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View Full Version : Duke football notes, 10-20-15



jimsumner
10-20-2015, 02:17 PM
Terrance Alls has been cleared for game competition. He has been practicing with what Cut calls "the varsity guys,", i.e. not on the scout team and should be ready to contribute right away. Remember, he was Duke's best wide receiver during spring ball.

Injury update. Kyler Brown held out of practice. However, Cut says he's making "good progress" and we'll know more by Thursday. So, there's actually a chance he'll play against VT.

Assuming he doesn't, Duke's DE rotation will start with Britton Grier, Deion Williams and Marquise Price. Grier said that Allen Jackson has had some good practices, so I would expect him to move into the two deep until Kyler's return.

Everyone else practiced today, although "not necessarily at full speed." Cut referenced some ankle issues.

Duke didn't practice Thursday, Friday or Saturday and reconvened Sunday night. This coincided with Fall Break and many of the players were able to spend a few days at home. David Reeves says he drove nine hours to his home in Alabama but it was worth it to get some home cooking.

This is what Dwayne Norman said about getting home last weekend. "We're college-football players but we're regular people too. We like to go home and sit around with our family and see our friends and just relax for a little bit and then get back to the grind when we get back up here."

Cut said he noticed additional enthusiasm from the team upon the resumption of practice and said "They came back with a good deal of energy. . . . I wanted them to have time off . . . I think that break is great for them. It's a nice little break to get some home cooking, to see their families."

Cut loves having the open date in the middle of the season. He acknowledges that rust might be an issue but says the benefits far outweigh the rust issue, the primary benefits being able to rest injuries and recharge the batteries for the stretch run.

National rankings? Cut says the players should congratulate themselves for about three seconds and then get back to work.

Why is Duke's defensive line so much better than expected. Cut says Duke played a lot of people last year, so the DL wasn't as inexperienced as many thought. But he added that Duke was being much more aggressive this season than in seasons past, more attack, less react.

Dwayne Norman on Duke's defense this year. "We all worked together all summer, all spring, working out, throwing up, sweating and bleeding and all that stuff, so everybody on out team was ready for it, ready for the money to come, as they say, ready for our work to pay off."

Matt Brewer is expected to start for VT Saturday. Remember he's missed a bunch of the season with a broken collarbone. Brewer is the passing QB, Brenden Motley the running QB. But Cut says Brewer can run and Motley can throw, he expects both to play and Duke is preparing to play the Virginia Tech offense, not the Brewer offense or the Motley offense.

Cut praised Bud Foster and VT's defense but noted that Miami was able to get some explosives last week that led to points. He said that Duke needed some of those explosives this week but also needed to pick up first downs and keep the chains moving.

David Reeves on attacking VT's defense. "The key to scoring points is being physical and winning one-on-one matches on the outside because those guys are going to load the box and they're going to have one-on-one matches on the outside that we're going to have to exploit."

devildeac
10-20-2015, 02:22 PM
Terrance Alls has been cleared for game competition. He has been practicing with what Cut calls "the varsity guys,", i.e. not on the scout team and should be ready to contribute right away. Remember, he was Duke's best wide receiver during spring ball.

Injury update. Kyler Brown held out of practice. However, Cut says he's making "good progress" and we'll know more by Thursday. So, there's actually a chance he'll play against VT.

Assuming he doesn't, Duke's DE rotation will start with Britton Grier, Deion Williams and Marquise Price. Grier said that Allen Jackson has had some good practices, so I would expect him to move into the two deep until Kyler's return.

Everyone else practiced today, although "not necessarily at full speed." Cut referenced some ankle issues.

Duke didn't practice Thursday, Friday or Saturday and reconvened Sunday night. This coincided with Fall Break and many of the players were able to spend a few days at home. David Reeves says he drove nine hours to his home in Alabama but it was worth it to get some home cooking.

This is what Dwayne Norman said about getting home last weekend. "We're college-football players but we're regular people too. We like to go home and sit around with our family and see our friends and just relax for a little bit and then get back to the grind when we get back up here."

