story/_/id/10337958/in-state-schools-no-longer-lock-top-football-recruiting-prospects).

That is awesome - Duke FB recruiting being discussed as an example; where the others are SEC schools, FSU, Texas, and Ohio State. Come on Trevon.

[OldPhiKap]

From ESPN: Cutcliffe opines on recruiting nationally (http://espn.go.com/college-sports/recruiting/football/story/_/id/10337958/in-state-schools-no-longer-lock-top-football-recruiting-prospects).


That is awesome - Duke FB recruiting being discussed as an example; where the others are SEC schools, FSU, Texas, and Ohio State. Come on Trevon.

Cut and Duke have been a match well beyond my wildest dreams. And the best part is, i am sure that Cut expects to keep moving upwards. I absolutely love his press conferences and hope he keeps at it for a long time.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Cut and Duke have been a match well beyond my wildest dreams. And the best part is, i am sure that Cut expects to keep moving upwards. I absolutely love his press conferences and hope he keeps at it for a long time.

You are so right! Think back to the discussions on this board back in late 2007 and early 2008 prior to his arrival. Duke narrowly averted a much less satisfactory hiring decision and look what we have today!!!

[Bob Green]

QB Quentin Harris to Duke per his Twitter:



Quentin Harris ‏@KidQupid_23 · 57m
I am very honored and blessed to say that I will be committing to the Duke Blue Devils Football Program! #DukeGang15 pic.twitter.com/H45LJqrMmq

http://duke.scout.com/a.z?s=167&p=8&c=1&nid=6326650

[sagegrouse]

QB Quentin Harris to Duke per his Twitter:



http://duke.scout.com/a.z?s=167&p=8&c=1&nid=6326650

From the Taft School in Conn. 6-1, 185 with an offer from BC and interest from ND and others.

[Olympic Fan]

QB Quentin Harris to Duke per his Twitter:



http://duke.scout.com/a.z?s=167&p=8&c=1&nid=6326650

Interesting ... Duke was involved with some higher rated players, but this was the guy Cut wanted.

At this point, I'd rather trust his opinion than any star-rating system.

[Faison1]

Also interesting that we have only 4 commitments for this class so far. I think many programs already have north of 15.

Is there a strategy in place, or are we pursuing a direction someone can explain? Not being snarky.....just curious.

[Bob Green]

Also interesting that we have only 4 commitments for this class so far. I think many programs already have north of 15.

Is there a strategy in place, or are we pursuing a direction someone can explain? Not being snarky.....just curious.

Camp season is about to start so the recruiting pace should pick up. It appears Coach Cutcliffe's strategy is to go after some higher rated players so decisions could come later than previous years.

[dpslaw]

Also, some of the listed commitments to other programs are "soft verbals"--a concept Cutcliffe rightly disparages.

[roywhite]

Devilsden (scout.com) is showing two new Duke Football recruits for the Class of 2015:

Joe Giles-Harris - a LB (6'1" 210#) from Montvale, NJ
Reno Rosene -- an OT (6'7", 315# or more) from Oaks Christian HS in Westlake Village, CA

That brings the class to 6 and all have 3-stars in scout rankings.

[Bob Green]

Rosene has offers from Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Washington State, Vanderbilt, Arizona State, San Diego State, NC State....

[OldPhiKap]

Devilsden (scout.com) is showing two new Duke Football recruits for the Class of 2015:

Joe Giles-Harris - a LB (6'1" 210#) from Montvale, NJ
Reno Rosene -- an OT (6'7", 315# or more) from Oaks Christian HS in Westlake Village, CA

That brings the class to 6 and all have 3-stars in scout rankings.


Rosene has offers from Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Washington State, Vanderbilt, Arizona State, San Diego State, NC State....

Looks like he is big enough to attend two schools at once. Wow.

Hope to see y'all on the field for us soon!

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Looks like he is big enough to attend two schools* at once. Wow.

Hope to see y'all on the field for us soon!

*That would be two regular schools or one SEC school. His specs are within road grader qualifications.

[roywhite]

Rosene has offers from Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Washington State, Vanderbilt, Arizona State, San Diego State, NC State....

Here's his profile from rivals.yahoo.com (https://rivals.yahoo.com/bwi/football/recruiting/player-Reno-Rosene-140833;_ylt=AuI9WcXE8juPpd8wzfBdzfLNrJB4) which shows him as a 345-lb 4-star prospect, with good grades to boot!

[roywhite]

Rosene has offers from Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Washington State, Vanderbilt, Arizona State, San Diego State, NC State....

Giles-Harris also had a ton of offers, according to his rivals.yahoo.com profile (https://rivals.yahoo.com/bwi/football/recruiting/player-Joe-Giles-Harris-153183;_ylt=Ar1jNEPd3uxA12roNXwsDUHNrJB4)

15 offers and the #11 ranked prospect in New Jersey -- very impressive.

[loran16]

Devilsden (scout.com) is showing two new Duke Football recruits for the Class of 2015:

Joe Giles-Harris - a LB (6'1" 210#) from Montvale, NJ
Reno Rosene -- an OT (6'7", 315# or more) from Oaks Christian HS in Westlake Village, CA

That brings the class to 6 and all have 3-stars in scout rankings.

Rosene is actually a 4 star per Rivals and was top 500 in 24/7. He's a real potential stud - think Laken Tomlinson.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Rosene is actually a 4 star per Rivals and was top 500 in 24/7. He's a real potential stud - think Laken Tomlinson.
He is big enough to eat Laken Tomlinson!

[roywhite]

Coach Cut and the football staff are on a roll, picking up their third commitment in less than 48 hours with a verbal from Flynn Nagel (http://duke.scout.com/a.z?s=167&p=8&c=1&nid=6533467), a WR from Illinois.

Like the other 2015 commits, he has a 3-star rating and received numerous other offers.

[nyesq83]

I am more excited about football recruiting and signees than I am about basketball...
;)

[Bob Green]

#43 wide receiver in the nation with offers from Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana, Purdue, Iowa State and Wake Forest. This appears to be a solid pick up! I agree with roywhite, Coach Cutcliffe and staff are on a roll.

http://duke.scout.com/a.z?s=167&p=8&c=1&nid=6533467

[Bob Green]

DE Marquies Price 6'6" 220 has verbally committed to Duke:

http://duke.scout.com/a.z?s=167&p=8&c=1&nid=7611511

He is a 3 Star with offers from Wisconsin, Virginia, South Florida, Kentucky, Cincinnati and Georgia Tech.

[Mike Corey]

http://img.bleacherreport.net/img/article/media_slots/photos/001/198/844/hi-res-450064387-coach-david-cutcliffe-of-the-duke-blue-devils-flashes-a_crop_exact.jpg?w=340&h=226&q=85

[peloton]

Obviously any true Duke (football) fan has to be anticipating the upcoming season considering the team's accomplishments last season. That, combined with what appear to be some very promising recruits makes me want to say, "we're reloading". Let's pause a moment and think about that. We've been thinking that for years in regard to the basketball program of course but how often have we been able to (realistically) feel that way during the football offseason? I totally agree with you, nyesq83; you're not the only one who feels that way I assure you. I've been feeling that way for a few years now with Coach Cut onboard and the progress that the program is making results-wise, recruits-wise, and facilities-wise.

Bob, for some reason I just have a gut feeling that Marquies Price is going to be a real stud on the defensive line for us with additional weight & muscle. Hopefully he will become a more than adequate replacement for Kenny Anunike in time. Whatever the case, the future is bright for the program; here's hoping the fanbase continues to grow also.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Obviously any true Duke (football) fan has to be anticipating the upcoming season considering the team's accomplishments last season. That, combined with what appear to be some very promising recruits makes me want to say, "we're reloading". Let's pause a moment and think about that. We've been thinking that for years in regard to the basketball program of course but how often have we been able to (realistically) feel that way during the football offseason?
Great perspective and point! Every season in the past always has had that "building a new program" feel; now that Cutcliffe has done that, he has moved on to the next level which is refilling the cupboard. Another nice stepping stone to have crossed.

[Bob Green]

Southern Durham QB Kendall Hinton has committed to Wake Forest per the Twitterverse. Duke backed off Hinton after the Quentin Harris verbal.

[roywhite]

Southern Durham QB Kendall Hinton has committed to Wake Forest per the Twitterverse. Duke backed off Hinton after the Quentin Harris verbal.

Hinton had amazing numbers last season -- 3975 yds passing with 39 TDs; 1185 yds rushing with 14 TDs

It will be interesting to follow his development and compare him to Harris; I suspect Coach Cut made a good choice.

[Bob Green]

WR Aaron Young (6'5" 200) to Duke. He is three stars from Murrieta, CA. He was gaining attention from lots of folks but his only other offer was from Nevada.

http://duke.scout.com/a.z?s=167&p=8&c=1&nid=7642556

[Bob Green]

Monday announcement:

3 Star Center Brian Chaffin (6'2" 280) from Charlotte Christian will announce on Monday at 6 pm. Supposedly it is down to Duke, Stanford and NC State. Lots of speculation that Stanford is too far away and Chaffin likes State because of the availability of immediate playing time. Hopefully he takes a good, hard look at the long term situation before making his final decision.

We will know in 22 hours!

[roywhite]

Monday announcement:

3 Star Center Brian Chaffin (6'2" 280) from Charlotte Christian will announce on Monday at 6 pm. Supposedly it is down to Duke, Stanford and NC State. Lots of speculation that Stanford is too far away and Chaffin likes State because of the availability of immediate playing time. Hopefully he takes a good, hard look at the long term situation before making his final decision.

We will know in 22 hours!

Another sign of the changing times in football fortunes -- easier for a good young OL prospect to find playing time at NC State than at Duke.

[Bob Green]

Chaffin has committed to Stanford. I would have loved to see him in Durham, but I wish him the best of luck in California.

[rhynelander]

Even if we missed on Chaffin, the good news keeps coming in. Two more 3 star recruits signed up today. WR TJ Rahming and DE Trevon McSwain are the newest members of the 11 strong a growing recruiting class of '15.

http://duke.247sports.com/

[Olympic Fan]

The two new commits are 3-star according to scout ... in fact, all 11 commits so far are three-star, according to scout. ESPN has rated just six of our 11 so far and they have all six of those at three stars.

I don't have access to the rivals database. but I understand that California OT Reno Rosene is a four-star on their list.

Interesting that we have three defensive ends and three wide receivers (who could, obviously, switch to DB) in the class so far. Just one QB, OLB, OT, S and DT.

Sure we add at least one RB, at least one TE, probably two more OL, two more LBs and at least one (maybe two) DTs .. I guess a couple of more DBs, but that's were we're loaded with young talents.

Both our kickers are rising juniors, so probably be a kicker and a punter in the 2016 class.

[Henderson]

I don't have access to the rivals database. but I understand that California OT Reno Rosene is a four-star on their list.


Correct. Here's a public Rivals list (https://usc.rivals.com/quicklist.asp?Position=2&sport=1&school=71) showing him as four-star. But if a kid is 6-7 and 345 and not even a senior in HS yet, imagine his physical presence after a year (or two if he redshirts) of hitting the weights hard. Scary. Give him as many stars as he wants just so he doesn't hurt us.

[roywhite]

Even if we missed on Chaffin, the good news keeps coming in. Two more 3 star recruits signed up today. WR TJ Rahming and DE Trevon McSwain are the newest members of the 11 strong a growing recruiting class of '15.

http://duke.247sports.com/

McSwain especially looks like a big addition.

His rivals.yahoo profile (https://rivals.yahoo.com/bwi/football/recruiting/player-Trevon-McSwain-155035;_ylt=AnhfOq2QRzWjLLkMRDVou4jNrJB4) shows him as 6'6" 223# with offers from Georgia Tech, Nebraska, Tennessee, and Wisconsin among 13 total offers.

[NCSelf Defense]

This will be a BIG year for Duke Football recruiting. I had the pleasure of meeting the Frazier kid (RB from Princeton) and his coach a few weeks ago and they both had high praise for Cut and the Duke coaching staff. I had a long conversation with the coach about Duke football's uprising and he told me flat out that the Duke coaching staff is probably THE MOST respected group in the State at the moment. He also had a lot of great things to say about our new offensive coordinator......I asked him about Frazier and Duke's chances and while he obviously doesn't know much this early he did tell me 2 things that I don't read much into either way.

He told me Duke has an excellent shot at landing either Bryce Love, Nyheim Hines or Frazier and for some reason he made the point that Frazier wouldn't be going to the same school as Hines whatever that means. If I had to guess I would say that we have a great shot at Hines......

[Bob Green]

TJ Rahming's profile on Scout lists his 40 time at 4.39! That's quick. His other offers include: Tennessee, Mississippi State, California, Cincinnati and Wake Forest. Recruiting is achieving big time success in Georgia as five of our 11 recruits are from there.

