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View Full Version : Duke football notes, 9-8-15



jimsumner
09-08-2015, 02:21 PM
Best news? No major injuries. Cut said that he expects everyone who played against Tulane to be healthy for NC Central.

RB Shaun Wilson injured a hand and is wearing a precautionary wrap but is expected to be fine for Saturday.

Cut says he thinks Tulane is better than last season but he thinks Duke is to.

Duke played five true freshmen against Tulane; T.J. Rahming, Marquies Price, Ben Humphries, Brandon Boyce and Jeremy McDuffie. Cut said he does not expect that number to increase this week. Duke played five true freshmen last year and that might be the total for this season, although injuries could change that.

Duke also played 11 redshirt freshmen, meaning 16 players made their college debut, on the road, in a 30-point win against a BCS opponent.

Matt Skura attributed nerves to mistakes made on the offensive line by the younger players.

Duke was penalized an uncharacteristic eight times, for 78 yards. Cut attributed a lot of these to “cadence” issues, for which he took responsibility and noted the distinction between mental errors and errors of aggression. “Definitely” need to cut down on the first.

Cut wants to see the mental errors diminish, the wide receivers take a step up and the offensive line be more consistent this week. He says Sirk was very good but can be better and wants Duke to continue to tackle well.

In case you think these kids aren’t human, here’s what LB Zavier Carmichael said about getting his first start in the Tulane game. “It’s such a huge relief. My stomach was turning in knots. I was unsure if I was going to mess up, do something crazy, do something great.”

Carmichael is in a curious position. He’s a true sophomore and should be learning from the vets. But there are no vets. Dwayne Norman is a senior but he moved from safety in the spring. Chris Holmes is another converted safety, Tinashe Bere is a redshirt freshman, Humphries a true freshman.

Carmichael notes that Kelby Brown is helping as student assistant but adds “I kind of have more experience than everybody else , so they’re asking me questions but I’m still learning. We’re all learning together. It’s kind of weird.”

Bere had five tackles in his first game. He says he had to fight off nerves. “I was really nervous but really excited at the same time. But all the nerves went away when I made that first tackle.”

At 230 pounds, Bere is the biggest linebacker and says he loves to play “run-stuffer in the middle.”

Guys who didn’t play against Tulane? OG Cody Robinson dressed out and could have played in an emergency. But his back continues to bother him. RB Joe Ajeigbe and CB Zach Muniz were healthy but both missed a lot of fall ball and are still catching up. TE Davis Koppenhaver likely will be redshirted. DT Keilin Rayner appears to have been by-passed by the younger talent.

Kick off in the newly refurbished Wallace Wade Stadium at 6 of the clock this Saturday. I’m told all the cool people will be there.

budwom
09-08-2015, 02:41 PM
good report, thanks. All in all a pretty solid first week. I feel especially good about the play of the young linebackers (Bere is impressive) and the six rotating DTs did a nice job, too.

Great to see the young guys playing. More than a few upperclassmen just aren't seeing the field, which you'd expect as each recruiting class seems to get better and better. The second OL is
dominated by good young talent.

IsInTheDetails
09-08-2015, 03:01 PM
Cut says he thinks Tulane is better than last season but he thinks Duke is to.

In case you think these kids aren’t human, here’s what LB Zavier Carmichael said about getting his first start in the Tulane game. “It’s such a huge relief. My stomach was turning in knots. I was unsure if I was going to mess up, do something crazy, do something great.”

Bere had five tackles in his first game. He says he had to fight off nerves. “I was really nervous but really excited at the same time. But all the nerves went away when I made that first tackle.”

RB Joe Ajeigbe and CB Zach Muniz were healthy but both missed a lot of fall ball and are still catching up.

Insightful stuff, as always, Jim. Thanks. On the points pasted above. . .

- I hope Cut is right about Duke (and Tulane) being better than last year. It's virtually impossible to tell as a fan, particularly from one blowout win. And this week's tilt against NCCU isn't going reveal much either. But he sees these guys every day, and he's a dang fine evaluator of football talent, so I'm happy to take his word.

- I love to see/hear the human side of these guys. Kudos to Carmichael and Bere for opening up, and just as importantly, kudos to both for playing what I thought was a great game. Those two are going to make a lot of tackles for Duke this year, and Carmichael especially seems to have a knack for making heads-up, athletic plays.

- Good to know that Ajeigbe is healthy enough for game action. I hope he'll see some reps against NCCU, because it won't be long before we're going to need plenty of RB depth against tougher competition (see: Northwestern).

