Jack Sears Update

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Yea, I remember watching that game and thinking...this is totally nuts to be playing a football game in this weather! If I remember correctly, there were about 14 people in the stands (and that may be a high number!) watching the game. Obviously, NOT a good weekend to bring in a top recruit but I know these visits are planned weeks, if not months, in advance. Hard to predict the weather that far in advance. It didn't surprise me in the least when he subsequently broke his commitment to Duke and signed with USC. And, frankly, at the time, I thought it sort of strange that a football "stud" from Southern Cal would want to go to Duke (even with a quarterback "guru" as head coach.

There were more than 14 of us there. We had almost that number at our tailgate on Blue Devil Alley! But we were the only tent there .

There were a few hundred fans sitting in the upper stands beneath the new over-hang. We stayed very dry watching the game, as opposed to getting drenched while we tailgated! It was worth every second! Maybe CB&B can re-post a couple of pictures he took of our tailgate!

[SoCalDukeFan]

Sears is actually 4th string on the USC depth chart.

Some think (and I have no idea if they know anything) that his family told USC start him or he transfers so USC picked JT Daniels to start and buried Sears.

He looked ok against Arizona State last year but USC still lost the game.

While I can see why a player from San Clemente picks USC over Duke I really don't know why he stayed after last season. While USC said the QB job was open this year, clearly Daniels was the front runner and if healthy will be ahead of Sears next year as well. So in my mind he made two bad decisions - picking USC and then staying at USC.

SoCal

[CameronBornAndBred]

Maybe CB&B can re-post a couple of pictures he took of our tailgate!

Pictures could never justify capturing what that day was like.

Unfortunately I can't embed the videos I took, but if anyone wants to see all of Kville turned into one giant Slip-N-Slide, and have access to Facebook, enjoy the wet memories.

https://www.facebook.com/crazietalk...4657016659630/

[devildeac]

There were more than 14 of us there. We had almost that number at our tailgate on Blue Devil Alley! But we were the only tent there .

There were a few hundred fans sitting in the upper stands beneath the new over-hang. We stayed very dry watching the game, as opposed to getting drenched while we tailgated! It was worth every second! Maybe CB&B can re-post a couple of pictures he took of our tailgate!

I'm guessing we had about 25 at our tailgate, a dedicated and almost crazie (sic) group that showed up that day .

[jimsumner]

Tough crowd.

[duke2x]

Pictures could never justify capturing what that day was like. Unfortunately I can't embed the videos I took, but if anyone wants to see all of Kville turned into one giant Slip-N-Slide, and have access to Facebook, enjoy the wet memories.
https://www.facebook.com/crazietalk...4657016659630/

Unlike Woodstock, which happened before I was born, I was one of the 500 people under the overhang. There were about 10 brave Duke fans and maybe 50-100 brave Army fans that sat out in the rain. The storm, which UNC fans still blame to this day for costing them the Coastal title in 2016, was also a bit overrated compared to the ECU game in 2002. It just poured rain from morning to midnight that ECU day whereas Hurricane Matthew was pretty much done by the end of the game.

This is the ACC's game summary of the Army game from Youtube. You can get a flavor of the rain that day if you don't have Facebook.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_dVDYAnlLE

[SoCalDukeFan]

Evidently Sears is on track to graduate this year and will have 2 years of eligibility as a grad transfer.

I would guess he would have an easy time finding a home.

SoCal

[jimsumner]

Sears' de-commitment was not irrational. He committed to Duke under the assumption that Thomas Sirk would start his senior year, Sears would graduate from high school a semester early, come to Duke and compete for a wide-open QB job with inexperienced competition.

That all changed when Sirk reinjured his Achilles and redshirt freshman Daniel Jones took over and displayed considerable early promise. That meant Sears would be competing with an incumbent starter with three remaining years, along with the possibility that Sirk might be back in the mix.

The landscape had changed significantly.

I do not know if Cut would take him back. But I strongly suspect that some posters on this thread harbor more ill feelings towards Sears than does Cutcliffe.

[Acymetric]

Sears' de-commitment was not irrational. He committed to Duke under the assumption that Thomas Sirk would start his senior year, Sears would graduate from high school a semester early, come to Duke and compete for a wide-open QB job with inexperienced competition.

That all changed when Sirk reinjured his Achilles and redshirt freshman Daniel Jones took over and displayed considerable early promise. That meant Sears would be competing with an incumbent starter with three remaining years, along with the possibility that Sirk might be back in the mix.

The landscape had changed significantly.

I do not know if Cut would take him back. But I strongly suspect that some posters on this thread harbor more ill feelings towards Sears than does Cutcliffe.

The animosity towards Sears has felt a little over the top. I understand it more for Surratt.

[killerleft]

If Sears, in Cut's judgement, can help us? How fast can we get him here?

[budwom]

If Sears, in Cut's judgement, can help us? How fast can we get him here?

Ha, that ship has both sailed and sunk.

[TruBlu]

Ha, that ship has both sailed and sunk.

That ship never actually launched.

[nmduke2001]

As expected, Jack Sears enters transfer protocol.

https://www.espn.com/college-footbal...-usc-qb-battle

[ehdg]

Sears' de-commitment was not irrational. He committed to Duke under the assumption that Thomas Sirk would start his senior year, Sears would graduate from high school a semester early, come to Duke and compete for a wide-open QB job with inexperienced competition.