[OldPhiKap]

TJ Rahming's profile on Scout lists his 40 time at 4.39! That's quick. His other offers include: Tennessee, Mississippi State, California, Cincinnati and Wake Forest. Recruiting is achieving big time success in Georgia as five of our 11 recruits are from there.

Local bowl games will do that!

[johnb]

With these signings, one report indicates our overall recruiting rank is up #5 in the ACC and #26 in the country (between Arkansas and Kentucky). Pretty amazing, really....

http://duke.247sports.com/Bolt/Duke-moves-up-12-spots-to-the-26-recruiting-class-nationally-29183682

[Bob Green]

Sure we add at least one RB, at least one TE, probably two more OL, two more LBs and at least one (maybe two) DTs .. I guess a couple of more DBs, but that's were we're loaded with young talents.

This class is projected to be 21 or 22 recruits so we have 10 or 11 slots open. Two running backs, a tight end, another defensive tackle, two more offensive lineman and two more linebackers account for eight slots, which leaves two or three slots open for a combination of "best athlete available" type recruits and National Signing Day commits. 2015 has the potential to be a superb class!

I've said it before and never get tired of saying it, exciting times to be a Duke football fan.

[Bob Green]

Punter Austin Parker (6'1" 170) is verbal #12:

http://duke.scout.com/a.z?s=167&p=8&c=1&nid=7859658

He is an in state player from Mount Pleasant, NC.

[Olympic Fan]

To my surprise, Duke just received a commitment from punter Austin Parker from Mt. Pleasant, NC

With Monday heading for his junior year, I really didn't think Duke would add a punter in this class.

[CameronBornAndBred]

To my surprise, Duke just received a commitment from punter Austin Parker from Mt. Pleasant, NC

With Monday heading for his junior year, I really didn't think Duke would add a punter in this class.
Who is Monday's backup? Is he any good? (His backup, not Parker.)

[Bob Green]

Who is Monday's backup?

Sophomore Danny Stirt:

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22667&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=208817162&Q_SEASON=2014

He did not punt a ball last season.

[budwom]

I've seen reports that 6-4 265 lb. recruit Zach Morris, listed as a DE, is going to be a DT at Duke, so that would give us two DTs at this point.

[devildeac]

Sophomore Danny Stirt:

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22667&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=208817162&Q_SEASON=2014

He did not punt a ball last season.

Had a nice chat with his Dad before the CFA Bowl. He is very pleased with the redshirt decision and very happy with the program.

[Acymetric]

To my surprise, Duke just received a commitment from punter Austin Parker from Mt. Pleasant, NC

With Monday heading for his junior year, I really didn't think Duke would add a punter in this class.

Doesn't it make sense though? He redshirts Monday's senior year, and then we have a guy with a year experience with our coaches ready to step in as a RS freshman (unless one of the punters currently on the roster beats him out). No reason to wait until the last minute to pick up a good kicker (referring to both positions who use their feet here), we have seen what not having the right guy in that spot can do to us firsthand.

[uh_no]

Doesn't it make sense though? He redshirts Monday's senior year, and then we have a guy with a year experience with our coaches ready to step in as a RS freshman (unless one of the punters currently on the roster beats him out). No reason to wait until the last minute to pick up a good kicker (referring to both positions who use their feet here), we have seen what not having the right guy in that spot can do to us firsthand.

the redshirts always get killed, though. I wouldn't wish that on anybody.

[OldPhiKap]

the redshirts always get killed, though. I wouldn't wish that on anybody.

Five minutes after reading that, I am still laughing.

[Bob Green]

WR Keyston Fuller to Duke. His offer sheet is impressive: Texas A&M, Georgia, Clemson, UNC, Georgia Tech, Nebraska, Mississippi State.

http://duke.scout.com/a.z?s=167&p=8&c=1&nid=6765583

EDIT: 4 Star on ESPN. Fuller is #193 on the Top 300 list:

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/player/_/id/188176/keyston-fuller

[rhynelander]

Great News!! I really liked him as a prospect, but thought the chances were slim to none he'd commit to Duke. Shows what I know:cool:
Keep reeling 'em in Cut, I see an even higher powered offense in our future.

[Mike Corey]

WR Keyston Fuller to Duke. His offer sheet is impressive: Texas A&M, Georgia, Clemson, UNC, Georgia Tech, Nebraska, Mississippi State.



http://cdn.fansided.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/276/files/2014/03/Happy3.gif

[rhynelander]

Great News!! I really liked him as a prospect, but thought the chances were slim to none he'd commit to Duke. Shows what I know:cool:
Keep reeling 'em in Cut, I see an even higher powered offense in our future.

Meant to include this earlier....

4182

[roywhite]

WR Keyston Fuller to Duke. His offer sheet is impressive: Texas A&M, Georgia, Clemson, UNC, Georgia Tech, Nebraska, Mississippi State.

http://duke.scout.com/a.z?s=167&p=8&c=1&nid=6765583

EDIT: 4 Star on ESPN. Fuller is #193 on the Top 300 list:

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/player/_/id/188176/keyston-fuller

Offhand, I can't recall an offer sheet like that for a Duke-committed recruit (knock on wood till Signing Day) since Vince Oghobasse, and that was 10 years ago.

This 2015 class is shaping up quite nicely.

[duke09hms]

Great work by Coach Cut and the rest of the staff!

All 3-star recruits and some borderline 4-stars.

Also great to see us complete the move away from an in-state focus to a truly national scope. That's what will allow us to take the next step in football recruiting.

[uh_no]

Great work by Coach Cut and the rest of the staff!

All 3-star recruits and some borderline 4-stars.

Also great to see us complete the move away from an in-state focus to a truly national scope. That's what will allow us to take the next step in football recruiting.

well, to be fair, past coaches recruited nationally too....but only because they had to reach far and wide to find 20 people who wanted to come play at duke every year...

I like cutcliffe's way better.

[loran16]

Okay I'm a novice at football recruiting and how it works, but what's the deal with all the WRs? 4 WRs in this class alone, and we're probably not done there yet.

I get that you can convert WRs to CBs or Safeties, but we're not lacking recruits there either (although only 1 safety in this class). Isn't this a little over kill?

[roywhite]

Okay I'm a novice at football recruiting and how it works, but what's the deal with all the WRs? 4 WRs in this class alone, and we're probably not done there yet.

I get that you can convert WRs to CBs or Safeties, but we're not lacking recruits there either (although only 1 safety in this class). Isn't this a little over kill?

No inside info, but Duke often uses 3 or more WR in a set and likes to rotate WRs during a game. Similarly, they'll play 5 defensive backs at a time. The latest commit Fuller seems like a must have even if some good WRs had already committed. Seems like going for over 400 yards passing in the Chick-Fil-A game in Atlanta has helped recruiting in at least two important areas -- WR and prospects from Georgia.

I'd be surprised if we see another WR for the balance of the 2015 class; likely priorities are now RB, LB, and OL.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Okay I'm a novice at football recruiting and how it works, but what's the deal with all the WRs? 4 WRs in this class alone, and we're probably not done there yet.

I get that you can convert WRs to CBs or Safeties, but we're not lacking recruits there either (although only 1 safety in this class). Isn't this a little over kill?

Regrading WRs and why they are important, look at the NFL. Which players become franchise players for their teams? They are likely either QBs or WRs. These two positions are central to the current style of play though there is a bit of an ongoing dust up over whether TEs as they are used on some teams should also be franchise players with the salary that goes with that designation.

As you point out, WRs tend to be good athletes who can play more than one position. The same sort of reassignment often happens with QBs.

When the names are read out on National Signing Day at Duke, most are listed with rather generic position designations. What position they will play becomes a matter of where they can best serve the team's needs.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Regrading WRs and why they are important, look at the NFL. Which players become franchise players for their teams? They are likely either QBs or WRs. These two positions are central to the current style of play though there is a bit of an ongoing dust up over whether TEs as they are used on some teams should also be franchise players with the salary that goes with that designation.

Plus, not all WR's have an adamantium skeleton like Conner Vernon. They get banged up..a lot. It is nice to have some a dependable stable of backups.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Plus, not all WR's have an adamantium skeleton like Conner Vernon. They get banged up..a lot. It is nice to have some a dependable stable of backups.
It's especially important in a position as crucial to the game plans as WR tend to be. It was not so very long ago that despite the depth chart at the beginning of the season, we were down to one QB...... Depth can disappear in the blink of the eye.

[Highlander]

Punter Austin Parker (6'1" 170) is verbal #12:

http://duke.scout.com/a.z?s=167&p=8&c=1&nid=7859658

He is an in state player from Mount Pleasant, NC.

Very Exciting! This is from my wife's alma mater and I can see the stadium lights from my front porch. Guess we'll have to check out a game or two this fall. I had heard rumor of it this weekend.

[Olympic Fan]

Offhand, I can't recall an offer sheet like that for a Duke-committed recruit (knock on wood till Signing Day) since Vince Oghobasse, and that was 10 years ago.

This 2015 class is shaping up quite nicely.

Actually, take a look at Lloyd's offer sheet from last year's class: Florida, Clemson, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Miami, Va Tech, South Carolina, Illinois (as well as UNC).

[conmanlhughes]

2015 Athlete Depriest Turner has committed to Duke.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

2015 Athlete Depriest Turner has committed to Duke.
One more reason to ring the Victory Bell... it's been filling the Yoh with peals of excitement for new Cheetahs heading to Durham.

[Richard Berg]

Okay I'm a novice at football recruiting and how it works, but what's the deal with all the WRs? 4 WRs in this class alone, and we're probably not done there yet.

I get that you can convert WRs to CBs or Safeties, but we're not lacking recruits there either (although only 1 safety in this class). Isn't this a little over kill?
Remember, Cut likes speed. WRs are usually the fastest sprinters on their high school team.

In Cut's system the possible substitutions go far beyond DB. RB is an option if he can block well: we saw Desmond Scott successfully convert in the other direction, and the snaps given to Snead over bigger & more experienced players like Juwan shows how much a quick/nimble runner is prized here. Perhaps even more important, fast-twitch track-star types have been critical to our turnaround on special teams, which went from a huge liability to the league standard in just a few years.

Plus, let's not forget these kids are 16 years old. Never know who might fill out to a TE-like build after a few more years in the gym.

[budwom]

Having spent most of the past 47 years watching Duke get burned by faster players, I say keep signing them until the pen runs out of ink.

As some have noted, some of these guys are already slated to play defensive back....and some that hybrid safety position that Cash plays (where you need
a fairly big kid).

Now we need a couple of running backs, a linebacker, and a top DL guy or two...

[Olympic Fan]

Trey Turner plays quarterback in high school, but he will almost certainly be a safety at Duke ... in fact, he seems to be a perfect candidate to replace Jeremy Cash at the strike position in a couple of years.

He's 6-1, 185 with 4.41 speed.

Bear Bryant (who was Cutcliffe's ultimate mentor) always recruited a ton of quarterbacks, believing they were the best athletes on their high school teams. He'd turn them into RBs, WRs, DBs and sometimes LBs. This appears to be a perfect example of Bryant's philosophy.

[roywhite]

Remember, Cut likes speed. WRs are usually the fastest sprinters on their high school team.




Having spent most of the past 47 years watching Duke get burned by faster players, I say keep signing them until the pen runs out of ink.

..


One more reason to ring the Victory Bell... it's been filling the Yoh with peals of excitement for new Cheetahs heading to Durham.

Cheetahs vs Cheaters?

That works for me!



**hat tip to a TDD poster

[devildeac]

Trey Turner plays quarterback in high school, but he will almost certainly be a safety at Duke ... in fact, he seems to be a perfect candidate to replace Jeremy Cash at the strike position in a couple of years.

He's 6-1, 185 with 4.41 speed.

Bear Bryant (who was Cutcliffe's ultimate mentor) always recruited a ton of quarterbacks, believing they were the best athletes on their high school teams. He'd turn them into RBs, WRs, DBs and sometimes LBs. This appears to be a perfect example of Bryant's philosophy.

He's too short to play QB anyway;):rolleyes:.

[devildeac]

Cheetahs vs Cheaters?

That works for me!



**hat tip to a TDD poster

Wait, Roy, I thought you were from NC and not Bahston:rolleyes:;).

[airowe]

Trey Turner plays quarterback in high school, but he will almost certainly be a safety at Duke

While Duke likes their safeties and cornerbacks to be interchangeable, Turner was on the board at CB. With Jordan Hayes at safety already, the staff is looking to Rashad Roundtree (http://247sports.com/Player/Rashad-Roundtree-37108) and Kahlil Haughton (http://247sports.com/Player/Kahlil-Haughton-34167) to fill that other safety spot in 2015.

