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jimsumner
09-06-2016, 02:51 PM
Duke is coming off six fumbles-they lost five-and 10 penalties.

So, some execution concerns.

Cut attributed the penalties to a lack of focus.

No surprise there.

The discussion of the turnovers was more nuanced. Three late turnovers came when Duke was emptying the bench and having major trouble getting the ball from the QB to the RB.
Cut took responsibility for not giving these guys quality reps in practice. A bit of coach-speak, methinks. How often will Quentin Harris pitch to Quay Mann in an undecided game? Not often, I suspect.

But the two special-teams fumbles were more bothersome. Cut said he was “real disappointed” in Ryan Smith’s fumble on a punt return. Suggested that Smith doesn’t always move his feet well in preparing to receive a punt and ends up reaching at the last second. Shaun Wilson and T.J. Rahming are both getting work in the punt-return game. Rahming was a game-changer returning punts in high school. Wonder if he’ll get a shot.

Smith is still listed at first team. But he had some of the same issues last season and I suspect he’ll have a short leash against Wake.

Then there’s punter Austin Parker, who dropped a perfectly good snap from center. Cut was “extremely disappointed” in this lapse and says once in a career is once too often. Ouch.

Speaking of special teams, I had an interesting conversation with DeVon Edwards. It seems that he and Shaun Wilson decide who will return kicks. Edwards is the default returner but opts out if he’s been dinged up on the previous drive or simply been on the field too long. Then Wilson takes over. They have this conversation before every kickoff.

In general, Cut expressed two broad concerns. He wants more consistency and he defined that as 11 guys all on the same page on every play. Calls this “one heartbeat.”

He also wants more internal competition. He singled out the offensive line, suggesting that some of the back-ups are content to be back-ups. Not hungry enough.

Eight true freshmen played against NCCU. Typical freshman mistakes. Wrong positions, bad angles. But lots of good things. Sophomore linebacker Ben Humphreys and corner Breon Borders both praised the freshmen’s aggressiveness. Borders used the word “attitude.” In a good way. Humphreys says DE James "Tre" Hornbuckle was the big surprise of fall camp, forcing himself onto the depth chart.

The one true freshman who everyone loves is safety Dylan Singleton. Breon Borders says Dylan is “a quick learner, already a better listener than Deondre.” He was smiling when he said that.

Borders now has 11 career interceptions. John Talley holds the school record of 18. Cutcliffe says Borders is “into every millisecond of every play.” Compared him to Vinny Rey in this regard.

Speaking of true freshmen, Scott Bracey is getting more work and Duke is waiting to see how he physically responds to that. Fingers crossed but more optimistic than last week.

Austin Davis got high marks in his first start at center.

Speaking of centers, walk-on Alex Gourley has impressed so much, he’s getting some reps with the second-team. He’s a 6-1, 290-pound freshman from South Iredell High School. With DE Danny Doyle on second-team, maybe Duke is starting to get some non-kicking walk-ons onto the field. Would still expect Gourley to redshirt.

Why did Duke not kick a field goal late in the NCCU game? Cutcliffe says he didn’t want to kick off again and risk injury, A.J. Reed was having a good night and he didn’t want to upset that and he didn’t want to “tack on” points.

devildeac
09-06-2016, 03:48 PM
Duke is coming off six fumbles-they lost five-and 10 penalties.

So, some execution concerns.

Cut attributed the penalties to a lack of focus.

No surprise there.

The discussion of the turnovers was more nuanced. Three late turnovers came when Duke was emptying the bench and having major trouble getting the ball from the QB to the RB.
Cut took responsibility for not giving these guys quality reps in practice. A bit of coach-speak, methinks. How often will Quentin Harris pitch to Quay Mann in an undecided game? Not often, I suspect.

But the two special-teams fumbles were more bothersome. Cut said he was “real disappointed” in Ryan Smith’s fumble on a punt return. Suggested that Smith doesn’t always move his feet well in preparing to receive a punt and ends up reaching at the last second. Shaun Wilson and T.J. Rahming are both getting work in the punt-return game. Rahming was a game-changer returning punts in high school. Wonder if he’ll get a shot.

Smith is still listed at first team. But he had some of the same issues last season and I suspect he’ll have a short leash against Wake.

Then there’s punter Austin Parker, who dropped a perfectly good snap from center. Cut was “extremely disappointed” in this lapse and says once in a career is once too often. Ouch.

Speaking of special teams, I had an interesting conversation with DeVon Edwards. It seems that he and Shaun Wilson decide who will return kicks. Edwards is the default returner but opts out if he’s been dinged up on the previous drive or simply been on the field too long. Then Wilson takes over. They have this conversation before every kickoff.

