duke football news

[surfdevil]

Gerritt Kemp wr tweets out commitment
really nice get
offers from duke, georgia, georgia tech, indiana, kentuky, lsu. mich st, nc st, northwestern, ole miss, tenn, uva and wake.
hugely underrated here as a 5.5 grade. i expect that to get bumped
rated as an 88 on both on3 and 247 so upper 3 star elsewhere

 

[surfdevil]

boom #2 hits
Maliki Wright s 6' 180 lbs commits
duke, illinois, iowa st, mizzu, nc st, syracuse, usf and vandy for P5 offers. many mid level also

 

[Liftee]

So here begins our annual "can Duke keep them when the Big10 and SEC come knocking" watch.

I am hopeful that since these guys already turned down Big10 and SEC schools, it's not like they are going to be blown away by a big time offer.

 

[surfdevil]

Just a comment on our recruiting
It seems to me that our bottom end is just much better than it was a decade ago. When our lowest rated recruits have 7 power 5 offers that is nice. I remember a time when that was our top end. We still need to get to 3-5 four star kids a year for our top end to fully compete but I think the raising of the low bar first by Cut and then Elmo is why we can compete so much better these days. Just happy to see it.

 

[Liftee]

Good point Surf. I do agree that the schools we are competing with tell us a lot. I am also happy that so far, Manny seems to be raising the bar as opposed to going back a step. I'm sure he developed some great contacts with high school coaches in Pa and North which can be a treasure trove of talent.

 

[ConorONeill]

On cue: Florida offered Dan Mahan today.

 

[surfdevil]

BOOM
Bradley Gompers TE 6'5'' 215 lbs commits
offers from P5 duke, bc, indiana, maryland, northwestern, mich st, minny, northwestern, pitt, rutgers and wva
played both te and lb but hit a growth spurt and is now a very big man. nice get for us
this is the missing 3rd commit from last weekend

 

[ConorONeill]

Great pick up, here's his page:

 

[surfdevil]

so looks like several commits going to come from this weekend.

 

[ConorONeill]

Cole Allen is the second commit of the day, also a visitor last weekend.

 

[surfdevil]

nice pick up. will need to bulk up when he gets to campus but he has the frame for it. i know i am dating myself but this was the kind of kid that George Welch used to recruit at virginia. he loved tall but light kids because when they came to campus he could bulk them up. you cant teach height

 

[surfdevil]

BOOM 3rd of the day
Jamin Brown 6'4'' 285lb IOL
really like this pick up. big time need

this is the first from this weekends visits

 

[hart2chesson]

nice pick up. will need to bulk up when he gets to campus but he has the frame for it. i know i am dating myself but this was the kind of kid that george welch used to recruit at virginia. he loved tall but light kids because when they came to campus he could bulk them up. you cant teach height

Surf, good observation about Welsh. Thought he was a real jerk,but he knew his football and was a helluva coach. Remember him quite well. We ripped him a new one I think 51-17 in WW if memory serves in 82. Spurrier was OC under Red Wilson,and poured it on. Welsh never forgot,and ran off a streak against us of huge wins.

Spurrier and Welsh despised one another. Steve really got under his skin in 89. We got blown out early in the year in Charlottesville,but tied UVA for the league championship. Welsh claimed the title(head to head win over Devils). Spurrier ever the competitor, countered. After all Spurrier said: Duke beat highly ranked Clemson,Virginia did not. Ooooooh,burned ol George a new one!!!

 

[ConorONeill]

Profile page for Jamin Brown:

 

[surfdevil]

BOOM
4TH COMMIT OF THE DAY
Evan Scott OL 6'4'' 295 lbs just tweeted out his commitment

still one more to go from today is the rumor

 

[Liftee]

nice pick up. will need to bulk up when he gets to campus but he has the frame for it. i know i am dating myself but this was the kind of kid that George Welch used to recruit at virginia. he loved tall but light kids because when they came to campus he could bulk them up. you cant teach height

I had a lineman in my freshman dorm named Brad Oates. His brother Bart played center in the pros for a long time and Brad transferred to BYU and did well himself. He was a tall guy, about 6'6" I think, and downright thin. But he filled out and ended up a really good offensive lineman at BYU. So it can happen.

 

[Devilinside]

A couple of 4* would round things out very nicely. OFC

 

[surfdevil]

BOOM
Roman Fina OT 6'5'' 250lbs commits
another come to duke and lets beef him up kid
FYI little brother to our UCLA transfer

 

[surfdevil]

BOOM
Kai Jacobowitz OT 6'8'' 300lbs commits

edit...evidently has only 2 years of football under his belt. He was a soccer player that has GROWN.

manny filling the line up

 

[smashmouth5]

 

[jeffrey236]

I love the O-line class Manny has assembled. You can have a great QB, terrific receivers and phenomenal RB’s, but it counts for bumpkus if the O-line sucks.

Is it too early to have a feel how many of our current commits may be January enrollees?

 

[ConorONeill]

I love the O-line class Manny has assembled. You can have a great QB, terrific receivers and phenomenal RB’s, but it counts for bumpkus if the O-line sucks.

Is it too early to have a feel how many of our current commits may be January enrollees?

That's gotten more difficult to have a handle on because of how much freedom to move around that transfers have.

Teams have typically been able to bring in more January enrollees than, say, 5 years ago ... so I'd just ballpark it around 50% of the class arriving early until we have more of a sense of how many spots they'll have open.

 

[surfdevil]

BOOM
WR Javion Solomon commits

 

[Liftee]

Surf, thank you! Why do you think he has no ratings at all yet?

 

[surfdevil]

not really sure. he has 4 P5 offers and lots of mid majors. his huddle tape is solid. he is on campus this weekend so the coaches must like him and what they are seeing so thats what really matters.