Still, Turner will play on the field wherever he fits. Be that at CB, Safety, "Phantom", WR, PR, KR, wherever. Kid is an athlete, a la Keyston Fuller, who you get on the roster and put him on the field where he fits.

[roywhite]

And now Coach Cut and crew add another fast, versatile athlete (http://duke.scout.com/a.z?s=167&p=8&c=1&nid=7427008) who projects as a defensive back.

[Olympic Fan]

And now Coach Cut and crew add another fast, versatile athlete (http://duke.scout.com/a.z?s=167&p=8&c=1&nid=7427008) who projects as a defensive back.

17 D-1 offers, including Miami, UNC, Missouri, Wake Forest and Northwestern ...

[arnie]

17 D-1 offers, including Miami, UNC, Missouri, Wake Forest and Northwestern ...

This is getting ridiculous. I remember the Franks recruits in the early 2000s - we were beating out Bowling Green/Temple. We've come a long way since the arrival of Cut and Mr. White.

[budwom]

Trey Turner plays quarterback in high school, but he will almost certainly be a safety at Duke ... in fact, he seems to be a perfect candidate to replace Jeremy Cash at the strike position in a couple of years.

He's 6-1, 185 with 4.41 speed.

Bear Bryant (who was Cutcliffe's ultimate mentor) always recruited a ton of quarterbacks, believing they were the best athletes on their high school teams. He'd turn them into RBs, WRs, DBs and sometimes LBs. This appears to be a perfect example of Bryant's philosophy.

and then voila!, right on cue, Alabama QB/CB Keith Washington climbs into the Duke Blue Truck.

[53n206]

Is it true that we have 15 commitments for the class of 2015? I haven't seen numbers like that the last few years of Mack Brown's tenure at Texas.

[budwom]

Is it true that we have 15 commitments for the class of 2015? I haven't seen numbers like that the last few years of Mack Brown's tenure at Texas.

we've grabbed a lot of early commitments in the past, but not with the quality of this class.
There are a few other top notch guys looking to make decisions very soon....fingers crossed.

[Bob Green]

There are a few other top notch guys looking to make decisions very soon....fingers crossed.

An announcement from 4-Star TE Tyler Petite should come soon. He visited USC last week.

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/player/_/id/191618/tyler-petite

Safety Rashad Roundtree is another prospect to keep an eye on:

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/player/_/id/189165/rashad-roundtree

[BD80]

the redshirts always get killed, though. I wouldn't wish that on anybody.


Five minutes after reading that, I am still laughing.

Five minutes after reading that, I started laughing

[Bob Green]

4 Star TE (6'6" 225) Tyler Petite has verbally committed to Duke:

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/player/_/id/191618/tyler-petite

He picked Duke over USC.

[Mike Corey]

Perhaps the biggest get yet.

Duke just landed Tyler Petite (http://duke.scout.com/a.z?s=167&p=8&c=1&nid=7556950), one of the nation's top tight ends, who picked Duke over offers from Southern Cal, Stanford, Washington, Oregon State, Miami (FL), Arizona State, Arizona, and pretty much everyone else.

[ChillinDuke]

Perhaps the biggest get yet.

Duke just landed Tyler Petite (http://duke.scout.com/a.z?s=167&p=8&c=1&nid=7556950), one of the nation's top tight ends, who picked Duke over offers from Southern Cal, Stanford, Washington, Oregon State, Miami (FL), Arizona State, Arizona, and pretty much everyone else.

I know he is, but he certainly doesn't look petite.

...

...Sorry, sorry. I'll shut up now.

- Chillin

[mdj]

4 Star TE (6'6" 225) Tyler Petite has verbally committed to Duke:

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/player/_/id/191618/tyler-petite

He picked Duke over USC.


3 years ago I would have thought that link was an April fools joke.

[dpslaw]

Whomever takes over for Boone after this year is certainly going to have plenty of targets available!

[BD80]

So this is our best recruiting class since ... ?

[NSDukeFan]

So this is our best recruiting class since ... ?

Ace Parker?

[CameronBornAndBred]

So this is our best recruiting class since ... ?
I don't have enough fingers and toes to count. To add to the fun, Duke is now listed in the top 20 of the 2015 class. (At #20)
Don't know how long we'll stay there, but the way the coaches are bringing these guys in, it will be fun to pay attention to.
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/teamrank/2015/all/all

[Bob Green]

Here is a highlight reel of his junior season:

http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1846249/highlights/77537375

Typical highlight reel which shows him catching TD passes, delivering punishing blocks, catching the ball in traffic, piling up a bunch of YAC, etc....

[roywhite]

So this is our best recruiting class since ... ?

1986, I believe.

Steve Sloan was HC and Tommy Limbaugh was the Recruiting Coordinator; this was before rivals.com and scout.com, but they put together a class that some felt was a national top 10 class. Served as a foundation for the 1989 ACC Champs.

Great job by Coach Cut and staff, and they still have some highly ranked targets in sight.

[Bob Green]

Per Twitter, DB Brandon Feamster (6'3" 200) has committed to Duke:

http://duke.scout.com/a.z?s=167&p=8&c=1&nid=7745102

He also had offers from Syracuse and Connecticut.

https://twitter.com/Feamster28/status/484472048849518592/photo/1


Verbally committed to play football for Duke University #DukeGang #BlueDevils ���� pic.twitter.com/qAt502fuei

[roywhite]

Per Twitter, DB Brandon Feamster (6'3" 200) has committed to Duke:

http://duke.scout.com/a.z?s=167&p=8&c=1&nid=7745102

He also had offers from Syracuse and Connecticut.

https://twitter.com/Feamster28/status/484472048849518592/photo/1

Feamster finished high school with the Class of 2014, but decided on taking a prep year at Cheshire Academy in CT, and has been attracting more interest.

Looks like the type of prospect who could be a good-size Safety or potentially grow into a LB role.

The hits keep coming for Coach Cut and his staff.

[loran16]

Thought you might all find this interesting. There's a guy on twitter who writes for both a USC site and follows Fresno State recruiting. Asked about the Petite surprise, he tweeted:

‏@FightOnTwist:

@Sir_Roflcopter Word-of-mouth is really helping Duke right now. Former players can't stop raving about the program

@FightOnTwist:

@Sir_Roflcopter BC15 sure loved his time there. He looks at that staff and those players as family.

Not that this should be a surprise given that Connette left for solely family reasons, but it's always great to see.

[OldPhiKap]

Still plenty of room on the bus for those who want to jump on!

1. Finish last year in the top 25, major bowl appearance, showed we belong.
2. Return most players, some good young guns coming on, favorable schedule this year.
3. Top 20/25 recruiting class, following a string of ever-improving classes.
4. Upgraded Wally Wade, improved ACC football conference.
5. To quote Cut -- the best coaching staff in college football. (Doesn't sound as outrageous as when he said it years ago, does it?)
6. Bowl games are a HELL of a lot of FUN!!!!!

Rip 'me up, tear 'em up, GIVE'M HELL DUKE!!!

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Still plenty of room on the bus for those who want to jump on!

1. Finish last year in the top 25, major bowl appearance, showed we belong.
2. Return most players, some good young guns coming on, favorable schedule this year.
3. Top 20/25 recruiting class, following a string of ever-improving classes.
4. Upgraded Wally Wade, improved ACC football conference.
5. To quote Cut -- the best coaching staff in college football. (Doesn't sound as outrageous as when he said it years ago, does it?)
6. Bowl games are a HELL of a lot of FUN!!!!!

Rip 'me up, tear 'em up, GIVE'M HELL DUKE!!!

When we go to the next bowl, make sure I have your 10-7 for the party. I don't want to miss the next reunion!;)

[OldPhiKap]

When we go to the next bowl, make sure I have your 10-7 for the party. I don't want to miss the next reunion!;)

Truly sorry we did not cross paths this time, I know no more dedicated football fan than you.

And, without a doubt, the hostess with the mostest.

Have a great summer, hope to see you and The Faithful in the fall!

[DukeTrinity11]

Huge shocker but Coach Cutcliffe just landed the highest ranked recruit in his tenure here at Duke by landing 4 star TE Tyler Petite!!

http://reignoftroy.com/2014/07/02/commits-to-duke-football-recruiting-usc/
http://oldnorthbanter.com/2014/07/02/blue-devils-land-tyler-petite-emerging-football-program/

Apparently the closest comparison to him is Colby Fleener and Kyle Rudolph. It should be fun to see how Cut develops him as an offensive weapon.


Duke beating out USC for a Northern California recruit is just mind boggling to me. Duke Football will be a powerhouse in the years to come.

[oldnavy]

Still plenty of room on the bus for those who want to jump on!

1. Finish last year in the top 25, major bowl appearance, showed we belong.
2. Return most players, some good young guns coming on, favorable schedule this year.
3. Top 20/25 recruiting class, following a string of ever-improving classes.
4. Upgraded Wally Wade, improved ACC football conference.
5. To quote Cut -- the best coaching staff in college football. (Doesn't sound as outrageous as when he said it years ago, does it?)
6. Bowl games are a HELL of a lot of FUN!!!!!

Rip 'me up, tear 'em up, GIVE'M HELL DUKE!!!

I'm in. Season tics in section 24. Can't wait! Haven't been to games on a regular basis since the early 80's.

[Bob Green]

Per Twitter, OG Nick Wilson has opted for Stanford over Duke:


Nick Wilson ‏@MiltonOL77 · 58m
After countless hours of prayer, thought, and discussion, I am committed to Stanford University! ���� Go Cardinal and go U.S.A!����

Center Brian Chaffin picked Stanford over Duke a couple of weeks ago. OL recruiting has been our strength in recent years but Stanford out duels us for these two.

[-bdbd]

Per Twitter, OG Nick Wilson has opted for Stanford over Duke:



Center Brian Chaffin picked Stanford over Duke a couple of weeks ago. OL recruiting has been our strength in recent years but Stanford out duels us for these two.


Because of that recent success, this wasn't a big a big area of need this year. So if we had to have a miss or two, not a terrible spot to have it.

Just amazed at how well we are recruiting now. Hoping it continues...

[DUKIE V(A)]

Offensive Tackle Justin Skule (6'6" 305 Class of 2015) of Centreville High School (Clifton, VA) has given a verbal commitment to Vandy. Was hoping Duke could land the big fella. Best of luck to Justin in the SEC.

[Olympic Fan]

Because of that recent success, this wasn't a big a big area of need this year. So if we had to have a miss or two, not a terrible spot to have it.


Yes, Duke has missed on a number of big time OL prospects, but understand that Cut is going after a higher quality prospect than in the past. He already has a commitment from 6-7, 345 OT Reno Rosene -- a four-star on rivals, three star for scout and espn. He had offers from Nebraska, Wisconsin, Notre Dame and Arizona State (among others).

And while Duke has lost a couple of targets to the likes of Stanford, the Blue Devils are still in the mix for four ESPN four-star OL prospects and a ton of three star guys.

Agree that it wasn't a huge area of need in this class, but I feel sure than Cut will land 2, maybe 3, top OL prospects. We don't need quantity in this class, but you ALWAYS need quality.

[Bob Green]

Linebacker Ben Humphreys says Duke will definitely make his Top Five:

http://duke.scout.com/story/1420421-the-opening-lb-ben-humphreys?s=167


I'll cut my list to five in August and Washington and Duke will for sure make the cut. I don’t know about the other three spots yet.

[rhynelander]

One of the more exciting prospects on our wishlist this year is visiting Durham this weekend. Although Clemson and Carolina maybe tough to beat, I would be beyond ecstatic if he suited up for the Blue Devils. Hopefully the visit goes well, heard it was unseasonably cool today.

http://duke.247sports.com/Bolt/Nations-4-All-Purpose-Back-Nyheim-Hines-visiting-Duke-29636057

If you have any time to kill, you can really see that 4.3 speed in his highlights. (http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2063589/highlights/122814375)

[Bob Green]

Hopefully the visit goes well, heard it was unseasonably cool today.

Hines is from just down the road in Garner so the weather conditions this weekend (good or bad) will not be a surprise nor a factor. I agree 100 percent Hines is a big time recruit who would fit into the program wonderfully so, as you've already stated, hopefully the visit goes well.

[johnb]

One of the more exciting prospects on our wishlist this year is visiting Durham this weekend. Although Clemson and Carolina maybe tough to beat, I would be beyond ecstatic if he suited up for the Blue Devils. Hopefully the visit goes well, heard it was unseasonably cool today.

http://duke.247sports.com/Bolt/Nations-4-All-Purpose-Back-Nyheim-Hines-visiting-Duke-29636057

If you have any time to kill, you can really see that 4.3 speed in his highlights. (http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2063589/highlights/122814375)

As a junior, he gained 3100 yards rushing, 600 yards receiving, and 471 yards returning (that's over 4200 yards in a 14 game schedule). He scored 59 total touchdowns (as in >4/game). He has 10.67 speed in the 100 meters and runs track with another Duke target (Bryce Love). He could find a spot on our roster (and he seems like a good guy)...

