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View Full Version : Duke football notes, 9-26-17



jimsumner
09-26-2017, 03:06 PM
Some good news on the injury front. Duke expects to have everybody Friday that they had last week. They are taking it easy with Humphreys and Brown but it looks good right now. Duke practiced in pads Monday and Tuesday but concentrated more on technique and formations, while trying to limit hitting during a short week. "Our minds are in the right place. We need to make sure our bodies are," David Cutcliffe said.


A couple of controversial topics were touched on.

Cut tried to thread the needle on the flag and the anthem. Said that he "always would prefer to stand for the flag." But he also understands the protests. Talked about growing up in Alabama in the 1950s and 1960s and his family supporting protestors, which I assume means people protesting segregation. Said he had not talked with Jamison Crowder about this but praised Crowder as a good person. Cut tried to distinguish between acts taken in uniform and out of uniform and said he wanted his team to be united while in uniform.

Miami? Cut called the 2015 game an "unpleasant, memorable moment. I've put it in a place where it doesn't bother me." He recalled his mother telling him that he wasn't the first person to be the victim of injustice. Cut said the one thing he hated was going into the locker room after the game and not having answers for what had just happened. Coaches are supposed to have answers and he didn't have any.

The players are all singing from the same hymnal. Different teams, different games. "I don't see any application to this year's game," Brandner said.

Cut says he can't find a theme for Duke's late, first-half struggles the last three games. "I don't see any relaxing." He did say that the last minute or so against Carolina was a 14-point swing. Duke should have scored on Koppenhaver's drop.

Cut said he tried to "get rid of as much time as possible." Could have milked a few more perhaps but noted that a team doesn't need a lot of time if it can go 80 yards in two plays.

Gabe Brandner called this "the ebb and flow of football."

Speaking of Brandner, he was just recognized by the AFCA for his work with Durham's Habitat for Humanity. He's the eighth Blue Devil honored by inclusion on the Good Works Team during Cut's tenure at Duke. Not something to overlook.

Cut delivered the news to Brandner after practice one day last week and cited Brandner's "tremendous job" with Habitat, adding "he's going to make a really good doctor someday."

Yes, doctor.

For his part, Brandner said "It was an awesome award. It's awesome that football has given a lot of us a platform to do community service."

Austin Davis on Duke's fourth-quarter TD drive.

"We all looked at each other and we had this mutual feeling that we have to get it done on this drive. One of our coaches said, if we score here, we're going to win this game. We had the mentality that we're going to make a play, we're going to get into scoring position and then our defense is going to get the job done and that's what happened. Johnathan Lloyd's catch was remarkable. We all did a great job. We knew as an offensive line that it was fourth down and we had to do out job and protect. This is the play that will change the game. We knew it was fourth down but we weren't worried. We expected to get the job done. That shows our maturity."

Key to beating Miami?

Davis-We have to do our job up front. If we can keep Daniel Jones clean, he's going to make some plays and our running backs are going to make some plays. Keep Daniel clean and it's going to work out because our coaches are going to put us in position to win."

Speaking of running backs, Cut is real high on freshman Deon Jackson. "Big, fast, great skills as a receiver. He's still learning pass protection but he's going to get more time."

Cut on Mark Walton. "A tremendous football player. Competitive, can explode through holes, great body lean, can break tackles and then outrun you.

Bob Green
09-26-2017, 03:21 PM
Excellent stuff, Jim! Thanks.


Some good news on the injury front. Duke expects to have everybody Friday that they had last week. They are taking it easy with Humphreys and Brown but it looks good right now.

Speaking of running backs, Cut is real high on freshman Deon Jackson. "Big, fast, great skills as a receiver. He's still learning pass protection but he's going to get more time."

Tremendous news on Humphreys...I was very worried he was seriously injured. Humphreys and Brown are both vital cogs in the wheel. I'm excited that Coach Cutcliffe is excited about Deon Jackson. Big backs with speed do not grow on trees. For the benefit of those who have better things to do than memorize the roster, Deon Jackson (#25) is 6'0" 215.

Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15
09-26-2017, 03:23 PM
Great recap. Love Cut's perspective on things. Thanks for the notes.

devildeac
09-26-2017, 03:33 PM
Great stuff. Another shout out to Jim for this report, too. Thanks.

johnb
09-26-2017, 04:08 PM
Some good news on the injury front. Duke expects to have everybody Friday that they had last week. They are taking it easy with Humphreys and Brown but it looks good right now. Duke practiced in pads Monday and Tuesday but concentrated more on technique and formations, while trying to limit hitting during a short week. "Our minds are in the right place. We need to make sure our bodies are," David Cutcliffe said.


A couple of controversial topics were touched on.

Cut tried to thread the needle on the flag and the anthem. Said that he "always would prefer to stand for the flag." But he also understands the protests. Talked about growing up in Alabama in the 1950s and 1960s and his family supporting protestors, which I assume means people protesting segregation. Said he had not talked with Jamison Crowder about this but praised Crowder as a good person. Cut tried to distinguish between acts taken in uniform and out of uniform and said he wanted his team to be united while in uniform.

Miami? Cut called the 2015 game an "unpleasant, memorable moment. I've put it in a place where it doesn't bother me." He recalled his mother telling him that he wasn't the first person to be the victim of injustice. Cut said the one thing he hated was going into the locker room after the game and not having answers for what had just happened. Coaches are supposed to have answers and he didn't have any.

The players are all singing from the same hymnal. Different teams, different games. "I don't see any application to this year's game," Brandner said.

Cut says he can't find a theme for Duke's late, first-half struggles the last three games. "I don't see any relaxing." He did say that the last minute or so against Carolina was a 14-point swing. Duke should have scored on Koppenhaver's drop.

Cut said he tried to "get rid of as much time as possible." Could have milked a few more perhaps but noted that a team doesn't need a lot of time if it can go 80 yards in two plays.

Gabe Brandner called this "the ebb and flow of football."

Speaking of Brandner, he was just recognized by the AFCA for his work with Durham's Habitat for Humanity. He's the eighth Blue Devil honored by inclusion on the Good Works Team during Cut's tenure at Duke. Not something to overlook.

Cut delivered the news to Brandner after practice one day last week and cited Brandner's "tremendous job" with Habitat, adding "he's going to make a really good doctor someday."

Yes, doctor.

For his part, Brandner said "It was an awesome award. It's awesome that football has given a lot of us a platform to do community service."

Austin Davis on Duke's fourth-quarter TD drive.

"We all looked at each other and we had this mutual feeling that we have to get it done on this drive. One of our coaches said, if we score here, we're going to win this game. We had the mentality that we're going to make a play, we're going to get into scoring position and then our defense is going to get the job done and that's what happened. Johnathan Lloyd's catch was remarkable. We all did a great job. We knew as an offensive line that it was fourth down and we had to do out job and protect. This is the play that will change the game. We knew it was fourth down but we weren't worried. We expected to get the job done. That shows our maturity."

Key to beating Miami?

Davis-We have to do our job up front. If we can keep Daniel Jones clean, he's going to make some plays and our running backs are going to make some plays. Keep Daniel clean and it's going to work out because our coaches are going to put us in position to win."

Speaking of running backs, Cut is real high on freshman Deon Jackson. "Big, fast, great skills as a receiver. He's still learning pass protection but he's going to get more time."

Cut on Mark Walton. "A tremendous football player. Competitive, can explode through holes, great body lean, can break tackles and then outrun you.

One of Cut's comments reminded me that an observant kid in the Alabama of the 1950's and 60's would recognize that injustice isn't rare, whether you're talking small (the Miami game) or big (the issues that underlie the NFL protest).