PS 247 now has him rated as an 87 making him our #4 recruit

 

[ConorONeill]

Kolbe Harmon just announced his commitment.

 

[ConorONeill]

Duke has officially announced 13 transfers to join the program this summer (doesn't include the 5 who joined in January). They are:

Michael Barr (OL | Havertown, Pa. | Lafayette University)
Tre'Shon Devones (CB | Duncanville, Texas | Rice University)
Diassa Diakite (CB | Northampton, Pa. | Robert Morris University)
Bruno Fina (OL | Tucson, Ariz. | UCLA)
Zachary Franks (OL | Baltimore, Md. | Northwestern University)
Alex Howard (LB | Cincinnati, Ohio | Youngstown State University)
Caleb Krings (OL | Fayetteville, N.C. | Elon University)
Ozzie Nicholas (LB | Encinitas, Calif. | Princeton University)
James Pogorelc (OL | Centreville, Va. | Stanford University)
Micah Sahakian (OL | Mount Prospect, Ill. | Cornell University)
Eric Schon (OL | Barrie, Ontaria, Canada | College of the Holy Cross)
Star Thomas (RB | Homer, La. | New Mexico State University)
Al Wooten II (RB | Memphis, Tenn. | Mercer University)

Also got a commit today from a Class of 2025 recruit:

 

[surfdevil]

FYI simmons is going to be a wr not a qb

 

[surfdevil]

so a small breakdown of our OL now that the transfers have been announced
RETURNERS
justin pickett starter at OG
brian parker i think a starter at OT
matt maycraft played some last year. is he ready to step up?
reagan mccranie will be an IOL player at some point. last year he seemed to rework his body.
caleb dorris has he put on enough weight? 270 as a true frosh last year. will eventually be an OT
tony boggs switched over from DL in spring to help. does he stay or go back to DL?
TRUE INCOMING FROSH
bradley smith is he ready to help on IOL? probably redshirt and strengthen his body
gemeyl allen most ready to get some IOL run
jack smart will probably spend year learning and building his body for OT
TRANSFERS THAT WERE STARTERS ON FORMER TEAM
bruno fina think this was a huge get for us. expect him to start at OT
mike barr another big get. expect him to start at C
eric schon can play anywhere on the inside. think he and maycraft battle for starter at OG
caleb krings i had no idea he was coming aboard. was a shrine bowl player in high school. can play either guard spot
PART TIME STARTERS ON FORMER TEAMS
james pogoreic good back up/occasional starter piece at OT
zachary franks same as pogoreic
WALK-ON TRANSFER
jack purcell when a second team all ivy OT is a non scholly kid that is a sign you are deep
MEDICAL REDSHIRT TRANSFER
micah sahakian along with fina our best OL transfer. shame he cant play till next year

 

[Liftee]

sounds like Feeley has his work cut out for him.

I suspect our O line will look and play a lot different, and better, the second half of the season than the first.

 

[Liftee]

By the way, I think Parker and Pickett are two good ones.

 

[ConorONeill]

New DE commit:

 

[surfdevil]

so this gives us 24 commits
i think we are now to the ''to good to pass up'' phase
i think maybe a good rb, dl or te/wr canidate if someone very good wants to commit

 

[ConorONeill]

I've put out several summer preview stories in the last couple of weeks. The first one linked below is the only free one -- per usual, the others are for subscribers and I think quality coverage is worth the $8.33/month.

5 most important games for Duke to win.

5 candidates for breakout seasons.

5 key position battles for fall camp.

5 most important players for Duke to have a successful season.

 

[hart2chesson]

I've put out several summer preview stories in the last couple of weeks. The first one linked below is the only free one -- per usual, the others are for subscribers and I think quality coverage is worth the $8.33/month.

5 most important games for Duke to win.

5 candidates for breakout seasons.

5 key position battles for fall camp.

5 most important players for Duke to have a successful season.

Conor thanks for letting us know!! OFC

 

[LetsGoDuke83]

Man this is one heck of an upgrade

 

[ConorONeill]

In the last week or so, Duke has announced the locker room upgrades, the hiring of Rachel DeMita as in-venue videoboard and social media gameday host, and now the "Devils Deck."

Here's the story from Duke on the Devils Deck.

Looks like an interesting place to watch the game from. Might inconvenience some of those who prefer to sit in that area. And I think it's notable that it takes the capacity of Wallace Wade from 40,004 to about 35,018.

 

[ConorONeill]

Practice report on the first day of fall camp.

 

[jeffrey236]

In the last week or so, Duke has announced the locker room upgrades, the hiring of Rachel DeMita as in-venue videoboard and social media gameday host, and now the "Devils Deck."

Here's the story from Duke on the Devils Deck.

Looks like an interesting place to watch the game from. Might inconvenience some of those who prefer to sit in that area. And I think it's notable that it takes the capacity of Wallace Wade from 40,004 to about 35,018.

The Devils Deck looks interesting, but I’m concerned that it may be an obstacle down the road when the next (and possibly final) conference realignment occurs. Facility size can be relevant. Of course, nothing would prevent them from restoring the individual seating arrangements if that became necessary

 

[ConorONeill]

The Devils Deck looks interesting, but I’m concerned that it may be an obstacle down the road when the next (and possibly final) conference realignment occurs. Facility size can be relevant. Of course, nothing would prevent them from restoring the individual seating arrangements if that became necessary

Good reminder ... if the Devils Deck is finished in time for the Elon game, it'll be a minor miracle. Not sure what I was expecting going to practice yesterday but I wasn't expecting to look into the stadium and see no sort of structure or anything where this thing is supposedly going to be.

I think it'll be a temporary structure this year and could be quick to put together.