FB: Off Season 2023

[CameronBornAndBred]

Since the generic college football thread got closed, there's no real good place to put this.
Long story short, FSU is likely to be very good again next year. Have to think they will be challenging Clemson for the league title.

Florida State defensive end Jared Verse made a pros and cons list as he weighed his future over the last two weeks, trying to determine whether to leave school and become a potential first-round NFL pick, or stay for one more year and improve.

Ultimately, Verse decided he wanted another year with the Seminoles, he announced Saturday, joining quarterback Jordan Travis, leading rusher Trey Benson, leading receiver Johnny Wilson and several others who have already announced they would be back in 2023. His decision, though, may come as a bit of a surprise to some.

Verse has consistently been projected as a first-round pick over the last several months. In his latest NFL mock draft, ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid has Verse going at No. 11 overall. In a phone interview with ESPN, Verse said the feedback he got from the NFL was consistent with the projections that are out there, but he believes he has much to improve on, and plenty to prove.

https://www.espn.com/college-footbal...ck-staying-fsu

[arnie]

Since the generic college football thread got closed, there's no real good place to put this.
Long story short, FSU is likely to be very good again next year. Have to think they will be challenging Clemson for the league title.


https://www.espn.com/college-footbal...ck-staying-fsu

The power of NIL at a big football school. Totally understand him staying assuming the contracts exceed a couple of million.

[Bluedog]

Since the generic college football thread got closed, there's no real good place to put this.
Long story short, FSU is likely to be very good again next year. Have to think they will be challenging Clemson for the league title.


https://www.espn.com/college-footbal...ck-staying-fsu

I've got to believe this wouldn't have happened before NIL.

We've got both FSU and Clemson next season, so we'll see how we stack up against the big boys of college football.

[budwom]

Closer to home, I'm very much hoping that this past season's fantastic success will enable Elko to attract even better recruits...it was always a disappointment that after Cut's great Chicken Bowl season, we weren't able to capitalize on the recruiting front. Elko seems to have a large and skilled recruiting organization, so I'm hopeful.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

Closer to home, I'm very much hoping that this past season's fantastic success will enable Elko to attract even better recruits...it was always a disappointment that after Cut's great Chicken Bowl season, we weren't able to capitalize on the recruiting front. Elko seems to have a large and skilled recruiting organization, so I'm hopeful.

Yep, especially how good Duke looked in the bowl, with a massive TV audience...and how exciting a brand of ball they played, even in defeat.

[pokeresq]

To see how our FB recruiting has done, I checked the 24/7 consensus rankings for our classes nationally and in the ACC, starting with the 2013 class which is the class before we played in the Chicken Bowl 12-31-13. The rankings are as follows:

2013-71/12
2014-61/13
2015-52/12
2016-33/6
2017-47/8
2018-63/12
2019-49/8
2020-62/12
2021-57/12
2022-52/8
2023-51/10

Those rankings do not account for transfer portal players. While there are rankings for portal classes, those are less established because of the much shorter time to quantify and calculate classes, such as are HS rankings used when a player may have very little new tape to evaluate because he has been on the bench. The number 1 OL in the 2022 portal, for instance, was at Rhode Island and was unrated in HS in 2020. There could be additional recruits this year, and there may be players who do not win a a starting job in spring practice who will be available in the portal window which opens for 2 weeks in May.

The past 2 classes have been better than average for Duke, but remain in the bottom half of the ACC. There also is a ranking which calculates talent on the roster in which we ranked 64th for the 2022 season. https://247sports.com/Season/2022-Fo...lentComposite/ The issue with these rankings is that they are based on HS rankings, and do not account for older players who grew/improved in college.

Almost any way you look at it, Elko, like Cut before him, will have to do more with less to compete in the ACC.

[Papa John]

Closer to home, I'm very much hoping that this past season's fantastic success will enable Elko to attract even better recruits...it was always a disappointment that after Cut's great Chicken Bowl season, we weren't able to capitalize on the recruiting front. Elko seems to have a large and skilled recruiting organization, so I'm hopeful.

But he kinda did, as the recruiting rankings from pokeresq's post demonstrates. Keeping in mind that recruiting classes are largely baked by the time bowl season rolls around, you're really finishing up the class for the coming year and starting to solidify the class two years out. So when we get the Belk Bowl bid in 2012 you don't really see a big payoff for the 2013 class, and only a mild ripple for 2014. When we win the Coastal in 2013 and take a solid Texas A&M to the brink in a Chik-fil-A shootout, recruits clearly start to pay attention as the 2014 class [again] is rated mildly better than 2013 but the foundation of another slightly improved class is built for 2015—rated #52/#12. When we continue the solid play on the field with a #2 finish in the Coastal and yet another competitive appearance in the Sun Bowl, the momentum really builds for that 2016 class, which ends up rated #33/#6. Our ability to stay solidly competitive and finally break through with a win in the Pintstripe Bowl in 2015 somewhat keeps the momentum going—it helps us close on that 2015 class without much defection, and builds a solid foundation again for 2016. But the fact that we dropped back to the middle of the Coastal rather than staying at the top slows the momentum, and we start falling back. The uneven recruiting performance of the following years reflects the uneven product on the field.