[jimsumner]

As a junior, he gained 3100 yards rushing, 600 yards receiving, and 471 yards returning (that's over 4200 yards in a 14 game schedule). He scored 59 total touchdowns (as in >4/game). He has 10.67 speed in the 100 meters and runs track with another Duke target (Bryce Love). He could find a spot on our roster (and he seems like a good guy)...

"He could find a spot on our roster?" Practicing our understatement skills, I gather.

[johnb]

"He could find a spot on our roster?" Practicing our understatement skills, I gather.

I debated various forms of understatement, but I might've just stuck with my first impression: it'd be awesome to have him in the backfield.

It'd also be great to sign Sam Darnold, who's a 3/4 star quarterback (and linebacker!) from California. 13 straight prognosticators have picked him for Duke on 247 in the past few days (8 of whom having switched their guess from Southern Cal, and 2 from Oregon). To beat out the Ducks and the Trojans for a highly rated qb wouldn't be a bad thing....

http://247sports.com/PlayerInstitution/Sam-Darnold-at-San-Clemente-49678/CurrentExpertPredictions

[Bob Green]

QB Sam Darnold is a Trojan. He just verballed to USC.

[Bob Green]

Nyheim Hines ‏@TheNyNy2 · 16m
Duke visit! Had a great time #dukegang

4242

Nyheim Hines is a game changer.

[loran16]

Well, while we fantasize on Hines, apparently we're picking up another 4-star tomorrow.

Linebacker Ben Humphreys, from California is apparently committing tomorrow - Steve Wiseman tweeted it out and two Duke position coaches have tweeted references to a big recruit committing from CA today - apparently this was supposed to come out tomorrow, but you know how things leak.

So that'd be two four-stars!! both from California?!?! Nice.

[Bob Green]

Linebacker Ben Humphreys, from California is apparently committing tomorrow -

This is a huge commitment. I see him as a future Strike Safety at Duke, the position Jeremy Cash currently occupies. Humphreys is 6'3" 190 with 4.50 speed. His offer list is impressive: Arizona, Arizona State, Washington, Washington State, Oregon State, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Miami, Boston College, Fresno State...


So that'd be two four-stars!! both from California?!?! Nice.

It is according to which list you look at. WR Keyston Fuller, from Georgia, is a 4-Star on ESPN. He is #193 on their ESPN300 list.

[4Gen]

The recruiting pitch is easy.

1) You'll have a fully committed big time football experience. (Finally true)

2) If you want to work for it, you'll have a degree from one of the elite universities of the world. (Always true)

[Faison1]

This is a huge commitment. I see him as a future Strike Safety at Duke, the position Jeremy Cash currently occupies. Humphreys is 6'3" 190 with 4.50 speed. His offer list is impressive: Arizona, Arizona State, Washington, Washington State, Oregon State, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Miami, Boston College, Fresno State...



It is according to which list you look at. WR Keyston Fuller, from Georgia, is a 4-Star on ESPN. He is #193 on their ESPN300 list.

What awesome news! Can't wait to see these guys grow and kick some tail.

I never know which site does the best work, but I always heard Rivals is good for football recruiting. According to them, we already have 2 4-stars, TE Tyler Petite, and OL Reno Rosene. Even before the Humphreys commitment, they rank Duke's class as #21 so far!! We should climb a few spots with his signing.

How great is that?!?!

[roywhite]

Well, while we fantasize on Hines, apparently we're picking up another 4-star tomorrow.

Linebacker Ben Humphreys, from California is apparently committing tomorrow - Steve Wiseman tweeted it out and two Duke position coaches have tweeted references to a big recruit committing from CA today - apparently this was supposed to come out tomorrow, but you know how things leak.

So that'd be two four-stars!! both from California?!?! Nice.

Ben has confirmed the good news with an announcement on twitter.
@Ben_Humphreys3: I am extremely excited to announce that I have committed to THE DUKE UNIVERSITY!!! Cannot wait to get to Durham! #RingTheBell #DukeGang

[loran16]

This is a huge commitment. I see him as a future Strike Safety at Duke, the position Jeremy Cash currently occupies. Humphreys is 6'3" 190 with 4.50 speed. His offer list is impressive: Arizona, Arizona State, Washington, Washington State, Oregon State, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Miami, Boston College, Fresno State...



It is according to which list you look at. WR Keyston Fuller, from Georgia, is a 4-Star on ESPN. He is #193 on their ESPN300 list.

ESPN's rankings seem to diverge the most from the rest. They had us with 4 4-stars last year - None of the other services had us with one. They have us with two right now, but Fuller instead of Humphreys. Rivals incidentally also has Reno Rosene as a 4-star.

[devildeac]

The recruiting pitch is easy.

1) You'll have a fully committed big time football experience. (Finally true)

2) If you want to work for it, you'll have a degree from one of the elite universities of the world. (Always true)

During Cut's first summer tour of NC, he stressed that one of the things that made recruiting "easier" for him (we all know FB recruiting was not easy early in his tenure) was that he could walk into a recruit's home and tell him and his family that in 4-5 years (6 if your name was Kenny;)), that player would have a Duke degree.

[Faison1]

We're up to #17 on Rivals.....Sweet!!

If we can add a couple more high quality guys, this will be the best recruiting class in a while.

Fingers crossed for Hines!!!

It MUST be easier to sign guys when you can say, "Hey, we just landed 4-star so-and-so.....you should be next."

[Bob Green]

If we can add a couple more high quality guys, this will be the best recruiting class in a while.

My expectation is things will slow down now as there are only a few slots left. Another good season will result in a couple of quality guys committing after the season/around National Signing Day. We've had success with late commitments for the past few seasons:

2014: Trevon Lee committed on 2/03/14
2013: Deondre Singleton committed on 1/20/13
2012: Jela Duncan committed on 2/1/12; Shaq Powell committed on 12/11/11

The big unknown for me is exactly how many spots are available in the 2015 class. We are up to 18 commitments, and I'm working off the premise there are 22 spots available, but that is complete guesswork on my part.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

According to this article on SB Nation: (http://www.sbnation.com/college-football-recruiting/2014/7/20/5920295/ben-humphreys-recruiting-duke-commits)

Duke's 2015 class now stands at 18 members, and currently ranks 20th in the 247sports composite team rankings -- directly ahead of Oregon and Texas.

How times have changed...

[loran16]

According to this article on SB Nation: (http://www.sbnation.com/college-football-recruiting/2014/7/20/5920295/ben-humphreys-recruiting-duke-commits)

Duke's 2015 class now stands at 18 members, and currently ranks 20th in the 247sports composite team rankings -- directly ahead of Oregon and Texas.

How times have changed...

Still below Northwestern though, so we're still an outrage :-P

EDIT:
Bob, I believe there are three four-stars left that we are trying hard for:
Johnny Frasier (RB, probably going to FSU, but they're making a push)
Rashad Roundtree (Safety from Georgia, a real possibility)
and the aforemenioned Nyheim Hines.

Obviously a few three stars left we could pick up too, but getting one more 4-star from those 3 is possible.

[Bob Green]

Is Jeff Faris hinting at something?



Jeff Faris @JeffFaris · 18h

#CaliFab5

Class of 2015 currently includes four recruits from California: Ben Humphreys, Tyler Petite, Reno Rosene and Aaron Young.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Is Jeff Faris hinting at something?
Class of 2015 currently includes four recruits from California: Ben Humphreys, Tyler Petite, Reno Rosene and Aaron Young.
Hmmm...that would be amazing. Has he indicated when he plans on announcing?

[English]

Is Jeff Faris hinting at something?




Class of 2015 currently includes four recruits from California: Ben Humphreys, Tyler Petite, Reno Rosene and Aaron Young.

To whom might the good Mr. Faris be referring? Are we targeting any other 3- or 4-star Cali recruits that are yet to announce?

Jeff Faris, by the way, is on the Duke Football staff--he's not a recruit himself.

[Bob Green]

To whom might the good Mr. Faris be referring? Are we targeting any other 3- or 4-star Cali recruits that are yet to announce?

I'm not sure. OL Kevin Estes from San Marcos, CA would be my guess.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

I'm not sure. OL Kevin Estes from San Marcos, CA would be my guess.

If he's a cheetah, there's a place in the Duke Coalition for him.;)

[nmduke2001]

Conerback Frank Buncom IV, from San Diego has us in his final 8. I think Stanford is the favorite.

[CameronBornAndBred]

To whom might the good Mr. Faris be referring? Are we targeting any other 3- or 4-star Cali recruits that are yet to announce?

Jeff Faris, by the way, is on the Duke Football staff--he's not a recruit himself.
Right, I was implying Estes. (From reading a post of Bob's elsewhere) Jeff is one of the Duke football coaching stories that will be fun to pay attention to, he was a player under Cutcliffe and is now one of the best recruiters in the ACC.


First year Duke wide receivers coach Jeff Faris (http://247sports.com/Coach/Jeff-Faris-1783) hasn't coached a down in his new position, but he's already showing why David Cutcliffe (http://247sports.com/Coach/David-Cutcliffe-449) promoted him from grad assistant in the offseason.Faris has been responsible for five of Duke's eleven commitments in this cycle already, (http://247sports.com/Season/2015-Football/CompositeCoachRankings?Conference=ACC) with all of them being high 3-Star or better recruits. As of that article, he was 5th on the list, now he is 3rd.
http://duke.247sports.com/Bolt/Duke-WR-coach-Jeff-Faris-moves-up-to-5th-best-ACC-recruiter-29184040

http://247sports.com/Season/2015-Football/CompositeCoachRankings?Conference=ACC

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

The Victory Bell was rung a few minutes ago. #16 for 2015 ;)

[budwom]

The Victory Bell was rung a few minutes ago. #16 for 2015 ;)

details?

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

details?
Here's an article from the Chronicle. When I posted that, I didn't have the name yet. This is big, really big.
https://www.dukechronicle.com/blogs/bluezone/posts/2014/07/25/scott-bracey-could-be-duke-footballs-biggest-commit-program-history

[nmduke2001]

Here's an article from the Chronicle. When I posted that, I didn't have the name yet. This is big, really big.
https://www.dukechronicle.com/blogs/bluezone/posts/2014/07/25/scott-bracey-could-be-duke-footballs-biggest-commit-program-history

Wow. That's amazing.

[budwom]

Tremendous recruit, but he's class of 2016 so he's not our 16th recruit in the current class...

[TruBlu]

Is Jeff Faris hinting at something?




Class of 2015 currently includes four recruits from California: Ben Humphreys, Tyler Petite, Reno Rosene and Aaron Young.

I'm guessing we now know what he was hinting.

[Duvall]

I'm guessing we now know what he was hinting.

Or do we? Seems likely that another California commitment may be coming, though not quite done yet.

[Bob Green]

I'm guessing we now know what he was hinting.


Or do we? Seems likely that another California commitment may be coming, though not quite done yet.

I agree with Duvall. Today's big commit is from Virginia, I think something is still shaking in California!

[devildeac]

I agree with Duvall. Today's big commit is from Virginia, I think something is still shaking in California!

And hopefully it's not the Golden Gate Bridge:rolleyes:.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Within the past hour, the staff has tweeted to ring the bell for a recruit in the 2015 class.... but no name ..... yet. Stay tuned!;)

[CameronBornAndBred]

Within the past hour, the staff has tweeted to ring the bell for a recruit in the 2015 class.... but no name ..... yet. Stay tuned!;)
I love how they are using the bell; hopefully we'll be using it next season, too!

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

I love how they are using the bell; hopefully we'll be using it next season, too!
During this interval of time there is a building of new football traditions while honoring some of the old traditions.

The company hired to manage the branding for the athletic department provides generic branding. It's up to real people in programs like the football program to generate the traditions which resonate with all of us.

I'm so delighted that the bell is being used and not stored in a closet until the next Carolina football game.

[Olympic Fan]

The recruit is Zack Baker, a 6-3, 265 pound OG from Green Cove Springs, Fla.

Can't find a star rating, but he had 25 confirmed offers, including 14 from BCS schools -- Georgia Tech and Wake offered from the ACC, along with Cal. Oregon State, Iowa State and West Virginia.

A solid pickup ...

Update: 247 has him as a three-star and lists him at 6-4, 283 ...

