Season’s End: Comings and Goings

As the season quickly approaches its anticlimactic end, the preparation for next season is underway and that includes some notable departures for the Duke Blue Devils football program.

Aside from the seniors, the Blue Devils announced some unexpected, if not unsurprisingly early defections including wide receiver Scott Bracey and kicker AJ Reed.

They join four other early departures heading out of Durham following what is likely to be the season’s final game Saturday against Miami.

Bracey has battled injury most of his Duke career and finally broke out this season. Despite being healthy and reaping the benefits with greater targets, Bracey is on the way out likely to seek more opportunities with another program as a graduate transfer.

The bad news is Duke is losing a quality, and veteran receiver, which would come in handy with whichever first time starter the Devils opt to go with next season at quarterback. The good news is that despite the struggles of this season, Duke has a solid, young core group of receivers who have shown big play making ability.

Jake Bobo will return for his junior year and can be expected to be a go-to target for the Blue Devils. Bobo was sidelined to start the season but has shown glimpses of what the Duke coaching staff was hoping to see prior to suffering a broken clavicle.

Duke also will return Jalon Calhoun, Eli Pancol, Darrell Harding Jr., and Damond Philyaw-Johnson which should make for a formidable wide receiving core.

Bracey will be missed in Durham, but he hardly is leaving with the cupboard empty for whomever takes over at quarterback.

The departure of kicker AJ Reed, the comeback story of the year for the Blue Devils leaves a few more questions. After coming in with lots of expectations, Reed struggled through his freshman season and went nearly two years before making another field goal.

His reemergence this season stabilized the Duke kicking game which had become a liability since Ross Martin graduated. Duke now must replace Reed, presumably with Jack Driggars who has handled kickoff duties this season.

If Driggars can’t get the job done, then Duke’s kicking game will fall back into limbo.

Duke has plenty of time in the off season with no bowl to prepare for these things, and given the frustrations of this season perhaps some time away will re-energize a program that has suddenly found itself with more questions than answers after several years of steady progress.

Notes: Besides Bracey and Reed the early departures include: Safeties Javon Jackson, Damani Neal, and Antone Williams as well as lineman Liam Smith.