https://247sports.com/college/duke/A...181981313/Amp/
A link with more information
I came across this
https://twitter.com/cadeanders1/stat...266077184?s=21
Cade Anders, a tight end from Georgia and most recently, a student at the US Army prep school is ending his journey towards West Point and coming to Duke instead.
Welcome Cade.
https://247sports.com/college/duke/A...181981313/Amp/
A link with more information
It sounds like he is enrolling at Duke for this semester…
https://247sports.com/college/duke/A...ent-181981313/
Late addition to our 22 recruiting class RB Travis Bates from Florida.
https://twitter.com/DukeFOOTBALL/sta...07640381972484
"This is the best of all possible worlds."
Dr. Pangloss - Candide
There is a posting by bluedog15 on the Devils Den Premium which is worth reading if you have access. A current player is extolling the virtues of the new strength and conditioning guy...very encouraging info.
https://goduke.com/news/2022/2/2/smi...nitiative.aspx
Looks like another strong move by the football program.
Seems like he's getting a ton of financial support. I imagine Nina made the case to her bosses that the cost of remaining putrid in football (on the cheap) was not sustainable for the athletic department as a whole.
I'd love to know how much bigger the football budget is now...again, it certainly must have helped when the endowment shot up by a ridiculous 56% this year.
Thank you for providing the link. I like this kid. He said he spent a lot of days praying and ultimately decided to put his trust in the Lord's plan for him and as it turned out he was presented with an opportunity from Duke. He was looking for a school that provided Football and Academics.
GoDuke!
Posted this on the 247 Board but wanted to share with this group as well. The future is as bright for Duke FB as its been in a long, long time...
Post: After listening to a football alumni webcast from Coach Elko, plus reading the email from an existing player mentioned upthread, I'm pretty pumped about the future of Duke football. Elko is improving the culture, competitiveness, and energy of our team with each day and he is a guy that has big goals and little patience to reach them. "Winning is great, losing sucks" was the phrase he used a few times in describing the mentality that he and the staff are instilling and the competition (team, group, individual) in every aspect of offseason training. Speaking of the staff, good lord, the investment that has been made in people and positions. The football specific department head count is huge and the on field staff has a lot of experience. I'm with the the kid in the email, get on board, this program is going places. After the call, I was thinking 8 wins this year, 10 next year!
As giddy as I am about the future, we have to be realistic about where we are. The cupboard isn't as bare as the conference record would lead one to believe, but we're losing a lot of production from last year. On offense we will most definitely NOT be predictable next year and based on his comments, and I expect our offense to be wide open with a lot of different looks. Elko means it when he says he wants on offense that puts points on the board. This will not be a conservative offense hoping to win games in the 20s. At the same time, we're toilet paper thin in the front 6 of the defense and will likely have a young buck under center and unproven RBs. The early games are the most winnable, and a 3-1 start is not unreasonable if we can gel early. NU and KU will likely be better than when we played them last year, and we're on the road early with a young team so who knows how they will do. With so many fresh faces in the rest of the Coastal though, I expect us to win at least a game or two in conference which would be a nice improvement. When it's all said and done, I'd say 4 or 5 wins for 2022. Less than that would be a bit disappointing but not cause for alarm. More than that would be COY for Elko territory.
With all the talk about budget increases, it has me wondering. Did anyone ever go to Cut and ask "Is part of the problem here that you need more cash?"
Because if that's why he wasn't getting any upgrades in coaching, it would be pretty sad. It may well be that even with an infusion, he would have stuck with those that he had, but it seems to me that twice in a row now for Duke to step up to the checkbook, it also took a coaching change to prod them to do it. That's not a formula for long term success, only for the short term improvement that we did see with Cutcliffe.
Q "Why do you like Duke, you didn't even go there." A "Because my art school didn't have a basketball team."
My hopeful guess is new coaches would have come with improved plays, that's the point of hiring them. I've got a suspicion that Cutcliffe was not offered the same budget that Elko is working with, though. It doesn't mean that he would have utilized it in actually replacing anyone, we know he's famous for not doing so, but I've got an inkling the financial opportunities that Cut had to offer were not the same as Elko now has.
It shouldn't come to the point of needing a new program change to make those opportunities happen.
Q "Why do you like Duke, you didn't even go there." A "Because my art school didn't have a basketball team."
I have no evidence that Cut advocated for higher salaries to hire better staff. As the head coach, that's his job.
"This is the best of all possible worlds."
Dr. Pangloss - Candide
There is also a ton of evidence, over time at Duke and at previous stops, that he stuck with staff members way beyond when other head coaches would cut them loose.
But enough about Cut. I'm grateful he came to Duke and still think he deserves a statue. But he's gone, and rightly so.
I don’t know anything about football programs or athletic departments, but I know a bit about organizations and budgets. The executive team should not go to the head of a division and ask if they want more money. The answer will alway be yes. The head of a division should make a strong case to the executive team that they deserve a larger share of resources, for reasons.
Carolina delenda est