In general, Cut expressed two broad concerns. He wants more consistency and he defined that as 11 guys all on the same page on every play. Calls this “one heartbeat.”

He also wants more internal competition. He singled out the offensive line, suggesting that some of the back-ups are content to be back-ups. Not hungry enough.

Eight true freshmen played against NCCU. Typical freshman mistakes. Wrong positions, bad angles. But lots of good things. Sophomore linebacker Ben Humphreys and corner Breon Borders both praised the freshmen’s aggressiveness. Borders used the word “attitude.” In a good way. Humphreys says DE James "Tre" Hornbuckle was the big surprise of fall camp, forcing himself onto the depth chart.

The one true freshman who everyone loves is safety Dylan Singleton. Breon Borders says Dylan is “a quick learner, already a better listener than Deondre.” He was smiling when he said that.

Borders now has 11 career interceptions. John Talley holds the school record of 18. Cutcliffe says Borders is “into every millisecond of every play.” Compared him to Vinny Rey in this regard.

Speaking of true freshmen, Scott Bracey is getting more work and Duke is waiting to see how he physically responds to that. Fingers crossed but more optimistic than last week.

Austin Davis got high marks in his first start at center.

Speaking of centers, walk-on Alex Gourley has impressed so much, he’s getting some reps with the second-team. He’s a 6-1, 290-pound freshman from South Iredell High School. With DE Danny Doyle on second-team, maybe Duke is starting to get some non-kicking walk-ons onto the field. Would still expect Gourley to redshirt.

Why did Duke not kick a field goal late in the NCCU game? Cutcliffe says he didn’t want to kick off again and risk injury, A.J. Reed was having a good night and he didn’t want to upset that and he didn’t want to “tack on” points.

I continue to greatly enjoy reading these updates/insights. Thank you.

Bob Green
09-06-2016, 04:40 PM
Jim, thanks so much for these reports. A couple of comments and a question starting with the question.

Any comments or discussion on the true freshmen running backs? Prior to the NCCU game, I would have expected either Brittain Brown or Elijah Deveaux to play this season. Now I am not so sure.

On to the comments...




Shaun Wilson and T.J. Rahming are both getting work in the punt-return game. Rahming was a game-changer returning punts in high school. Wonder if he’ll get a shot.

I really, really hope Ryan Smith works out his issues and does really well the rest of the season because punt return duties are his opportunity to be an impact player as a senior. But there is no room for error here so another mistake is going to put Wilson or Rahming above him on the depth chart. I'm in favor of more of Wilson with the ball in his hands.


Speaking of special teams, I had an interesting conversation with DeVon Edwards. It seems that he and Shaun Wilson decide who will return kicks. Edwards is the default returner but opts out if he’s been dinged up on the previous drive or simply been on the field too long. Then Wilson takes over. They have this conversation before every kickoff.

This is amazing (in a good way) as it represents how much trust the staff has in Edwards and Wilson to make the right decision. To me, this screams "high level of emotional maturity" on the part of both players.


Humphreys says DE James "Tre" Hornbuckle was the big surprise of fall camp, forcing himself onto the depth chart.

Great news at a position of need.


Speaking of true freshmen, Scott Bracey is getting more work and Duke is waiting to see how he physically responds to that. Fingers crossed but more optimistic than last week.

This is very welcome news. I am anxious to see Bracey on the field for a couple of reasons. First, we have been waiting a long time since he was the first commit in this very talented class of true freshmen. Second, assuming he is as talented as advertised, wide receivers spread the field and stress the defense. Having another talented receiver available to stress the defense vertically and on the edge will open up the middle of the field for the talented tight ends as well as opening up the running game.

The best part of these notes is the complete absence of injury talk.

OldPhiKap
09-06-2016, 07:05 PM
Jim, big thanks as alway.

Bob, agree about no injuries.

dd, props for a great pre-season of posting since I did not want to leave you out.

jimsumner
09-06-2016, 09:10 PM
Jim, thanks so much for these reports. A couple of comments and a question starting with the question.

Any comments or discussion on the true freshmen running backs? Prior to the NCCU game, I would have expected either Brittain Brown or Elijah Deveaux to play this season. Now I am not so sure.

On to the comments...



I really, really hope Ryan Smith works out his issues and does really well the rest of the season because punt return duties are his opportunity to be an impact player as a senior. But there is no room for error here so another mistake is going to put Wilson or Rahming above him on the depth chart. I'm in favor of more of Wilson with the ball in his hands.



This is amazing (in a good way) as it represents how much trust the staff has in Edwards and Wilson to make the right decision. To me, this screams "high level of emotional maturity" on the part of both players.