That all changed when Sirk reinjured his Achilles and redshirt freshman Daniel Jones took over and displayed considerable early promise. That meant Sears would be competing with an incumbent starter with three remaining years, along with the possibility that Sirk might be back in the mix.

The landscape had changed significantly.

I do not know if Cut would take him back. But I strongly suspect that some posters on this thread harbor more ill feelings towards Sears than does Cutcliffe.

Not sure why Coach Cut would revisit Sears. He’s got a highly recruited QB coming in next year from Venice, Cali already in Luca Diamont.

[JasonEvans]

Not sure why Coach Cut would revisit Sears. He’s got a highly recruited QB coming in next year from Venice, Cali already in Luca Diamont.

Look, I'm thrilled that Luca Diamont is coming and he is a highly regarded recruit who I expect to really compete for the starting job during his tenure at Duke... but Jack Sears was much more highly regarded coming out of high school. I am sure the bloom has come off the Sears rose a good bit as a result of him not breaking through thus far at USC, but -- to put it in basketball terms (recognizing that Duke does not compete for top tier football talent the way we do in basketball) -- Sears was a Jayson Tatum kinda recruit while Diamont is more like an Alex O'Connell.

-Jason "Sears was a 4-star recruit, rated the #4 pro -style QB in the land... Diamont is a 3-star recruit, rated the 20th best pro-style QB prospect" Evans

[Acymetric]

Look, I'm thrilled that Luca Diamont is coming and he is a highly regarded recruit who I expect to really compete for the starting job during his tenure at Duke... but Jack Sears was much more highly regarded coming out of high school. I am sure the bloom has come off the Sears rose a good bit as a result of him not breaking through thus far at USC, but -- to put it in basketball terms (recognizing that Duke does not compete for top tier football talent the way we do in basketball) -- Sears was a Jayson Tatum kinda recruit while Diamont is more like an Alex O'Connell.

-Jason "Sears was a 4-star recruit, rated the #4 pro -style QB in the land... Diamont is a 3-star recruit, rated the 20th best pro-style QB prospect" Evans

Jayson Tatum is an awful comparison (as evidenced by the 4-star vs. 5-star ranking). Sears was the #4 QB because it was not seen to be a strong QB class, not because Sears was a blue chip recruit.

[BD80]

Look, I'm thrilled that Luca Diamont is coming and he is a highly regarded recruit who I expect to really compete for the starting job during his tenure at Duke... but Jack Sears was much more highly regarded coming out of high school. I am sure the bloom has come off the Sears rose a good bit as a result of him not breaking through thus far at USC, but -- to put it in basketball terms (recognizing that Duke does not compete for top tier football talent the way we do in basketball) -- Sears was a Jayson Tatum kinda recruit while Diamont is more like an Alex O'Connell.

-Jason "Sears was a 4-star recruit, rated the #4 pro -style QB in the land... Diamont is a 3-star recruit, rated the 20th best pro-style QB prospect" Evans

Sears has had 2 1/2 years to physically and emotionally(?) mature, and to learn under college coaching. It was said that he can get his degree and play 2 years as a graduate student, which shows he was at least able to do his job academically.

For me it is the relationship between Cut and Sears. If they can work past Sears' breach of trust, they could make a great combination - classic errant son comes home / redemption story.

[chrishoke]

Look, I'm thrilled that Luca Diamont is coming and he is a highly regarded recruit who I expect to really compete for the starting job during his tenure at Duke... but Jack Sears was much more highly regarded coming out of high school. I am sure the bloom has come off the Sears rose a good bit as a result of him not breaking through thus far at USC, but -- to put it in basketball terms (recognizing that Duke does not compete for top tier football talent the way we do in basketball) -- Sears was a Jayson Tatum kinda recruit while Diamont is more like an Alex O'Connell.

-Jason "Sears was a 4-star recruit, rated the #4 pro -style QB in the land... Diamont is a 3-star recruit, rated the 20th best pro-style QB prospect" Evans

FYI, Rivals and ESPN both rank Luca as a four star recruit.

[CameronBornAndBred]

-Jason "Sears was a 4-star recruit, rated the #4 pro -style QB in the land... Diamont is a 3-star recruit, rated the 20th best pro-style QB prospect" Evans

As Duke fans, we should all know that the ranking system in football should be taken with a grain of salt. It is a world of difference between the two sports. Saying that Sears was a 4 star recruit is fine, but the reality is that he is behind Slovis and Finks on the depth chart, both of whom were three stars.

Where Sears was doesn't matter, where he is now does. The USC coaches obviously recognized that he does not have the skills they thought he would have, and with Cut being a master of evaluating QBs, I'd suspect he would see that as well.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

As Duke fans, we should all know that the ranking system in football should be taken with a grain of salt. It is a world of difference between the two sports. Saying that Sears was a 4 star recruit is fine, but the reality is that he is behind Slovis and Finks on the depth chart, both of whom were three stars.

Where Sears was doesn't matter, where he is now does. The USC coaches obviously recognized that he does not have the skills they thought he would have, and with Cut being a master of evaluating QBs, I'd suspect he would see that as well.

True, and Daniel Jones was either a non star or a 2 star - IIRC - depending on the rating service.