[-bdbd]

http://duke.scout.com/a.z?s=167&p=8&c=1&nid=7558675


6'3" and 265, with some great scouting video - and tons of offers, including Cal (are they sick of us stealing their recruits yet or what?!!), GaTech, Cincy, WV, Iowa State, Wake, etc.
Listed at Off Tackle and Center - I think Center may have been a remaining need for this class...

Looks like a solid 3-star recruit. But only about 3 slots left for this class (19 of 22) ?

Am thinking we will still get 1-2 RB's, and maybe a DT and maybe another LB....

Welcome Zack! :cool:

[CameronBornAndBred]

Two posters so far have named the new Blue Devil Zack. His name is Zach. There is a Zack Baker out of California, also in the 2015 class, that is listed as a "dual threat quarterback" on Rivals. However, he is not threatening anyone's recruiting lists.
https://rivals.yahoo.com/basketballrecruiting/football/recruiting/player-Zack-Baker-160877

[johnb]

Nyheim Hines is looking at a variety of schools but just got back from Ohio State. Here's his video: http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2063589/highlights/122814375

Urban Meyer made sure Nyheim Hines knows he is a wanted man, and the country's No. 2 all-purpose back says he has never seen anything like Ohio State.http://northcarolina.247sports.com/Article/Nyheim-Hines-Has-Never-Seen-Anything-Like-Ohio-State-28906236

A couple other links if you're interested....

http://www.sbnation.com/college-football-recruiting/2014/6/1/5770224/nyheim-hines-clemson-ohio-state-south-carolina-recruiting-nike-camp

http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2013/12/ohio_state_is_in_with_three-st.html

[johnb]

Just another angle on the ongoing recruiting success.
espn's current rankings of classes puts us at #23. it's insider, but i'll quote a bit... http://insider.espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/classrankings/_/class/2015/date/20140728

15UCLA
16USC
17Texas
18North Carolina
19Oregon
20Michigan
21Oklahoma State
22Oklahoma
23Duke
24Florida
25Arkansas

If this were one of those tests of "which school doesn't belong," people would historically have not found this difficult (though I'm not sure they wouldn't have said both of the schools in the state of North Carolina).
Now, they might ask which of the above teams didn't win 10 games last year, and the "out of place" teams would be Texas, Michigan, Carolina, Florida, and Arkansas (the latter two with losing records, and Florida had to grab our OC to try turn things around)....

[Bob Green]

This is an information filled article on Duke's 2015 recruiting efforts:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/08/01/5080197/duke-football-taking-on-field.html#.U9zPDsJ0zIU

I like this comment on DE Trevon McSwain:


Trevon McSwain, a Georgia defensive end, is one of Luginbill’s favorites in the class, based on his ability to fill out his frame (6-foot-6, 220 pounds – Luginbill projects him at 260 entering his redshirt freshman year) and room for development.

[CameronBornAndBred]

This is an information filled article on Duke's 2015 recruiting efforts:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/08/01/5080197/duke-football-taking-on-field.html#.U9zPDsJ0zIU

I like this comment on DE Trevon McSwain:
My favorite was from Tyler Petite.

Obviously there are great coaches everywhere, but I don’t think you could find a guy like coach Cutcliffe, especially what he’s been doing there.

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

My favorite was from Tyler Petite.
This was my favorite bit...

"Duke coach David Cutcliffe has said on multiple occasions that he considers Duke’s academic standards a benefit in recruiting, not a hindrance."

[CameronBornAndBred]

This was my favorite bit...

"Duke coach David Cutcliffe has said on multiple occasions that he considers Duke’s academic standards a benefit in recruiting, not a hindrance."
That is one of the things I have always like about Cut; he has repeated those words from his first introductory press conference. Also since day one he has stressed if you are fast, you will play. He has made both statements a great foundation for the program he is building.

[Bob Green]

Is Jeff Faris hinting at something?

He did it again last night:


Jeff Faris @JeffFaris · 10h

#CaliFab5

Is something shaking in California? Kevin Estes or Frank Buncom, perhaps.

[duke blue brewcrew]

Does anyone have a feel for where we stand on recruiting a RB for the 2015 class? For the longest, it seemed like Gallaspy was our guy. Then it seemed like Hines could sneak in for a pleasant surprise. Lately, it doesn't seem like there's any indication of who (if anyone) will be the guy at RB for Duke in this class.

[duke blue brewcrew]

My apologies if this has been discussed previously in this thread, but I believe we are currently sitting at 19 commits. How many more commitments can we accept for the class of 2015?

[Bob Green]

How many more commitments can we accept for the class of 2015?

The number I've seen thrown around is 22. I believe the number is fluid.

[Bob Green]

Does anyone have a feel for where we stand on recruiting a RB for the 2015 class?

Nope. The staff is going after top guys and top guys tend to commit late.

[duke blue brewcrew]

The number I've seen thrown around is 22. I believe the number is fluid.

Thanks for the feedback Bob. When you say, the number is fluid...how does that work exactly? I am assuming there is a maximum player limit for the team which in turns sets the number for the incoming class...correct?

[duke blue brewcrew]

Nope. The staff is going after top guys and top guys tend to commit late.

I love that we are going after the top talent! Waiting for the decision to happen (from a fan's and I'm assuming from a Coach's perspective) is the nerve wracking part as we all know. There's always the chance that we come up empty at that position...hope not! The one bright note is, we get Jela back next year. That will certainly help with depth, and is the equivalent of getting a recruit who can play immediately. He has starter talent, knows the system already and assuming his academics are in order...will challenge Shaq for playing time at the top of the rotation.

[Dev11]

Thanks for the feedback Bob. When you say, the number is fluid...how does that work exactly? I am assuming there is a maximum player limit for the team which in turns sets the number for the incoming class...correct?

Football is harder the judge than basketball, with redshirt situations in flux and the unfortunate existence of the soft verbal. I think Duke has been good/lucky to avoid having commits flip to other schools, but it's always a possibility.

[Bob Green]

Thanks for the feedback Bob. When you say, the number is fluid...how does that work exactly? I am assuming there is a maximum player limit for the team which in turns sets the number for the incoming class...correct?

The scholarship players limit is 85. Slots are open dependent upon how many players leave the program. The number of seniors is a known quantity, but the number becomes fluid dependent upon how many redshirt juniors decide to skip their final year of eligibility and move on. Or players get dismissed or transfer or are placed in a medical hardship status.

[Listen to Quants]

The scholarship players limit is 85. Slots are open dependent upon how many players leave the program. The number of seniors is a known quantity, but the number becomes fluid dependent upon how many redshirt juniors decide to skip their final year of eligibility and move on. Or players get dismissed or transfer or are placed in a medical hardship status.

Well, if you are going to be nice enough to educate we uninformed, I will make sure that good deed is punished by asking for more from you. Do you have any idea of how much of the decision by a redshirt junior to skip the final year of eligibility is driven by the coaches and how much the player? Obviously if the player doesn't want to participate then that is that, but if the player if a guy who has just not worked out, is unlikely to contribute to the success of the team, but still wants to hang in there do the coaches tell him 'sorry-we-need-your-spot? Also, if a player does not play his redshirt senior year and is not counted in the 85 limit, can/does Duke still give him a scholarship for school if he wants it to finish up? Finally, what is the SEC standard in that treatment, if you know it?

[budwom]

Bob knows more than I do I'm sure...but when it comes to red shirt juniors, the staff makes the call....kids DO have four full years plus summer sessions to get
their degrees (useful, of course, since the football schedule is demanding). Kids who are injured and won't compete ever for Duke keep their scholarships at Duke
(don't think it's a right, it's what Duke properly decides to do) and they don't count against the 85 player limit.

Given the summer sessions and much less demanding second semester each year, Duke players have every opportunity to graduate and routinely do.

Every year there are at least several kids who either get hurt, transfer, drop out or are thrown off the team. Not predictably precise.
Who would have expected Connette to transfer? Stuff happens, unfortunately...

[duke blue brewcrew]

The scholarship players limit is 85. Slots are open dependent upon how many players leave the program. The number of seniors is a known quantity, but the number becomes fluid dependent upon how many redshirt juniors decide to skip their final year of eligibility and move on. Or players get dismissed or transfer or are placed in a medical hardship status.

I recently listening to what I believe was the Mike& Mike show on ESPN Radio. I believe Golic was explaining that scholarships are actually offered as 4 one year scholarships. Meaning, the school has the luxury of withdrawing the offer (or not extending the additional one year scholarships) if it isn't working out. Have you guys ever heard of this as a common practice? I would assume that factors into this discussion as another factor for recruiting class size.

[Dev11]

I recently listening to what I believe was the Mike& Mike show on ESPN Radio. I believe Golic was explaining that scholarships are actually offered as 4 one year scholarships. Meaning, the school has the luxury of withdrawing the offer (or not extending the additional one year scholarships) if it isn't working out. Have you guys ever heard of this as a common practice? I would assume that factors into this discussion as another factor for recruiting class size.

The NCAA says that those scholarships are only a year, but every time a team pulls a scholarship from a player before 4 years are up, it's a big deal. New coaches will sometimes not renew old scholarships because they want new players immediately (glances at Rupp Arena), but it's generally bad PR for a program to dismiss kids before they've had a shot at graduating.

I haven't heard of any Duke players to whom this has happened, but it's possible they could have done so under the guise of having a player transfer first. I'm not suggesting anything in particular, just noting how a program might remove a scholarship while limiting damage control.

I believe Florida State recently announced that they were going to onpy give out "4 year scholarships" to show their commitment to players. Whatever, that doesn't mean anything.

[OldPhiKap]

I recently listening to what I believe was the Mike& Mike show on ESPN Radio. I believe Golic was explaining that scholarships are actually offered as 4 one year scholarships. Meaning, the school has the luxury of withdrawing the offer (or not extending the additional one year scholarships) if it isn't working out. Have you guys ever heard of this as a common practice? I would assume that factors into this discussion as another factor for recruiting class size.

I don't know the mechanics, but there certainly are schools that pull scholarships of lower-performing players to give to new studs coming in. Not sure that Duke has a history of that though.

Football recruiting, "commitments" and scholarships is a whole different kettle of fish than basketball. Don't count your chickens before signing day.

[Bob Green]

...but when it comes to red shirt juniors, the staff makes the call....kids DO have four full years plus summer sessions to get
their degrees...

I agree with budwom except for that part about me knowing more. I know a little about a whole lot, but I'm not sure I know a whole lot about anything.

[nmduke2001]

I don't know the mechanics, but there certainly are schools that pull scholarships of lower-performing players to give to new studs coming in. Not sure that Duke has a history of that though.

Football recruiting, "commitments" and scholarships is a whole different kettle of fish than basketball. Don't count your chickens before signing day.

If I remember correctly, former soccer coach John Rennie did it relatively often. He did it in 1999 though I couldn't find an article about it. I did find this article about him cutting multiple players in 1997.

http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/1997/06/12/mens-soccer-cuts-quarter-returning-squad

The article does not touch on the scholarship situation.

[alteran]

The NCAA says that those scholarships are only a year, but every time a team pulls a scholarship from a player before 4 years are up, it's a big deal. New coaches will sometimes not renew old scholarships because they want new players immediately (glances at Rupp Arena), but it's generally bad PR for a program to dismiss kids before they've had a shot at graduating.

I haven't heard of any Duke players to whom this has happened, but it's possible they could have done so under the guise of having a player transfer first. I'm not suggesting anything in particular, just noting how a program might remove a scholarship while limiting damage control.

I believe Florida State recently announced that they were going to onpy give out "4 year scholarships" to show their commitment to players. Whatever, that doesn't mean anything.

I have heard repeatedly that dropping players for not being good enough after a year or two is basically SOP in the SEC. Probably more so at some schools than others. I think the term they use is "oversigning."

[-bdbd]

I have heard repeatedly that dropping players for not being good enough after a year or two is basically SOP in the SEC. Probably more so at some schools than others. I think the term they use is "oversigning."

'could be mistaken, but I thought "oversigning" was when a program offered/commited clearly more recruits than they had slots available for. I recall seeing lists of some SEC teams that had around 20 spots avaialble and offered and received commitments from as many as 28-30 recruits. I liken it to planning for a wedding where you have 100 seats but send out invitations to 125 guests, knowing full well that some will decline. Many of these recruits, who are often highly recruited but not leaning heavily on the SCHOLAR side of the scholar-athlete equation, are a decent bet not to qualify academically, or just to simply decommit. Of course, that really isn't an issue at Duke.

[Dev11]

'could be mistaken, but I thought "oversigning" was when a program offered/commited clearly more recruits than they had slots available for. I recall seeing lists of some SEC teams that had around 20 spots avaialble and offered and received commitments from as many as 28-30 recruits. I liken it to planning for a wedding where you have 100 seats but send out invitations to 125 guests, knowing full well that some will decline. Many of these recruits, who are often highly recruited but not leaning heavily on the SCHOLAR side of the scholar-athlete equation, are a decent bet not to qualify academically, or just to simply decommit. Of course, that really isn't an issue at Duke.