Great news at a position of need.



This is very welcome news. I am anxious to see Bracey on the field for a couple of reasons. First, we have been waiting a long time since he was the first commit in this very talented class of true freshmen. Second, assuming he is as talented as advertised, wide receivers spread the field and stress the defense. Having another talented receiver available to stress the defense vertically and on the edge will open up the middle of the field for the talented tight ends as well as opening up the running game.

The best part of these notes is the complete absence of injury talk.

After the NCCU game, Cut implied that more true freshmen could see the field this season. Bracey, obviously. But how far will Duke go down the Ajeigbe-Pierre-Boden road for running back depth? I love Ajeigbe as a special-teams player. But is he an ACC-caliber running back? Ditto with Boden. Pierre seems like the best bet. He's a better athlete than the two aforementioned. But he's still leaning the position.

Lots of teams get by with two running backs and Duncan and Wilson are pretty darn good. But Cut likes a deeper RB rotation and he may have to try one of the true freshmen to get there. But if neither sees the field against Wake, the decision may well have been made to redshirt them.

loran16
09-06-2016, 10:00 PM
After the NCCU game, Cut implied that more true freshmen could see the field this season. Bracey, obviously. But how far will Duke go down the Ajeigbe-Pierre-Boden road for running back depth? I love Ajeigbe as a special-teams player. But is he an ACC-caliber running back? Ditto with Boden. Pierre seems like the best bet. He's a better athlete than the two aforementioned. But he's still leaning the position.

Lots of teams get by with two running backs and Duncan and Wilson are pretty darn good. But Cut likes a deeper RB rotation and he may have to try one of the true freshmen to get there. But if neither sees the field against Wake, the decision may well have been made to redshirt them.

I just can't see Cut going with two running backs. It's something he's never done to my recollection (Usually at least three guys), and Wilson has a disturbing habit of being dominant in some games and completely ineffectual in others, and I doubt Cut wants to run Jela out there for 15+ carries every game - Jela actually did get 15 against NCCU tho, but it was more carries than he got all last year in a single game.

Newton_14
09-06-2016, 10:05 PM
Duke is coming off six fumbles-they lost five-and 10 penalties.

So, some execution concerns.

Cut attributed the penalties to a lack of focus.

No surprise there.

The discussion of the turnovers was more nuanced. Three late turnovers came when Duke was emptying the bench and having major trouble getting the ball from the QB to the RB.
Cut took responsibility for not giving these guys quality reps in practice. A bit of coach-speak, methinks. How often will Quentin Harris pitch to Quay Mann in an undecided game? Not often, I suspect..
Those did not bother me much at all really cause that QB/RB combo is just not going to be on the field, and I actually take Cut at his word on this one in that they probably get very few reps.


But the two special-teams fumbles were more bothersome. Cut said he was “real disappointed” in Ryan Smith’s fumble on a punt return. Suggested that Smith doesn’t always move his feet well in preparing to receive a punt and ends up reaching at the last second. Shaun Wilson and T.J. Rahming are both getting work in the punt-return game. Rahming was a game-changer returning punts in high school. Wonder if he’ll get a shot.

Smith is still listed at first team. But he had some of the same issues last season and I suspect he’ll have a short leash against Wake...
I had not thought about Rahming back there, but it makes perfect sense. Unlike Bob, nothing against Ryan but I am not feeling the Sr sentiment. I miss the days of Crowder back there, so I prefer Rahming or Wilson. We need a game changer and Ryan has just not shown he has that level or extra gear.



Then there’s punter Austin Parker, who dropped a perfectly good snap from center. Cut was “extremely disappointed” in this lapse and says once in a career is once too often. Ouch...
Early in the Cut Era, we lost yet another heart breaking close game at Wake in the rain. One early play that came back to hurt us later was a dropped ball by the punter and in my opinion a lackadaisical effort to cover it, leading to a Wake TD. I do not recall the name of the punter, but I do recall the guy never saw the field again. As in Taylor Swift Never Ever Ever, never.





Speaking of true freshmen, Scott Bracey is getting more work and Duke is waiting to see how he physically responds to that. Fingers crossed but more optimistic than last week...
Like my good friend Bob Green, I am really looking forward to seeing this kid play. I hope it is sooner rather than later.




