Duke Football -- Offseason Discussion

[OldPhiKap]

WF, State and Duke were his “Big 3”. Glad to pick him up and beat out other N.C. schools.

And even better that he had the taste to eliminate UNC from his final list!

[Jedweb]

i remember going to a meeting where the speaker was Tom Harp - hired at Duke from Cornell to replace Bill Murray when the latter replied. Harp, who did not do well at Duke, spoke of how worried he was during one recruiting season when Duke had almost no commitments and Clemson had a bag full. He said that he looked at the Clemson commits and realized that Duke could have recruited only one or two of them because of academics.

Traveling strictly on memory, i think in the late 80's or early 90's Rod Broadway who had been an outstanding defensive tackle at UNC was on the Duke football staff for a short time. I read a remark attributed to him at that time that he was ashamed of the (academic unpreparedness of) "students" that UNC football was signing up.

i doubt things are better. i'm no Carolina insider, but it does seem that the university has sold its soul for athletics.

One more anecdote from the past. in the late 60's UVa had an outstanding running back named Frank Quayle. A couple years later another outstanding back, Don McCauley showed up in Chapel Hill. McCauley was quoted in an interview that he knew (or at least was familiar with) Quayle from high school. I think both may have been from Long Island. McCauley said he really admired Quayle, but he knew he could never get into Virginia, so he went to Chapel Hill. I always liked McCauley after that - characterless blue background or not. I liked him even more when he became a fine player for the Baltimore Colts.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

i remember going to a meeting where the speaker was Tom Harp - hired at Duke from Cornell to replace Bill Murray when the latter replied. Harp, who did not do well at Duke, spoke of how worried he was during one recruiting season when Duke had almost no commitments and Clemson had a bag full. He said that he looked at the Clemson commits and realized that Duke could have recruited only one or two of them because of academics.

Traveling strictly on memory, i think in the late 80's or early 90's Rod Broadway who had been an outstanding defensive tackle at UNC was on the Duke football staff for a short time. I read a remark attributed to him at that time that he was ashamed of the (academic unpreparedness of) "students" that UNC football was signing up.

i doubt things are better. i'm no Carolina insider, but it does seem that the university has sold its soul for athletics.

One more anecdote from the past. in the late 60's UVa had an outstanding running back named Frank Quayle. A couple years later another outstanding back, Don McCauley showed up in Chapel Hill. McCauley was quoted in an interview that he knew (or at least was familiar with) Quayle from high school. I think both may have been from Long Island. McCauley said he really admired Quayle, but he knew he could never get into Virginia, so he went to Chapel Hill. I always liked McCauley after that - characterless blue background or not. I liked him even more when he became a fine player for the Baltimore Colts.

Rod Broadway was a member of the Duke coaching staff from 1981-1994. He was one staff member who remained through multiple head coaches.

[chrishoke]

Former four star recruit junior Tahj Rice is transfering from Duke.

https://247sports.com/college/duke/A...fer-147312033/

[loran16]

Former four star recruit junior Tahj Rice is transfering from Duke.

https://247sports.com/college/duke/A...fer-147312033/

As far as I can tell, Rice was more or less a non factor in his two seasons here, as just a reserve DT (and not even the first choice at that). Perhaps he would've played a bigger role this year, but it doesn't seem like much of a loss? (I didn't recognize his name so I had to look him up, and while I'm not the biggest DFB fan here, that's usually a decent sign for me of importance)

[jimsumner]

As far as I can tell, Rice was more or less a non factor in his two seasons here, as just a reserve DT (and not even the first choice at that). Perhaps he would've played a bigger role this year, but it doesn't seem like much of a loss? (I didn't recognize his name so I had to look him up, and while I'm not the biggest DFB fan here, that's usually a decent sign for me of importance)

Duke lost both starting tackles from last season. Edgar Cerenord and Trevon McSwain both graduated. With Rice's unexpected departure, Derrick Tangelo is the only DT with any real experience. Duke has lots of young DTs and hoped to use the spring to get them some work and see if any could separate themselves. That didn't happen and now Duke will be very, very young at that position. Rice was a projected starter this fall and his loss is significant.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Cut pursue a grad-student option here.

[chrishoke]

Jim, given that Tahj was a projected starter, do you have any insight into why he is transferring? He will have to sit out next year. Regardless, good luck to the young man.

[jimsumner]

Jim, given that Tahj was a projected starter, do you have any insight into why he is transferring? He will have to sit out next year. Regardless, good luck to the young man.

I have no idea. He's certainly underperformed as a four-star. But substantial playing time was his for the taking.

[Bob Green]

Duke lost both starting tackles from last season. Edgar Cerenord and Trevon McSwain both graduated. With Rice's unexpected departure, Derrick Tangelo is the only DT with any real experience. Duke has lots of young DTs and hoped to use the spring to get them some work and see if any could separate themselves. That didn't happen and now Duke will be very, very young at that position. Rice was a projected starter this fall and his loss is significant.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Cut pursue a grad-student option here.