Duke Football has a lot more scholarship offers out than it has spots on the team. Every football team has to do this. Duke Basketball is one of the few programs capable of casting a small recruiting net.

[roywhite]

'could be mistaken, but I thought "oversigning" was when a program offered/commited clearly more recruits than they had slots available for. I recall seeing lists of some SEC teams that had around 20 spots avaialble and offered and received commitments from as many as 28-30 recruits. I liken it to planning for a wedding where you have 100 seats but send out invitations to 125 guests, knowing full well that some will decline. Many of these recruits, who are often highly recruited but not leaning heavily on the SCHOLAR side of the scholar-athlete equation, are a decent bet not to qualify academically, or just to simply decommit. Of course, that really isn't an issue at Duke.


Duke Football has a lot more scholarship offers out than it has spots on the team. Every football team has to do this. Duke Basketball is one of the few programs capable of casting a small recruiting net.

Yeah, the number of offers to prospects does not constitute over-signing, it's the number of commitments where the numbers count.

The SEC has been notorious for this practice, though they have made some effort to clean it up. The number of announced commits may drop due to players not meeting academic standards and not being admitted for the fall semester. There are also some creative options available with early enrolees where the scholarship counts against the previous year, and yes, occasionally existing scholarship players are encouraged to leave or transfer.

One positive way to look at this is that a list of the top recruiting classes on signing day does not tell the whole story. Duke may finish 20th or 25th or whatever (they seem to be in that range currently with the 2015 class), but they generally do not lose any of those that sign the national LOI. On the other hand, some SEC schools may have 3 or more on that list that don't make it to school the following fall. A better ranking of recruiting classes is done with those that actually enroll.

[alteran]

'could be mistaken, but I thought "oversigning" was when a program offered/commited clearly more recruits than they had slots available for. I recall seeing lists of some SEC teams that had around 20 spots avaialble and offered and received commitments from as many as 28-30 recruits. I liken it to planning for a wedding where you have 100 seats but send out invitations to 125 guests, knowing full well that some will decline. Many of these recruits, who are often highly recruited but not leaning heavily on the SCHOLAR side of the scholar-athlete equation, are a decent bet not to qualify academically, or just to simply decommit. Of course, that really isn't an issue at Duke.

This is probably a semantic discussion. I would say that implicit in extreme oversigning (not offering, but signing) is the fact that you have to run some players off the team. When people say "oversigning is a problem," they are complaining not about the signing per se, but the running off. But I see your point.

This site (http://oversigning.com/testing/) has some good info.

[johnb]

Duke Football has a lot more scholarship offers out than it has spots on the team. Every football team has to do this. Duke Basketball is one of the few programs capable of casting a small recruiting net.

Even Duke basketball offers more scholarships than those are available. We've had ongoing debates about how such offers are prioritized, and I remain convinced that they wouldn't have allowed a guy like Looney to announce a Duke commitment if we were waiting to hear from Winslow for the last roster spot--and I'd hope we'd never try to get both while telling a recruited scholarship junior that he would have to transfer.

The practice of removing a scholarship strikes me as repugnant. I'd forgotten about Rennie's soccer decisions, but I would be really disappointed if such a practice would be acceptable these days.

[duke blue brewcrew]

The NCAA says that those scholarships are only a year, but every time a team pulls a scholarship from a player before 4 years are up, it's a big deal. New coaches will sometimes not renew old scholarships because they want new players immediately (glances at Rupp Arena), but it's generally bad PR for a program to dismiss kids before they've had a shot at graduating.

I haven't heard of any Duke players to whom this has happened, but it's possible they could have done so under the guise of having a player transfer first. I'm not suggesting anything in particular, just noting how a program might remove a scholarship while limiting damage control.

I believe Florida State recently announced that they were going to onpy give out "4 year scholarships" to show their commitment to players. Whatever, that doesn't mean anything.

I believe this is where Duke uses the "Medical Redshirt" or something of that ilk for players in their last year but aren't contributing to the team. Don't the Blue Devils have two of those this year? Basically, the scholarship is honored so that they can finish up school, but they are no longer a member of the team?

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

I believe this is where Duke uses the "Medical Redshirt" or something of that ilk for players in their last year but aren't contributing to the team. Don't the Blue Devils have two of those this year? Basically, the scholarship is honored so that they can finish up school, but they are no longer a member of the team?

Who were the two players? I must have missed something.

[Olympic Fan]

I believe this is where Duke uses the "Medical Redshirt" or something of that ilk for players in their last year but aren't contributing to the team. Don't the Blue Devils have two of those this year? Basically, the scholarship is honored so that they can finish up school, but they are no longer a member of the team?

Lots of schools do this -- it's not a medical redshirt (those count against your scholarship limit).

But when a kid is physically unable to play again, a school may put that player on a list of permanently injured players. He can remain on scholarship as long as the school wants and NOT count against the limit. But the key is that he can NEVER return to the team.

[Dev11]

Interesting article this morning from Andy Staples about the complicated nature of recruiting 16 year old kids to play college football as it relates to their size:

http://www.si.com/college-football/2014/08/10/college-football-recruiting-projection-process

He says the best recruiters can figure out how big a kid is going to get and therefore which position to slot him to. I wasn't aware that the best players on a given high school team are all playing quarterback and safety, but it sort of relates to the baseball adage that everybody in the majors used to be a shortstop.

The most eye-opening note was that a 50% success rate on recruits is considered really good. Recruiting is tough, apparently.

[jimsumner]

Who were the two players? I must have missed something.

Jared Boyd and Mario Sanders.

[Bob Green]

No surprise that 4* RB Johnny Frasier (Princeton, NC) has committed to Florida State. We need Nyheim Hines (Garner, NC) to select Duke. Running back is the last position needing to be filled in 2015. Bryce Love (Wake Forest, NC) and Reggie Gallaspy (Greensboro, NC) are additional players to keep an eye on.

[CameronBornAndBred]

No surprise that 4* RB Johnny Frasier (Princeton, NC) has committed to Florida State. We need Nyheim Hines (Garner, NC) to select Duke. Running back is the last position needing to be filled in 2015. Bryce Love (Wake Forest, NC) and Reggie Gallaspy (Greensboro, NC) are additional players to keep an eye on.
Looking at his offer sheet on Yahoo...see a familiar name as his recruiter from Florida?
http://sports.yahoo.com/nebraska/football/recruiting/player-Nyheim-Hines-147822

[BD80]

Looking at his offer sheet on Yahoo...see a familiar name as his recruiter from Florida?
http://sports.yahoo.com/nebraska/football/recruiting/player-Nyheim-Hines-147822

No..

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Looking at his offer sheet on Yahoo...see a familiar name as his recruiter from Florida?
http://sports.yahoo.com/nebraska/football/recruiting/player-Nyheim-Hines-147822
LOL! Kurt Roper isn't going to recuse himself!;)

[Bob Green]

Here is a link to a nice article on Punter Austin Parker:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/08/15/5103565/mount-pleasants-austin-parker.html#.U-52csJ0zIU


Academically, Austin ranks in the top 10 percent of his class and is planning to study engineering at Duke.

His father, Daren Parker, was a Punter for the Denver Broncos in 1992.

[duke blue brewcrew]

No surprise that 4* RB Johnny Frasier (Princeton, NC) has committed to Florida State. We need Nyheim Hines (Garner, NC) to select Duke. Running back is the last position needing to be filled in 2015. Bryce Love (Wake Forest, NC) and Reggie Gallaspy (Greensboro, NC) are additional players to keep an eye on.

I'm getting a sinking feeling we might not land our much needed RB in this class. The good news is, Duncan will be back next year. That's like getting a great recruit with built-in experience. That said, we need more quality depth at the position. While I've been hoping for Hines, it has seemed like Gallaspy was the hottest iron in the fire. That iron seems to have cooled a bit lately. Anyone have any insight...finger on the pulse of what's going on at RB?

Speaking of Duncan, my assumption is that he will not lose a year of eligibility this year sitting out...correct?

[CameronBornAndBred]

Speaking of Duncan, my assumption is that he will not lose a year of eligibility this year sitting out...correct?
I was thinking that since he was completely suspended from school, it would not affect his eligibility, but according to this article from last year he will still have to consider it a redshirt. That seems odd to me.

Duncan will be eligible at the start of the Spring 2015 semester, and can redshirt the year he misses.
http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2013/12/21/5233830/jela-duncan-duke-suspension

[Bob Green]

That seems odd to me.

It is the standard five years to complete four years of competition rule. The year suspended counts as the non-competition year.

[johnb]

I'm getting a sinking feeling we might not land our much needed RB in this class. The good news is, Duncan will be back next year. That's like getting a great recruit with built-in experience. That said, we need more quality depth at the position. While I've been hoping for Hines, it has seemed like Gallaspy was the hottest iron in the fire. That iron seems to have cooled a bit lately. Anyone have any insight...finger on the pulse of what's going on at RB?


From reading reports, it seems that Nyheim is making every effort not to distinguish among his favorites. 247 has Clemson as the favorite, followed by NC State and Duke. Going only from a football angle, Clemson has its advantages. A solidly top 20 program with a top 3 2015 recruiting class, Nyheim would have two elite offensive linemen just in his class (and 2 other solid offensive linemen). espn ranks theirs as the 2nd best O line in the conference. if things break well, he could be the running back on a team that competes for a NC. That's potentially persuasive. (http://www.nunesmagician.com/2014/7/22/5910293/acc-football-2014-position-rankings-offensive-line-florida-state-preview-clemson-conference). Otoh, Duke's O line is ranked 4th in that article, and we're all aware of our recent progression. Further, Clemson has already recruited a 4 star athlete who plays Nyheim's position, the Tigers may be destined to play second fiddle to FSU for the foreseeable future. NC State may be a sentimental favorite, but he'd be an outlier for their recruiting class (which is now rated #76 at 247, between SMU and Houston). From a Goldilocks perspective, Duke might be exactly not too hot or cold... we are in the correct Carolina, we should be annually competitive to win the Coastal, and we have a clear history of playing multiple running backs--which means he would almost certainly get lots of touches. Obviously, anybody would want him on their team, but it would still be a natural step for him to choose Duke.

[CameronBornAndBred]

It is the standard five years to complete four years of competition rule. The year suspended counts as the non-competition year.
It seems odd that they count a year that he isn't even taking class. He isn't on campus, he isn't doing anything that is university sanctioned. He flat out is not a student in any capacity. If he were to transfer, would the year count against him, too? Would he have to sit out a year at his new school?

[FerryFor50]

It seems odd that they count a year that he isn't even taking class. He isn't on campus, he isn't doing anything that is university sanctioned. He flat out is not a student in any capacity. If he were to transfer, would the year count against him, too? Would he have to sit out a year at his new school?

Well, look at it this way... if there were no penalty from the NCAA for being suspended for academics, wouldn't that set a bad example?

The way schools like UNC get around this is by simply not suspending their athletes and helping them succeed with fake classes! :D

[Olympic Fan]

It seems odd that they count a year that he isn't even taking class. He isn't on campus, he isn't doing anything that is university sanctioned. He flat out is not a student in any capacity. If he were to transfer, would the year count against him, too? Would he have to sit out a year at his new school?

If he were to decide next August to transfer to UCLA or Georgia, yes, he could play right away after sitting out this year.

BUT ... the five-years-to-play-four rule applies to transfers. He STILL loses the chance to redshirt. That's all he's lost at Duke.

I don't see the problem. Duncan played as a true freshman at Duke. This will count the same as a redshirt year. He'll still play four seasons for Duke (2012, 2013, 2015, 2016).

The only way it hurts is if he suffers a preseason or early season injury before the 2015 or 2016 seasons. Unlike Kelby or Braxton, he won't be eligible to apply for a medical hardship year.

BTW: Issac Blakeney also missed a season (2011) because of academic reasons. Unlike Duncan, he will lose a year because he redshirted as a true freshman (2010). So Kenny ends up playing just three years at Duke (2012, 2013, 2014).

[jimsumner]

If he were to decide next August to transfer to UCLA or Georgia, yes, he could play right away after sitting out this year.

BUT ... the five-years-to-play-four rule applies to transfers. He STILL loses the chance to redshirt. That's all he's lost at Duke.

I don't see the problem. Duncan played as a true freshman at Duke. This will count the same as a redshirt year. He'll still play four seasons for Duke (2012, 2013, 2015, 2016).

The only way it hurts is if he suffers a preseason or early season injury before the 2015 or 2016 seasons. Unlike Kelby or Braxton, he won't be eligible to apply for a medical hardship year.

