Duke Football Players leaving early
I looked in a few threads but did not see this news discussed elsewhere.
Duke has announced that several redshirt Jrs will be honored alongside the seniors at this week's game. The Juniors are all on course to graduate and will not be with the team next season (either because they plan to transfer or because they are beginning their post-football lives). Here is the list:
Quote:
Wide receiver Scott Bracey, redshirt junior: Bracey battled injury since arriving at Duke. He has 20 catches this year for 265 yards and two scores, eclipsing his totals from the first two years, when he played sparingly.
Safety Javon Jackson, redshirt junior: A special teams fixture this year, Jackson has also battled injury this season. He’s played in 228 snaps this season and 442 in his three-years for Duke.
Safety Damani Neal, redshirt sophomore: The reserve defensive back has played in 10 games each of the last two seasons, logging 154 snaps last year and 146 this season.
Kicker AJ Reed, redshirt junior: A highly regarded kicker when he entered Duke, Reed struggled through a nightmare freshman season, hitting just three of 10 field goals. He didn’t play for the next year and a half, taking over on kickoffs midway through last season. He took over the kicking job this year and has hit 13 of 15 field goals, including a pair of 50-plus yarders.
Offensive lineman Liam Smith, redshirt junior: The backup to current center Will Taylor, following Jack Wohlabaugh’s season-ending surgery, Smith has played sparingly at Duke, getting just 19 snaps over parts of three seasons. He has yet to appear in a game this year.
Safety Antone Williams, redshirt junior: After not playing in 2016 and getting just seven snaps the following year, Williams has played in nine games each of the last two years. His playing time has dropped off this year, to 82 snaps, down from 163 last year.
-Jason "so sad to see Bracey's career at Duke ending this way... I remember when he committed and many of us thought he would someday be one of the greats for this team. Are we bringing in a kicker to replace Reed?" Evans