Jim, any chance a DE switches to DT like Trevon McSwain did a few years back?

[jimsumner]

Jim, any chance a DE switches to DT like Trevon McSwain did a few years back?

Cut has had lots of DEs move to DT, Jamal Bruce, Carlos Wray, A.J. Wolf, et. al. But all had to gain a lot of weight and that wasn't accomplished over a few months and certainly not with weight rooms closed.

Ben Frye has floated between DT and DE but injuries have kept him from playing very much at either spot. But he's listed at 255, which is way too small to be anything more than a situational, third-down pass-rusher at DT.

Barring a grad-student transfer Duke is going to have to rely on some combination of Elijah Brown, Christian Rorie, DeWayne Carter, maybe a true freshman or an OL making a position switch.

[budwom]

Jim, any chance a DE switches to DT like Trevon McSwain did a few years back?

Maybe Jim has some info...in the meantime, I see that the roster still has 6-6, 300 lb Christian Rorie (R-Fr_ listed as a defensive end, which is pretty unusual size for that position...could easily see him being moved inside we need be...

[Bob Green]

Barring a grad-student transfer Duke is going to have to rely on some combination of Elijah Brown, Christian Rorie, DeWayne Carter, maybe a true freshman or an OL making a position switch.

Thanks!

DT has become worrisome in a hurry.

[jimsumner]

Maybe Jim has some info...in the meantime, I see that the roster still has 6-6, 300 lb Christian Rorie (R-Fr_ listed as a defensive end, which is pretty unusual size for that position...could easily see him being moved inside we need be...

The roster is just wrong. There was never a chance Rorie was going to play DE at 300 pounds.

[sagegrouse]

The roster is just wrong. There was never a chance Rorie was going to play DE at 300 pounds.

Was that a "challenge" weight? "We're listing you at 300 pounds, and you better get there!"

Coach K seems to do that for his Skinny Minnies.

[budwom]

The roster is just wrong. There was never a chance Rorie was going to play DE at 300 pounds.

That's what I would have thought, but I've been told that he is still a defensive end...makes no sense to me...but then again, made no sense to move Gelotte from OT to tight end...at least they moved him back eventually...

[chrishoke]

Maybe our grad transfer Clemson QB can gain weight and play DT.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

Fun Zoom call tonight sponsored by the NY area alumni association with Coach Cut and Daniel Jones, Jamison Crowder and Thomas Henessy (all three play for NY teams). Coach clearly is much more than just a football coach - he has taught these guys values that last a lifetime. He told a great story about coming to Duke to interview and how he drove to campus and wandered around. The first people he spoke to were long time housekeeping staff members and their commitment to and love for Duke really attracted him to the school. He also told an interesting story about how he likes seeing recruits play other sports (Crowder was apparently a very good basketball player) partially because it lets him see how they handle adversity.

Coach is sporting a beard with a bushy goatee. I missed the start but it sounded like he has full expectation of there being a season.

I believe there is a similar west coast event next week with Laken Tomlinson and Daniel Helm, but you obviously don't need to be local to watch - I think you might need to be an alum but I'm not sure.

[budwom]

Fun Zoom call tonight sponsored by the NY area alumni association with Coach Cut and Daniel Jones, Jamison Crowder and Thomas Henessy (all three play for NY teams). Coach clearly is much more than just a football coach - he has taught these guys values that last a lifetime. He told a great story about coming to Duke to interview and how he drove to campus and wandered around. The first people he spoke to were long time housekeeping staff members and their commitment to and love for Duke really attracted him to the school. He also told an interesting story about how he likes seeing recruits play other sports (Crowder was apparently a very good basketball player) partially because it lets him see how they handle adversity.

Coach is sporting a beard with a bushy goatee. I missed the start but it sounded like he has full expectation of there being a season.

I believe there is a similar west coast event next week with Laken Tomlinson and Daniel Helm, but you obviously don't need to be local to watch - I think you might need to be an alum but I'm not sure.

good to hear about Hennessey, we are Long Snapper University! (Patrick Mannelly had a great LS career)..

[CrazyNotCrazie]

good to hear about Hennessey, we are Long Snapper University! (Patrick Mannelly had a great LS career)..

Hennessy said that he is practicing his long snapping by going to a local park with his wife, who was a Duke volleyball player. Coach made a funny joke about her getting so good at catching snaps that maybe she could also play in the NFL.

[budwom]

Playing NFL football seems nuts to me, but long snappers do have some rules which protect them from the pedestrian violence of the sport...not a bad niche if you can do your job well, one of the only positions in sports in which you don't want anyone to notice you, ever. Has there ever been a replay of a good long snap?