BTW: Issac Blakeney also missed a season (2011) because of academic reasons. Unlike Duncan, he will lose a year because he redshirted as a true freshman (2010). So Kenny ends up playing just three years at Duke (2012, 2013, 2014).

Well, Kenny Blakeney did sit out most of the 1994 season due to academic reasons. :)

[CameronBornAndBred]

If he were to decide next August to transfer to UCLA or Georgia, yes, he could play right away after sitting out this year.

BUT ... the five-years-to-play-four rule applies to transfers. He STILL loses the chance to redshirt. That's all he's lost at Duke.

I don't see the problem. Duncan played as a true freshman at Duke. This will count the same as a redshirt year. He'll still play four seasons for Duke (2012, 2013, 2015, 2016).

The only way it hurts is if he suffers a preseason or early season injury before the 2015 or 2016 seasons. Unlike Kelby or Braxton, he won't be eligible to apply for a medical hardship year.

BTW: Issac Blakeney also missed a season (2011) because of academic reasons. Unlike Duncan, he will lose a year because he redshirted as a true freshman (2010). So Kenny ends up playing just three years at Duke (2012, 2013, 2014).
Thanks, very informative. I don't see it as a problem, just a curiosity.

[alteran]

It seems odd that they count a year that he isn't even taking class. He isn't on campus, he isn't doing anything that is university sanctioned. He flat out is not a student in any capacity. If he were to transfer, would the year count against him, too? Would he have to sit out a year at his new school?

This is one of those things that looks stupid at first blush-- but can you IMAGINE what the SEC would do with that loophole?

[duke blue brewcrew]

From reading reports, it seems that Nyheim is making every effort not to distinguish among his favorites. 247 has Clemson as the favorite, followed by NC State and Duke. Going only from a football angle, Clemson has its advantages. A solidly top 20 program with a top 3 2015 recruiting class, Nyheim would have two elite offensive linemen just in his class (and 2 other solid offensive linemen). espn ranks theirs as the 2nd best O line in the conference. if things break well, he could be the running back on a team that competes for a NC. That's potentially persuasive. (http://www.nunesmagician.com/2014/7/22/5910293/acc-football-2014-position-rankings-offensive-line-florida-state-preview-clemson-conference). Otoh, Duke's O line is ranked 4th in that article, and we're all aware of our recent progression. Further, Clemson has already recruited a 4 star athlete who plays Nyheim's position, the Tigers may be destined to play second fiddle to FSU for the foreseeable future. NC State may be a sentimental favorite, but he'd be an outlier for their recruiting class (which is now rated #76 at 247, between SMU and Houston). From a Goldilocks perspective, Duke might be exactly not too hot or cold... we are in the correct Carolina, we should be annually competitive to win the Coastal, and we have a clear history of playing multiple running backs--which means he would almost certainly get lots of touches. Obviously, anybody would want him on their team, but it would still be a natural step for him to choose Duke.

So are you saying you feel Duke has a better shot at Hines than Gallaspy? On 247, it seemed as if Duke was Gallaspy's clear leader for a very long time. That seems to have gone in the wrong direction lately.

[johnb]

So are you saying you feel Duke has a better shot at Hines than Gallaspy? On 247, it seemed as if Duke was Gallaspy's clear leader for a very long time. That seems to have gone in the wrong direction lately.

It seems that we'd like one of these two terrific backs. No info beyond that.

[Bob Green]

This article at Blue Devil Nation provides updates on some of the incoming recruits and recruiting targets:

http://bluedevilnation.net/2014/08/friday-night-lights-2014-edition-1/

Running back is the remaining position of need in the 2015 class and several targets had big games in their season openers.

[Olympic Fan]

Duke just confirmed that two members of the 2015 recruiting class will enroll in January.

Both OT Reno Rosene and DE Marquies Price have signed scholarship agreements to enroll at Duke for the second semester.

Rosene, from California, is listed at 6-7, 325. He's a four-star recruit according to Rivals ... three-star for scout and ESPN. Price is a 6-6, 220-pounder from Georgia. He's three-star with all the major services.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Rosene, from California, is listed at 6-7, 325.
So...he is a box. Wow.
Looking forward to spring practice reports on both.

[roywhite]

Duke just confirmed that two members of the 2015 recruiting class will enroll in January.

Both OT Reno Rosene and DE Marquies Price have signed scholarship agreements to enroll at Duke for the second semester.

Rosene, from California, is listed at 6-7, 325. He's a four-star recruit according to Rivals ... three-star for scout and ESPN. Price is a 6-6, 220-pounder from Georgia. He's three-star with all the major services.

Yeah, here's a release from Duke Sports Information that appeared on goduke.com (http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=209613741&DB_OEM_ID=4200)

Interesting to see an early enrollment from an offensive lineman; that is normally a developmental position, where good prospects need a year or more to develop, especially in the strength area, before playing. Laken Tomlinson, for example, was a highly regarded recruit who has become a very good lineman and a potential high draft choice; even he redshirted a year before seeing action. Perhaps Rosene and the coaches think he can contribute as a true freshman?

Both early enrollees seem like very good prospects.

[jimsumner]

Yeah, here's a release from Duke Sports Information that appeared on goduke.com (http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=209613741&DB_OEM_ID=4200)

Interesting to see an early enrollment from an offensive lineman; that is normally a developmental position, where good prospects need a year or more to develop, especially in the strength area, before playing. Laken Tomlinson, for example, was a highly regarded recruit who has become a very good lineman and a potential high draft choice; even he redshirted a year before seeing action. Perhaps Rosene and the coaches think he can contribute as a true freshman?

Both early enrollees seem like very good prospects.

Cutcliffe has redshirted every freshman offensive lineman he's had at Duke.

Can Rosene be the one to break that trend? Something to monitor.

[BD80]

Yeah, here's a release from Duke Sports Information that appeared on goduke.com (http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=209613741&DB_OEM_ID=4200)

Interesting to see an early enrollment from an offensive lineman; that is normally a developmental position, where good prospects need a year or more to develop, especially in the strength area, before playing. Laken Tomlinson, for example, was a highly regarded recruit who has become a very good lineman and a potential high draft choice; even he redshirted a year before seeing action. Perhaps Rosene and the coaches think he can contribute as a true freshman?

Both early enrollees seem like very good prospects.

How do bowl games fall within the semester system at Duke?

I seem to recall guys eligible to play (bball) in the second semester could begin appearing in games at the end of December - after the first semester but in the break before the second semester began. In the 5 years to complete 4, could a spring enrolling fb player take a redshirt year and still play in a January 2020 bowl game in his fifth year (less than 5 calendar years after the start of his 2015 spring semester)?

[Henderson]

Cutcliffe has redshirted every freshman offensive lineman he's had at Duke.

Can Rosene be the one to break that trend? Something to monitor.

Leaving aside the extra year of financial commitment, I can think of two reasons not to redshirt Rosene: 1. A burning need on the O-line; or 2. He's physically mature now and would not benefit from an extra year of practice and conditioning. I doubt #2 is the case, and I hope #1 is not.

Am I remembering correctly that a couple decades ago, Duke football freshmen were not redshirted as a matter of course? I seem to recall that the policy put us at a competitive disadvantage.

[sagegrouse]

Leaving aside the extra year of financial commitment, I can think of two reasons not to redshirt Rosene: 1. A burning need on the O-line; or 2. He's physically mature now and would not benefit from an extra year of practice and conditioning. I doubt #2 is the case, and I hope #1 is not.

Am I remembering correctly that a couple decades ago, Duke football freshmen were not redshirted as a matter of course? I seem to recall that the policy put us at a competitive disadvantage.

Yep. In the 1970s and 1980s. Spurrier may have gotten the policy changes, or maybe Steve Sloan.

Heck, in my era the only "redshirt" I remember clearly was Billy Futrell, who ran for a long TD against Carolina in his fifth year -- while he was a first-year student at Duke Med. I believe Bill Murray did redshirt some players. I remember, fer instance, the "redshirt that failed" -- QB Gil Garner was sitting out his sophomore year to preserve his eligibility for one more year after Altman and Rappold graduated. In the Wake game, however, which Duke won by a bundle of points, during the confusion of getting the subs into the game, Garner was sent in by accident and burned his redshirt year in mop-up duty. Otherwise, there were certainly sophomores who preserved eligibility by not getting in a game, but I can't remember any who stayed for a fifth year.

[Bob Green]

Here is an update on high school performances of several 2015 Duke commits and players Duke is still recruiting:

http://bluedevilnation.net/2014/09/friday-night-lights-2014-edition-2/

With continued success on the field, recruiting will continue to roll on!

[conmanlhughes]

Last night Hines ran for 235 yards on 8 carries and 4 touchdowns to go along with it. He was pulled in the second half because his team was up so much. I was there, and I can tell you for a fact that Hines had this years Duke summer camp shirt on underneath his pads. It also appeared as if the Duke coaching staff was there as well. Take what you want from that, but I think our chances with Nyhiem are better than people think.

[sagegrouse]

Last night Hines ran for 235 yards on 8 carries and 4 touchdowns to go along with it. He was pulled in the second half because his team was up so much. I was there, and I can tell you for a fact that Hines had this years Duke summer camp shirt on underneath his pads. It also appeared as if the Duke coaching staff was there as well. Take what you want from that, but I think our chances with Nyhiem are better than people think.

Reading the "tee leaves" is an honorable tradition at DBR.

[dukebballcamper90-91]

Gallaspy had a strong game last night, 276 yds and 3 scores.

http://www.news-record.com/football/gallaspy-shines-for-southern/article_e9f6ce9a-357c-11e4-92ab-0017a43b2370.html

[Bob Green]

Wide receiver commit T.J. Rahming (#21 in white) is currently playing on ESPNU.

[Bob Green]

T.J. Rahming with the game winning touchdown:

https://vine.co/v/OW2hjtjOvYH

[BigWayne]

I wonder if we have taken a look at this guy, if only to keep UNC from grabbing him to be their Supervisor of Morale.

http://thefanbuzz.com/story/high-school-football-player-offers-the-best-post-game-motivational-speech-ever/#yLIs4O7Oivf4Rgux.01

[El_Diablo]

Here's a nice little SI article on Duke football recruiting:

http://www.si.com/college-football/2014/09/23/recruiting-roundup-duke-blue-devils

[roywhite]

Saw in the Winston-Salem Journal today that Running Back Reggie Gallaspy from Southern Guilford has announced his commitment to the Wolfpack.

He was previously mentioned as having a strong interest in Duke, but I think things cooled off a while back. Gallaspy, who is 5'11" 215#, is having a great season so far with over 1600 yards in 6 games.

I believe Hines from Garner remains our top priority at Running Back; don't know if there are other possibilities for this position at this point.

[nocilla]

Gallaspy, who is 5'11" 215#, is having a great season so far with over 1600 yards in 6 games.


Is this accurate? That means he is averaging close to 270 yards per game. I don't follow high school football but that seems like it would be quite impressive.

[FerryFor50]

Is this accurate? That means he is averaging close to 270 yards per game. I don't follow high school football but that seems like it would be quite impressive.

It's decently impressive, but a few things to consider:

- Southern Guilford is a 3A school, which means it's not one of the larger schools in NC. NC goes up to 4A in schools.
- High school competition in football is even more watered down than the competition in basketball.
- NC, while a decent recruiting area, is no Texas, California, Florida, Georgia, etc.

That said, the current top freshman running back is Todd Gurley, who hails from Tarboro, NC. Tarboro is a 1A school.

Also, TA McClendon, who was a solid RB at NCSU went to a small 1A school (Albemarle).

So conclusion is, it's not unheard of for a HS RB to dominate at a smaller school and do well in college. But it's also no guarantee.

[roywhite]

Is this accurate? That means he is averaging close to 270 yards per game. I don't follow high school football but that seems like it would be quite impressive.

Yeah, he's having quite a year; Southern Guilford is a 3-A school (and 4-A is the top classification in NC) so he's not playing against the best high school competition, but not bad.

Here's a link from the local TV station:

Southern Guilford's Reggie Gallaspy Picks N.C. State (http://www.wfmynews2.com/story/sports/high-school/2014/09/29/southern-guilfords-reggie-gallaspy-picks-nc-state/16451703/)

Note -- I see FerryFor50 has provided some of the same info

[devildeac]

It's decently impressive, but a few things to consider:

- Southern Guilford is a 3A school, which means it's not one of the larger schools in NC. NC goes up to 4A in schools.
- High school competition in football is even more watered down than the competition in basketball.
- NC, while a decent recruiting area, is no Texas, California, Florida, Georgia, etc.

That said, the current top freshman running back is Todd Gurley, who hails from Tarboro, NC. Tarboro is a 1A school.