Why did Duke not kick a field goal late in the NCCU game? Cutcliffe says he didn’t want to kick off again and risk injury, A.J. Reed was having a good night and he didn’t want to upset that and he didn’t want to “tack on” points.
I understand the tacking on points thing. It's the Bull City Classic with our friendly neighbors just across the road so to speak, and we had hung 49 on them in the first half. I applaud Cut for not only not hanging 70 or 80 points on them, but also for choosing late in Q4 to tack on the FG. Great sportsmanship given the game and the circumstances. I do wish however, he would have kicked the FG the very first time it presented itself, even though that moment did occur mid/late Q4. I don't think the Central Coach would have taken offense to getting a rookie kicker's feet wet. We could have then pooch kicked or squib kicked the kickoff (Assuming of course he makes the FG) to limit/reduce the chance of injury.

Thanks as always Jim, for the great write up. I find these very enlightening and very informative. Always look forward to your detailed report. Great job and thanks!

jimsumner
09-06-2016, 10:11 PM
I just can't see Cut going with two running backs. It's something he's never done to my recollection (Usually at least three guys), and Wilson has a disturbing habit of being dominant in some games and completely ineffectual in others, and I doubt Cut wants to run Jela out there for 15+ carries every game - Jela actually did get 15 against NCCU tho, but it was more carries than he got all last year in a single game.

True about Duncan. But remember that he was recovering from an injury and I think Duke was trying to limit his usage.

Duncan carried 22 times against UNC back in 2012--the Crowder game--and hit 16 twice the following season.

The key for Wilson is to get him the ball in space. Duke keeps hinting about playing him in the slot some. No reason to give anything away against NCCU. But I'm still waiting for that lineup that has Duncan and Wilson in the backfield at the same time, with Wilson out wide.

Can Jones run the option? I remember Sirk pitching to Wilson on the option last year at VT with very positive results. But Duke didn't go back to that much after that.

Duke has a new OC and played it pretty close to the vest last week. Let's see if Duke opens its bag of tricks against Wake.

Punters dropping snaps? It was 2010 at Wake Forest. Kevin Jones dropped a snap and by the time the dust had settled, Wake had scooped up the loose ball and scored. Inasmuch as they ended up winning the game 54-48, this was not an insignificant play.

Walk-on Alex King took over the punting responsibilities for the remainder of the season. But curiously, Jones kept his role as holder for place-kicks.

In other words, he lost his job kicking because he couldn't catch but kept his job catching for someone else to kick.

loran16
09-06-2016, 10:21 PM
True about Duncan. But remember that he was recovering from an injury and I think Duke was trying to limit his usage.

Duncan carried 22 times against UNC back in 2012--the Crowder game--and hit 16 twice the following season.

The key for Wilson is to get him the ball in space. Duke keeps hinting about playing him in the slot some. No reason to give anything away against NCCU. But I'm still waiting for that lineup that has Duncan and Wilson in the backfield at the same time, with Wilson out wide.

Can Jones run the option? I remember Sirk pitching to Wilson on the option last year at VT with very positive results. But Duke didn't go back to that much after that.

Duke has a new OC and played it pretty close to the vest last week. Let's see if Duke opens its bag of tricks against Wake.


Should be interesting. Wake's D is actually good, so the tricks will be needed. I've thought for a while I wish they'd maybe convert Wilson to slot WR permanently, ala Des Scott in his senior year, but as you point out, we actually don't have a lot of trustworthy backs this year for the first time in a while.

Bob Green
09-07-2016, 04:51 AM
...we actually don't have a lot of trustworthy backs this year for the first time in a while.

It is too early to make that statement. Brittain Brown is a 4-Star recruit and Elijah Deveaux is a 3-Star recruit. If Coach Cutcliffe decides to play them, they could prove to be very productive.

budwom
09-07-2016, 08:03 AM
After the NCCU game, Cut implied that more true freshmen could see the field this season. Bracey, obviously. But how far will Duke go down the Ajeigbe-Pierre-Boden road for running back depth? I love Ajeigbe as a special-teams player. But is he an ACC-caliber running back? Ditto with Boden. Pierre seems like the best bet. He's a better athlete than the two aforementioned. But he's still leaning the position.

Lots of teams get by with two running backs and Duncan and Wilson are pretty darn good. But Cut likes a deeper RB rotation and he may have to try one of the true freshmen to get there. But if neither sees the field against Wake, the decision may well have been made to redshirt them.

I could see one of the frosh (primarily Brown) playing later in the season regardless of whether they play vs Wake or not...it's a long season, and everyone's running backs, including Duke's, tend to
get dinged up to one extent or another during a twelve game season....

jimsumner
09-07-2016, 12:04 PM
I could see one of the frosh (primarily Brown) playing later in the season regardless of whether they play vs Wake or not...it's a long season, and everyone's running backs, including Duke's, tend to
get dinged up to one extent or another during a twelve game season...

Sure. And for the record, based on what I had heard, I absolutely expected Brown to play in the first game and be part of the 2016 RB rotation. Still do, to be honest.