- Also good to know that Muniz could be ready to play, as he might help spell Saxton/McDuffie some at the corner, particularly given his game experience last year as a true frosh. Did Cut say anything about the play of Saxton/McDuffie against Tulane? That side of the field is going to be targeted, especially with Borders occupying the other side. Both Saxton and McDuffie seemed to play softer coverage against Tulane, and both missed a couple tackles. I wasn't too concerned about the long TD over McDuffie, though, as he was in good position and could have easily made the pick with a stronger jump or stronger hands.

Olympic Fan
09-08-2015, 03:43 PM
Not from the press conference, but the new polls are out ...

Duke still getting zero votes in the AP poll.

but our vote total in the coaches poll did go from six to 15 -- we're just ahead of West Virginia, Miami and Florida. If the poll went past 25, we'd be No. 33.

Interesting to me that Northwestern didn't quite crack either poll.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/rankings

Bob Green
09-08-2015, 05:48 PM
Best news? No major injuries. Cut said that he expects everyone who played against Tulane to be healthy for NC Central.

RB Shaun Wilson injured a hand and is wearing a precautionary wrap but is expected to be fine for Saturday.



Great news! There was some speculation, over on TDD, that Shaun Wilson broke his thumb. I'm very happy to hear/read he is wearing a precautionary wrap and not a cast.

Pghdukie
09-08-2015, 06:48 PM
This will be the 1st game on the new turf. As I have mentioned in other threads, I am a little nervous that the sod hasn't been down long enough to have solid root growth. I'm hoping that footing is not a problem and that no injuries occur to either team.

Bob Green
09-08-2015, 06:51 PM
This will be the 1st game on the new turf. As I have mentioned in other threads, I am a little nervous that the sod hasn't been down long enough to have solid root growth. I'm hoping that footing is not a problem and that no injuries occur to either team.

Duke has scrimmaged on the turf and it held up fine. Coach Cutcliffe commented afterwards that the field was as good as any field in the nation. I believe the sod will be fine.

devildeac
09-08-2015, 10:05 PM
Best news? No major injuries. Cut said that he expects everyone who played against Tulane to be healthy for NC Central.

RB Shaun Wilson injured a hand and is wearing a precautionary wrap but is expected to be fine for Saturday.

Cut says he thinks Tulane is better than last season but he thinks Duke is to.

Duke played five true freshmen against Tulane; T.J. Rahming, Marquies Price, Ben Humphries, Brandon Boyce and Jeremy McDuffie. Cut said he does not expect that number to increase this week. Duke played five true freshmen last year and that might be the total for this season, although injuries could change that.

Duke also played 11 redshirt freshmen, meaning 16 players made their college debut, on the road, in a 30-point win against a BCS opponent.

Matt Skura attributed nerves to mistakes made on the offensive line by the younger players.

Duke was penalized an uncharacteristic eight times, for 78 yards. Cut attributed a lot of these to “cadence” issues, for which he took responsibility and noted the distinction between mental errors and errors of aggression. “Definitely” need to cut down on the first.

Cut wants to see the mental errors diminish, the wide receivers take a step up and the offensive line be more consistent this week. He says Sirk was very good but can be better and wants Duke to continue to tackle well.

In case you think these kids aren’t human, here’s what LB Zavier Carmichael said about getting his first start in the Tulane game. “It’s such a huge relief. My stomach was turning in knots. I was unsure if I was going to mess up, do something crazy, do something great.”

Carmichael is in a curious position. He’s a true sophomore and should be learning from the vets. But there are no vets. Dwayne Norman is a senior but he moved from safety in the spring. Chris Holmes is another converted safety, Tinashe Bere is a redshirt freshman, Humphries a true freshman.

Carmichael notes that Kelby Brown is helping as student assistant but adds “I kind of have more experience than everybody else , so they’re asking me questions but I’m still learning. We’re all learning together. It’s kind of weird.”

Bere had five tackles in his first game. He says he had to fight off nerves. “I was really nervous but really excited at the same time. But all the nerves went away when I made that first tackle.”

At 230 pounds, Bere is the biggest linebacker and says he loves to play “run-stuffer in the middle.”

Guys who didn’t play against Tulane? OG Cody Robinson dressed out and could have played in an emergency. But his back continues to bother him. RB Joe Ajeigbe and CB Zach Muniz were healthy but both missed a lot of fall ball and are still catching up. TE Davis Koppenhaver likely will be redshirted. DT Keilin Rayner appears to have been by-passed by the younger talent.

Kick off in the newly refurbished Wallace Wade Stadium at 6 of the clock this Saturday. I’m told all the cool people will be there.

As usual, many thanks for all this info. Very interesting comments and insights. I'm sure we're all looking forward to a very short injury report on Thursday.