Also, TA McClendon, who was a solid RB at NCSU went to a small 1A school (Albemarle).

So conclusion is, it's not unheard of for a HS RB to dominate at a smaller school and do well in college. But it's also no guarantee.

Good info. One minor addition: For FB, NC goes to a 4AA level now and has for a few years to keep some of the really large (mostly) city HS in another "category" for playoffs, though they still compete in the same regular season leagues. ("Team sports have a separate state championship competition and title for each of the classifications. The only exceptions are cases in which the 1A & 2A classifications are combined, or in football, where each classification is separated into a single "A" and double "A" (AA) classification, with the double "A" classification being made up of larger schools than the single "A".")
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina_High_School_Athletic_Association

The cut-off for this is 2000 students.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/11/05/3343208_nchsaa-releases-adm-numbers-for.html?rh=1

[FerryFor50]

It's decently impressive, but a few things to consider:

- Southern Guilford is a 3A school, which means it's not one of the larger schools in NC. NC goes up to 4A in schools.
- High school competition in football is even more watered down than the competition in basketball.
- NC, while a decent recruiting area, is no Texas, California, Florida, Georgia, etc.

That said, the current top freshman running back is Todd Gurley, who hails from Tarboro, NC. Tarboro is a 1A school.

Also, TA McClendon, who was a solid RB at NCSU went to a small 1A school (Albemarle).

So conclusion is, it's not unheard of for a HS RB to dominate at a smaller school and do well in college. But it's also no guarantee.

One correction - meant to say that Gurley is the top running back, not freshman. Gurley is a junior.

[Olympic Fan]

I know Hines is our No. 1 RB target, but Duke has also offered Albert Funderburke, a 5-11, 200-pound running back from Sun Valley High in Monroe.

Interesting that Monroe High is a 1-A school -- and gave us Jamison Crowder, Issac Blakeney and Quay Chambers. Sun Valley is in the same town, but is 3-A.

I found a lot of conflicting info about the guy (for instance his speed is listed on various sites anywhere from 4.4 to 4.5 to 4.81!), but he has rushed for over 2,000 yards in each of the last two seasons and is already over 1,000 yards less than halfway through this season.

Duke was the first school to offer. Both Northwestern and Wake Forest have also offered. A bunch of schools are recruiting him, but have not offered yet.

I have no idea of his status ... at one point, he was considered a Duke lean, now it seems like Wake Forest may be the favorite. Or he may be waiting to make sure Duke's doesn't get Hines before making his choice. But that's all based on internet stuff, so take it FWIW.

It looks like we have backed off Bryce Love of Wake Forest (the town, not the school) -- or maybe he backed off us. Too bad, I REALLY liked the guy (about equal to Hines and much more than the Frazier kid who committed to FSU).

[TruBlu]

I know Hines is our No. 1 RB target, but Duke has also offered Albert Funderburke, a 5-11, 200-pound running back from Sun Valley High in Monroe.

Interesting that Monroe High is a 1-A school -- and gave us Jamison Crowder, Issac Blakeney and Quay Chambers. Sun Valley is in the same town, but is 3-A.

I found a lot of conflicting info about the guy (for instance his speed is listed on various sites anywhere from 4.4 to 4.5 to 4.81!), but he has rushed for over 2,000 yards in each of the last two seasons and is already over 1,000 yards less than halfway through this season.

Duke was the first school to offer. Both Northwestern and Wake Forest have also offered. A bunch of schools are recruiting him, but have not offered yet.

I have no idea of his status ... at one point, he was considered a Duke lean, now it seems like Wake Forest may be the favorite. Or he may be waiting to make sure Duke's doesn't get Hines before making his choice. But that's all based on internet stuff, so take it FWIW.

It looks like we have backed off Bryce Love of Wake Forest (the town, not the school) -- or maybe he backed off us. Too bad, I REALLY liked the guy (about equal to Hines and much more than the Frazier kid who committed to FSU).

. . . or he may have seen a certain Freshman running back already on the Duke team.

[duke blue brewcrew]

. . . or he may have seen a certain Freshman running back already on the Duke team.

To your point, barring the unforeseen Shaun Wilson will be on the depth chart next year. Duke also get's back Jela Duncan for what I believe is two more years of eligibility. That makes a solid four back rotation when paired with Shaq Powell and Joseph Ajeigbe. Personally, I'm fascinated by the thought of Nyheim Hines could come to Duke, but bummed that Reggie Gallaspy has chosen NCSU. Gallaspy for the longest time seemed like the more likely recruit to commit to the Blue Devils. He seems very much like a Powell/Duncan style of runner - capable blocker, powerful runner between the tackles with an ability to get the job done near the goal line, possesses great speed and the ability to catch the ball. Now more than ever, I'm very anxious to see who Hines chooses. He seems to have a tremendous skill set, perhaps more on par with Wilson...and that's not a bad thing what so ever. If Nyheim is suiting up for Duke next year, I'm pumped! Not to mention the recruiting class rankings would get a nice boost. It's easy to assume that most of the agencies would have the Blue Devils inside the Top 25. However, if we miss on a RB in this year's class, the fan base shouldn't panic. True, it will hurt the Red-Shirt Freshman pipeline. That said, the Blue Devils should be just fine next year with their four returning to represent the right shade of blue.

[OldPhiKap]

Duke #28 in the Nation:

http://insider.espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/classrankings

[Skitzle]

Duke #28 in the Nation:

http://insider.espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/classrankings

For those curious like me who are too lazy to click the link (unlike me)

Dukes Recruiting Rankings by year

2015 - 28 (currently)
2014 - 51
2013 - 65
2012 - Not on list, but it only goes to 25 instead of 75... so who knows

Still I like the trend! Almost beating Johnny Footbal and Winning the coastal seem to have helped.

[CameronBornAndBred]

One of the reasons I don't follow FB recruiting as much as bball. I hope the guys we've "gotten" stick with us.

96. How many prospects will flip? To date, Over 35 prospects in the ESPN 300 have decommitted or flipped their commitments. With more than 30 committed prospects still making official visits or planning to make visits, that number could reach as high as 70, considering both the Florida and Michigan jobs could open which could start a chain reaction depending on future hires. There is no doubt that 2015 is the class of flips, and it has only just begun.
http://espn.go.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/76412/signing-day-100-days-away

[DukeSean]

One of the reasons I don't follow FB recruiting as much as bball. I hope the guys we've "gotten" stick with us.

http://espn.go.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/76412/signing-day-100-days-away

Compared with some other schools, we have very low attrition rates. Part of it is finding the right people to begin with, part of it is Cut's unwillingness to accept so-called "soft verbals" (i.e., Cut wants recruits to shut down their recruiting once they commit to Duke, and that O.V.'s to other schools could jeopardize their spot on Duke's roster).

Some of the attrition for Duke's commits is due to some other off-field issue, like academics or other. But most of the guys who commit to Duke sign with Duke. FB recruiting can be a lot of fun, but it does require some Maalox from time to time.

[roywhite]

4-Star Safety Rashad Roundtree from Georgia is scheduled to announce his college choice tomorrow 11/7.

It's a 3-team race between UGa, Ohio State, and Duke, with Georgia the strong favorite. However, our friend Adam Rowe recently came out with a crystal ball prediction of Duke; that would be great.

[BigWayne]

We already have a kicker in the list for next year, but this guy seems to be unrecruited so far:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_w-olccq7A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28xxQ8I8WN0

Also leads his team in interceptions, has a couple touchdowns receiving, won two events at his county track championships, and is on the basketball team.

[loran16]

4-Star Safety Rashad Roundtree from Georgia is scheduled to announce his college choice tomorrow 11/7.

It's a 3-team race between UGa, Ohio State, and Duke, with Georgia the strong favorite. However, our friend Adam Rowe recently came out with a crystal ball prediction of Duke; that would be great.

One of the other guys on Airowe's site predicted OSU on the same day - apparently Roundtree just had a great visit there. That said, we have a real shot for a premium prospect, which is very exciting, and we've stolen guys away from in-state powerhouses already (although USC is attempting to try and steal Petite away)

[Bob Green]

Rashad Roundtree has picked Georgia, which is no real surprise.

[johnb]

It's looking like Nyheim Hines is pointing towards NC State, but Johnny Frasier seems inclined to decommit from FSU after they recently recruited a slightly higher rated RB.

Frasier says that FSU still leads, but he apparently told a Tennessee website that Tennessee, Duke, and NC State are now tied for 2nd. Further, he took an unofficial visit to Duke for the Carolina game, whereupon Adam Rowe switched his 247 pick from FSU to Duke. Frasier is a high 4 star player from Princeton, NC. Combining his soph, jr, and senior years, he (Frasier, not Adam Rowe) has rushed 669 times for over 7000 yards and 98 touchdowns. He'd be a real jewel for the 2015 class.

http://247sports.com/Player/Johnny-Frasier-37770
http://www.wbir.com/story/sports/college/vols/football/2014/10/29/govols247-four-star-rb-johnn-frasier-bumps-vols-up-list/18150001/

[djp10]

doh!

http://reignoftroy.com/2014/12/12/tyler-petite-commits-usc-flips-duke/

[Bob Green]

doh!

http://reignoftroy.com/2014/12/12/tyler-petite-commits-usc-flips-duke/

TE Tyler Petite switching from Duke to Southern California. This is unfortunate.

[-jk]

TE Tyler Petite switching from Duke to Southern California. This is unfortunate.

Does that mean we've joined the "big time" in football recruiting? <sigh>

-jk

[OldPhiKap]

TE Tyler Petite switching from Duke to Southern California. This is unfortunate.


Does that mean we've joined the "big time" in football recruiting? <sigh>

-jk

Welcome to top level fb recruiting.

If true, I wish him well.

Go Duke!

[Bob Green]

If true, I wish him well.



Straight from the horses mouth:


Tyler Petite ‏@TylerPetite · 2h2 hours ago
After much thought, I've decided that it would be best for me to continue my football career at USC! Fight on Trojan Fam

[uh_no]

1) this is so dumb...not the kid doing this, but the fact that this whole soft commitment thing exists at all
2) I blame the media....since he was probably 12 people have been asking him were he was going to school....you know what? if i were in HS being recruited, I'd come up with an answer, too....simply so people would leave me alone...then I could get on ACTUALLY evaluating my choices. I'm sure with the number of kids that switch, the coaches don't plan on having them until they've actually signed the LOI....and that's corroborated by the fact that everyone recruits them even after a verbal
3) we should stop talking about a verbal as a be-all-end-all....and more like a "we're leading the race"...since nothing is official until an LOI is signed.

[Olympic Fan]

Obviously, this is disappointing news.

Hate losing this guy. But with Deaver coming back next season (along with Reeves and Beilinson), we should be solid at TE next season. And we do have 4-star TE Mark Birmingham committed in the 2016 class.

The real danger is California LB Ben Humphreys, a four-star prospect who committed to Duke early and is supposed to be friends with Petite. Losing Petite hurts, but if we also end up losing Humphreys, it cuts the guts out of our recruiting class.

[Reilly]

What in the name of Howard Jones?!? ... If only we had won the 1/1/39 Rose Bowl ...

[Bob Green]

... If only we had won the 1/1/39 Rose Bowl ...

The game was played on 1/2/39. :)

[johnb]

There is room at the TE spot at SC.

"USC is going to be without Randall Telfer who is graduating, and have played parts of this season with only one scholarship tight end. Junior Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick missed the season due to academic ineligibility and freshman Bryce Dixon missed time due to an academic conduct issue."

I guess their academic woes are a selling point.

The tweet makes it clear that it's a decision for Petite's football career, which seems to imply that duke would have been better for his life. I'm sure he had mixed feelings, and his original decision surprised everyone, but it'd be a funny twist if he thought he'd get more reps at SC than at Duke, where the position is fairly stacked.

[devildeac]

There is room at the TE spot at SC.

"USC is going to be without Randall Telfer who is graduating, and have played parts of this season with only one scholarship tight end. Junior Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick missed the season due to academic ineligibility and freshman Bryce Dixon missed time due to an academic conduct issue."

I guess their academic woes are a selling point.

The tweet makes it clear that it's a decision for Petite's football career, which seems to imply that duke would have been better for his life. I'm sure he had mixed feelings, and his original decision surprised everyone, but it'd be a funny twist if he thought he'd get more reps at SC than at Duke, where the position is fairly stacked.

All good points. Now, a serious question (from me? really?): How will we be "stacked" at tight end? I understand how the answer would be favorable if Deaver comes back at (near) 100%, but, what if he doesn't? I don't recall us using our TE that much this year for various reasons (inexperience, injury, "bad" hands, good WR targets), but how will that be better next year just because we have (most of) the same guys competing on the depth chart?