Recruiting rankings are certainly one good indicator of program success, but the most important element in recruiting is talent evaluation. There are a lot of talented recruits who simply aren't rated very high because the recruiting services have limited resources, so they're not evaluating every player within every class—they're focusing their efforts on standouts in different regions. Cut and his early staff were clearly pretty good at identifying talent that was being overlooked, getting them to Duke, and then developing them. At some point, the development part really dropped off, though it appears they were still pretty good at the evaluation component even toward the end of his tenure.

As a DC, Elko has long had a reputation as an excellent recruiter (as do a number of the assistants he's hired)—in evaluating talent, pursuing that talent, getting them committed and then developing them once in the program. They certainly did a fantastic job in the portal last year and then developing what they had on campus, so initial indicators look good. But we'll need more data points to truly evaluate them on this front. I'm really interested to see whether Elko & co. can maintain the performance on the field given a tougher schedule next season and how that coupled with our performance this season impacts the 2024 class ranking. The momentum is certainly headed in the right direction.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Duke gets a commitment from FCS All-American Dan Volpe. Really great get!

https://twitter.com/DanVolpe71/statu...2YKb5dZWlYyaVA

Also

Towson tackle Dan Volpe: After earning FCS Freshman All-America honors, the 6-6, 305-pound Volpe has referenced offers from Duke and Kansas. There’s a ton of runway left in the college career of a player who made 12 starts his first year.

https://theathletic.com/4066501/2023...ansfer-portal/

[budwom]

^ yeah, I don't focus much on what what sites have to say about the level of recruiting classes very much. Guys like Elko and his staff (and other solid college coaches) are far more qualified to assess talent than the guys who do it for web sites.

Having said that, more good news, in that Freshman FCS All American tackle Dan Volpe from Towson has portalized to Duke with three seasons of eligibility remaining. This gives us four big, solid OL additions for next year...(joining kids from Stanford, Elon and Penn).

[Bob Green]

Duke gets a commitment from FCS All-American Dan Volpe. Really great get!

This gives us four big, solid OL additions for next year...(joining kids from Stanford, Elon and Penn).

Shoring up the OL via the transfer portal is fantastic news. Games are won in the trenches.

[chrishoke]

That's four O-lineman transfers. Welcome Big guy. BleedBlue!

[jv001]

That's four O-lineman transfers. Welcome Big guy. BleedBlue!

Great news. More OL to help protect our great QB.

GoDuke!

[roywhite]

Duke didn't quite make the Top 25 in the season-ending AP Poll, but was the next school in votes received.

Making the top 26 in 2022 after such a dismal 2021 season -- quite an accomplishment.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/rankings

[budwom]

^ absolutely spectacular year. One possible turd in the punch bowl is that Mizzippi State is talking to Johns about their OC job...hopefully he stays here...(I really think staying here gives him more job security, but that's just me)

[CameronBornAndBred]

Duke didn't quite make the Top 25 in the season-ending AP Poll, but was the next school in votes received.

Making the top 26 in 2022 after such a dismal 2021 season -- quite an accomplishment.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/rankings

Very, very impressive given where we were coming from. I'm happy for the seniors and guys that are transferring out in at least they walk away with a post season victory under their belt.

[budwom]

Very, very impressive given where we were coming from. I'm happy for the seniors and guys that are transferring out in at least they walk away with a post season victory under their belt.

It must enormously gratifying for the players. A year ago they lost every ACC game by an average of 33 points per game, and this year they essentially finished at the 26th ranked team in the country.

[Hartford Dukie]

We all know how challenging our schedule will be next year. Not that these are definitive, of course, but these preseason rankings of our 2023 opponents out today by ESPN and The Athletic drive that point further home.

ESPN - Mark Schlabach

Florida State #4
Notre Dame #14
Clemson #15
unCh #21
Pittsburgh - Just missed the Top 25

The Athletic - Stewart Mandel

Florida State #8
Notre Dame #11
Clemson #15
unCh #20
Pittsburgh - Just outside the top 25

[CameronBornAndBred]

We all know how challenging our schedule will be next year. Not that these are definitive, of course, but these preseason rankings of our 2023 opponents out today by ESPN and The Athletic drive that point further home.

ESPN - Mark Schlabach

Florida State #4
Notre Dame #14
Clemson #15
unCh #21
Pittsburgh - Just missed the Top 25

The Athletic - Stewart Mandel

Florida State #8
Notre Dame #11
Clemson #15
unCh #20
Pittsburgh - Just outside the top 25

It's a schedule full of challenges, and full of opportunities. Those are the kinds of games players love to be in.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

It's a schedule full of challenges, and full of opportunities. Those are the kinds of games players love to be in.

Yes. Also, as we know these rankings can shift massively during the season.

[Sixthman]

^ absolutely spectacular year. One possible turd in the punch bowl is that Mizzippi State is talking to Johns about their OC job...hopefully he stays here...(I really think staying here gives him more job security, but that's just me)

Keeping great assistants is the next great challenge for Duke Football.