Duke football notes, 12-17-14
Cut said practices have been short, with an emphasis on efficiency. Duke will have some physical, tackle-to-the-ground-practices. The emphasis is on keeping the team “fresh and interested.”
Since this is Duke’s third consecutive bowl game, virtually everyone playing has done this before and the transition has been smooth. Exams are over, then dorms are closed and everybody else has gone home. Lots of time to concentrate on football, lots of time to look at film.
Some players are staying at area motels, some already live off campus, others are crashing with teammates living off campus.
Duke has been giving more attention to deep-in-the-depth-chart reserves in practice. True freshman Jonathan Lloyd is practicing for the first time, playing cornerback. He won’t play against ASU of course, preserving his redshirt.
That said, Duke has not made any position changes for the Sun Bowl and Cut says the emphasis is on winning the game not doing 2015 stuff.
Arizona State blitzes with some regularity. I asked center Matt Skura about that.
“We’ve been working on that all week. It’s about 80 percent of the time they’re blitzing. It looks like I’ll be making a lot of the calls as far as saying which guys we’re responsible for. The biggest thing we’ve been doing is trying to stop guys when they’re stunting . . . not letting guys push us around. . . continuing to know what they like to do on defense."
Cut says ASU’s blitz is different from that of Virginia Tech-which hurt Duke—and Duke will have to both make some schematic changes and execute better.
Of course, blitzing that much is high-risk, high-reward. Skura says that Duke offensive line coach John Latina has been telling his linemen that Duke can take advantage.
“Once we get past the linebacker level, there aren’t any safeties coming down to make the plays. So, if we’re able to handle our business up front, we really should be able to spring those big runs. But it’s going to take a lot of concentration, a lot of execution.”
ASU tends to play man-to-man. Pick up the blitz and guys like Jamison Crowder are running around in the secondary. Crowder says the key is to “know that I can get off my jam and make sure my routes are crisp.”
He was smiling when he said that.
Speaking of Crowder, Cut said he wouldn’t trade him for “anyone I’ve ever had."
Laken Tomlinson was named first-team All-America by AP earlier this week, the first Duke player so honored since Clarkston Hines in 1989. “I couldn’t be any more proud,” Cutcliffe said. “He’s grown into quite a man.”
Cut added that All-America honors don’t happen without contributions from a lot of people. He considers them team awards.
Jeremy Cash? Neither party “in any real hurry” on his decision to leave or stay.