Cut said he noticed additional enthusiasm from the team upon the resumption of practice and said "They came back with a good deal of energy. . . . I wanted them to have time off . . . I think that break is great for them. It's a nice little break to get some home cooking, to see their families."

Cut loves having the open date in the middle of the season. He acknowledges that rust might be an issue but says the benefits far outweigh the rust issue, the primary benefits being able to rest injuries and recharge the batteries for the stretch run.

National rankings? Cut says the players should congratulate themselves for about three seconds and then get back to work.

Why is Duke's defensive line so much better than expected. Cut says Duke played a lot of people last year, so the DL wasn't as inexperienced as many thought. But he added that Duke was being much more aggressive this season than in seasons past, more attack, less react.

Dwayne Norman on Duke's defense this year. "We all worked together all summer, all spring, working out, throwing up, sweating and bleeding and all that stuff, so everybody on out team was ready for it, ready for the money to come, as they say, ready for our work to pay off."

Matt Brewer is expected to start for VT Saturday. Remember he's missed a bunch of the season with a broken collarbone. Brewer is the passing QB, Brenden Motley the running QB. But Cut says Brewer can run and Motley can throw, he expects both to play and Duke is preparing to play the Virginia Tech offense, not the Brewer offense or the Motley offense.

Cut praised Bud Foster and VT's defense but noted that Miami was able to get some explosives last week that led to points. He said that Duke needed some of those explosives this week but also needed to pick up first downs and keep the chains moving.

David Reeves on attacking VT's defense. "The key to scoring points is being physical and winning one-on-one matches on the outside because those guys are going to load the box and they're going to have one-on-one matches on the outside that we're going to have to exploit."

Really, really good/encouraging news about Alls and Brown. Thanks again for the ton of info, Jim.

orrnot
10-20-2015, 03:17 PM
Duke didn't practice Thursday, Friday or Saturday and reconvened Sunday night. This coincided with Fall Break and many of the players were able to spend a few days at home.

Duke's Fall Break was actually the weekend of the Army game, and classes resumed on Wednesday, just before the break from practice.

CameronBornAndBred
10-20-2015, 03:31 PM
Duke didn't practice Thursday, Friday or Saturday and reconvened Sunday night. This coincided with Fall Break and many of the players were able to spend a few days at home. David Reeves says he drove nine hours to his home in Alabama but it was worth it to get some home cooking.

Thanks as always, Jim. This is perhaps my favorite part. That seems to me to be making excellent use of a bye week, just as important as practice.

As per Terrance Alls, that's exciting to hear. Good to see guys work their way back on to the team and into games after whatever transgressions they took part in. Proud of our coaches for their discipline, and proud of our players when they work through it. Looking forward to seeing him make an impact.

Bob Green
10-20-2015, 04:03 PM
David Reeves on attacking VT's defense. "The key to scoring points is being physical and winning one-on-one matches on the outside because those guys are going to load the box and they're going to have one-on-one matches on the outside that we're going to have to exploit."

Good timing for Terrence Alls' return. Perhaps his and Johnell Barnes' speed will stretch the VT defense resulting in explosive plays Coach Cut says we need. Anthony Nash had a strong game against Army so it would be nice to see him build off that performance. Hopefully T.J. Rahming is healthy. We will need "All Hands on Deck" against the Hokies.

Max McCaffrey is the receiver I am always optimistic about. His experience should result in some one-on-one wins.

OldPhiKap
10-20-2015, 08:37 PM
Good timing for Terrence Alls' return. Perhaps his and Johnell Barnes' speed will stretch the VT defense resulting in explosive plays Coach Cut says we need. Anthony Nash had a strong game against Army so it would be nice to see him build off that performance. Hopefully T.J. Rahming is healthy. We will need "All Hands on Deck" against the Hokies.

Max McCaffrey is the receiver I am always optimistic about. His experience should result in some one-on-one wins.

This, and a healthy Deaver.