It seems there are three variables at play. How deep into the season are we talking? Burning a redshirt in the fourth game is one thing, burning one in the tenth is something else.

And where is Duke's season when these injuries add up? Title contention? Bowl contention? 2-6?

And how big is the gap between Brown/Deveaux and Ajeigbe/Boden/Pierre/Mann?

It must not be very large right now, else one or both of the true freshmen would have seen the field Saturday.

Off the top of my head, I cannot think of any true freshmen at Duke under Cut who began playing in mid-season or later. The running back corps would have to be pretty dinged up for Duke to burn a Brown and/or Deveaux redshirt too deep in the season. One thing Cut has clearly demonstrated is an ability to think in long terms.

Something to follow, to be sure.

budwom
09-07-2016, 02:52 PM
Sure. And for the record, based on what I had heard, I absolutely expected Brown to play in the first game and be part of the 2016 RB rotation. Still do, to be honest.

It seems there are three variables at play. How deep into the season are we talking? Burning a redshirt in the fourth game is one thing, burning one in the tenth is something else.

And where is Duke's season when these injuries add up? Title contention? Bowl contention? 2-6?

And how big is the gap between Brown/Deveaux and Ajeigbe/Boden/Pierre/Mann?

It must not be very large right now, else one or both of the true freshmen would have seen the field Saturday.

Off the top of my head, I cannot think of any true freshmen at Duke under Cut who began playing in mid-season or later. The running back corps would have to be pretty dinged up for Duke to burn a Brown and/or Deveaux redshirt too deep in the season. One thing Cut has clearly demonstrated is an ability to think in long terms.

Something to follow, to be sure.

Sure, I agree, a late season burning of the redshirt makes no sense. But last year Cut made ample use of four RBs, and it seemed we always had someone banged up....so I don't see
any way that two will suffice. Ajeigbe I suppose will be in the mix...just not at all sure what to make of Pierre and Boden at this point, insufficient data. Should they prosper, I could see
Brown redshirting...but somehow I expect we'll see him before the pumpkin crop comes in... Brown is a really really good prospect, as I'm sure you know...

jimsumner
09-07-2016, 04:12 PM
Sure, I agree, a late season burning of the redshirt makes no sense. But last year Cut made ample use of four RBs, and it seemed we always had someone banged up...so I don't see
any way that two will suffice. Ajeigbe I suppose will be in the mix...just not at all sure what to make of Pierre and Boden at this point, insufficient data. Should they prosper, I could see
Brown redshirting...but somehow I expect we'll see him before the pumpkin crop comes in... Brown is a really really good prospect, as I'm sure you know...

Cut has frequently claimed that he wants four running backs. But at Duke, he's really only used four in 2013; Powell, Duncan, Snead, Thompson. That worked pretty well.

But even with the injuries last season, he really only used three. Powell had 160 touches (rushes plus receptions). Wilson had 103, Duncan 78. After that, we go to Pierre at 16, Boden at 9 and Ajeigbe at 5. And nine of Pierre's and all of Boden's came in the first two games, routs of Tulane and NC Central.

Now, there's a big asterisk on last season. Sirk and Boehme combined for 208 rushes. I don't think anyone expects anything like that from Jones this season. Did the QBs run that much because the running back contingent was banged up? Or were the RBs under-utilized because Sirk was such a good runner? Or a combination of the two?

But Ajeigbe was the fourth RB in 2014 and he had 45 touches, almost all in the first half of the season.

I think Ajeibge is the wild-card here. He was a three-star recruit and is in his fourth year in the program. He had an 8-rush, 53-yard game at Georgia Tech in 2014.

But he's had only 43 rushing yards since then. After the NCCU game last week his career stats stand at 51 rushes, 176 yards, a 3.5 average.

By contrast, Duncan is at 304/1690/5.6 and Wilson at 170/1043/6.1.

That's a pretty significant drop-off and strongly suggests that it makes sense to give Duncan and Wilson the bulk of the work, as long as they're healthy.

But you want to keep them healthy. I'm not sure Duke needs four quality RBs but I very much agree with Buddy Womble that Duke needs at least three and I don't think it's unfair to ask if Ajeigbe (or Pierre) is that guy.

Which brings us back to Brown, of whom I have heard mucho positive things.

Another thing. Cut tends to play his true freshmen RBs. Ajeigbe took a healthy redshirt as a freshman but he's about the only recent one I can remember. Powell, Duncan, Wilson, Thompson, Snead all played as true freshmen.

So, I would still expect Brown to play this year. But the longer he doesn't, the more likely a redshirt becomes. IMO.