Duke football 2011 preview

[roywhite]

Issac Blakeney will miss the 2011 season due to being academically ineligible:

http://www.wralsportsfan.com/duke/story/9892522/

Blakeney (6'6" 230) was expected to be a key contributor at Safety in the revamped 4-2-5 defense.

Darn. Sorry to hear that; I was looking forward to his impact.

This eligibility thing doesn't work the same in Durham as it does in Chapel Hill, does it?

[jimsumner]

Darn. Sorry to hear that; I was looking forward to his impact.

This eligibility thing doesn't work the same in Durham as it does in Chapel Hill, does it?

That's a big loss. Blakeney is an uber athlete, with a rare blend of size, speed and leaping ability. He had a chance to be a difference maker and Duke desperately needs difference makers on D.

Hopefully, he'll stay with it and return in 2012.

[Acymetric]

The article says suspended from the university...is he out of school until spring or just suspended from football?

[jimsumner]

Here's what the Duke press release says.

"Duke head football coach David Cutcliffe announced on Thursday that safety Issac Blakeney has been suspended from the university for failure to meet continuing academic eligibility requirements and will miss the 2011 season.

“Issac is a valuable member of the Duke Football family and I look forward to him returning to full eligibility in January of 2012,” said Cutcliffe."

[SmartDevil]

What kind of academic assistance, tutoring, monitoring, etc. does the football program maintain these days?

How does it compare to that for the basketball program?

And what resources are available for athletes in other sports?

I'm a little surprised at an announcement like this being made so late in the summer.

[Acymetric]

What kind of academic assistance, tutoring, monitoring, etc. does the football program maintain these days?

How does it compare to that for the basketball program?

And what resources are available for athletes in other sports?

I'm a little surprised at an announcement like this being made so late in the summer.

They may have been hoping he could get his grades up in summer school.

[pbc2]

No question the Blakeney loss is big for the defense. Will definitely need to see guys like Campbell, Byas, and maybe even freshman Chris Tavarez step up. The play of the safeties is crucial for the new defense to be successful.

In preparation for ACC Football Kickoff, here's a set of completely unqualified ACC predictions in BDN's Football Friday.

[uh_no]

Here's what the Duke press release says.

"Duke head football coach David Cutcliffe announced on Thursday that safety Issac Blakeney has been suspended from the university for failure to meet continuing academic eligibility requirements and will miss the 2011 season.

“Issac is a valuable member of the Duke Football family and I look forward to him returning to full eligibility in January of 2012,” said Cutcliffe."

Wow. The continuing academic eligibility requirements are not high

http://trinity.duke.edu/academic-req...n-requirements

Furthermore you must PASS 3 courses each semester aside from the first in which you must only pass 2.

To not meet these requirements indicates to me that the effort isn't there. I know that the basketball team has a very strong program to ensure that the players pass their courses (the program gets info on all the players tests and assignments to ensure the students are ready), but I imagine for a football team 7 or 8 times larger, this just isn't possible, and the same amount of attention cannot be spared on each individual. In the end, its sad for the kid, and you hope he can get straightened out, but to not remain academically eligible at duke simply indicates a lack of salience or effort at passing one's classes.

[Olympic Fan]

Not sure of the academic isues, but let me weigh in on the loss of a very promising safety.

Losing any player is a blow -- and Blakeney was a unique athlete who would have been exciting to watch -- but safety is perhaps the deepest position on the Duke team.

Duke is going to play a 4-2-5 alignment that features three safeties -- one of them a kind of hybrid LB/SS. On the depth chart, senior Matt Daniels -- probably the best defensive player on the team and one of the two or three best safeties in the ACC is slated to start in the hybrid spot -- with veterans Walt Canty and Lee Butler at the other two spots.

Daniels is going to be on the field as much as possible. But he's SO good and SO versatile that the plan is to move him around, shifting him between all three safety spots. When he's away from the hybrid slot -- filling for either Butler or Canty -- the next hybrid safety in line is Austin Campbell, a redshirt sophomore who is (like Blakeney) a freak athlete. He's a converted linebacker, but he's one of the fastest players on the Duke team (as he showed with an 80-plus yard fumble recovery return against Maryland). The plan was for Blakeney to play behind Daniels and Campbell at the hybrid spot.

Duke still has good depth at safety -- Jordan Byas is a player and Anthony Young-Wiseman is looking very good after missing last season with a broken leg. Taylor Sowell can contribute.

But losing Blakeney hurts -- in practice last fall and last spring, he demonstrated a great ability to bring blitz from the safety position and pressuring the passer is something that Duke needs more than anything else on defense.

He'll be missed. Here's hoping the kid gets it together and comes back strong in 2012.

[Bob Green]

The Blakeney news has spurred some solid discussion on our depth at Safety, but cornerback is the position which has me concerned (along with the defensive line). How are our corners looking? We've converted two receivers to CB the past two years, first Johnny Williams and now Tony Foster. Are either of the two ready to start and perform at an ACC level? Is Quan Stevenson healthy? Is Ross Cockrell ready to step up and be a lockdown defender?

There are lots of questions out there at cornerback. Duke gave up too many big plays last season - 3rd and long should be advantage defense but those words were enough to make Duke fans tremble.

Can the cornerbacks be successful in 2011? I'd love to hear from those close to the situation.

[jimsumner]

The Blakeney news has spurred some solid discussion on our depth at Safety, but cornerback is the position which has me concerned (along with the defensive line). How are our corners looking? We've converted two receivers to CB the past two years, first Johnny Williams and now Tony Foster. Are either of the two ready to start and perform at an ACC level? Is Quan Stevenson healthy? Is Ross Cockrell ready to step up and be a lockdown defender?

There are lots of questions out there at cornerback. Duke gave up too many big plays last season - 3rd and long should be advantage defense but those words were enough to make Duke fans tremble.

Can the cornerbacks be successful in 2011? I'd love to hear from those close to the situation.

Hard to say until practice and scrimmages start. We don't have any summer-league action to drool over.

But a decent pass rush wouldn't hurt. That's why losing Blakeney hurts. He had some serious potential in that area.

[Bob Green]

Hard to say until practice and scrimmages start. We don't have any summer-league action to drool over.

Thanks, Jim. Practice starts in 16 days and the season opener against Richmond is in 42 days (not that I'm counting or anything ) so I guess I'll just have to cool my jets for a while.

My annual summer optimism is in full bloom.

[epoulsen]

No question the Blakeney loss is big for the defense. Will definitely need to see guys like Campbell, Byas, and maybe even freshman Chris Tavarez step up. The play of the safeties is crucial for the new defense to be successful.

In preparation for ACC Football Kickoff, here's a set of completely unqualified ACC predictions in BDN's Football Friday.

I can't remember, what was the old defensive scheme?

[Bob Green]

I can't remember, what was the old defensive scheme?

Duke attempted to implement a 3-4 last season due to a perceived strength at the linebacker position. It was a grand failure due in part to the linebackers not being as talented as thought. Moreover, the 3-4 requires a team to have a dominate nose guard to anchor the defensive line. Duke didn't have one. In hindsight, the dismissal of John Drew in the off season was a severe blow to the ability to achieve success with the 3-4 defense. Previously, the 4-3 was used.

[epoulsen]

a 3-4, I really have to work on that whole ask first and then figure it out yourself second thing...

[epoulsen]

Duke attempted to implement a 3-4 last season due to a perceived strength at the linebacker position. It was a grand failure due in part to the linebackers not being as talented as thought. Moreover, the 3-4 requires a team to have a dominate nose guard to anchor the defensive line. Duke didn't have one. In hindsight, the dismissal of John Drew in the off season was a severe blow to the ability to achieve success with the 3-4 defense. Previously, the 4-3 was used.

thanks, unlike basketball I have to play cram before each football season, there's only so much time in the day... so it looks like we're using the 4-2-5 just because we haven't tried it yet maybe? Either way it looks like a good solution with such a young line and questionable secondary. I agree with the comment abt 3rd and long last year. The only thing more frustrating than the other team converting through the air on 3rd and long is when they run it right up the middle and convert.

Also, are we dismissing our defensive coords or are they moving on to bigger and better things (seems unlikely), and if it's the former then couldn't some part of our defensive woes be attributed to the players not having time to understand the formation? Even at the next level players struggle to adjust in a new scheme.

[jimsumner]

Also, are we dismissing our defensive coords or are they moving on to bigger and better things (seems unlikely), and if it's the former then couldn't some part of our defensive woes be attributed to the players not having time to understand the formation? Even at the next level players struggle to adjust in a new scheme.

Mike McInytre became head coach at San Jose State following the 2009 season. Big loss.

[Olympic Fan]

so it looks like we're using the 4-2-5 just because we haven't tried it yet maybe? Either way it looks like a good solution with such a young line and questionable secondary.

We've actually used the 4-2-5 quite extensively in the last three seasons. A couple of years ago, when Vinnie Rey and Michael Taulilli were kick-butt LBs, we played more three safety alinements than three linebacker sets.

Last year, when they gave up on the 3-4 midway through the season, they played more 4-2-5 than anything else -- with Campbell making a midseason switch from LB to safety.

I know it's easy to blame what happened last year on the secondary, but that's unfair. Not saying they were great, but nobody would have looked good at corner with that (lack of) pass rush. Freshman Ross Cockrell got beat a lot, but he made a lot of plays too. He's older, more experienced and (most importantly) stronger. He has to prove it on the field, but he has a chance to be good.

Johnny Williams was battling injuries all last season and never really got a chance. When he made the switch to corner, Cut said he was a potential NFL corner. We'll see.

[OldPhiKap]

I know it's easy to blame what happened last year on the secondary, but that's unfair. Not saying they were great, but nobody would have looked good at corner with that (lack of) pass rush.

This.

We gained a lot of valuable experience last year, and need to build on it. If we can play some solid D, we can have a very enjoyable season.

[uh_no]

This.

We gained a lot of valuable experience last year, and need to build on it. If we can play some solid D, we can have a very enjoyable season.

We need to switch on screens and get into the passing lanes. If playing ball at duke means anything: it means you will play good defense.

Let's play some team defense guys!