2020 Outlook – Two Big Additions

It was one heck of a 72 hours for the Blue Devils. Clemson backup QB Chase Brice and Stanford OT Devery Hamilton visited on Saturday. Then on Sunday, word broke that Brice was coming to Duke. On Monday, Hamilton made the same announcement. What does this mean for the program? The only way to describe it is that these commitments are a big freaking deal.

Hamilton is 6-7 / 300 and from Maryland. He chose Duke over Pittsburgh and Indiana – no small accomplishment for the Blue Devils coaching staff. Hamilton came out of high school as a 4-star recruit which is out of step with the 3-star recruits Duke customarily lands. Hamilton also started at Stanford until the injury bug hit him.

As for Brice, he has two years of eligibility left. He comes to Durham after backing up some pretty good Clemson QBs. I’ve seen different things about Brice coming out of high school. Some list him as a pro-style QB, some say dual-threat. That said, most agree he was a 3-star recruit who isn’t the best runner, but is a smart player. The buzz is overwhelmingly positive. Word is Dabo Swinney really talked him up while he was transferring and the Clemson players love him. Around 30 schools were after Brice including Miami, Maryland and Purdue. He chose Duke.

Let that sink in. He chose Duke.

To ask my earlier question again, what does this mean for Duke? It means there is a talent upgrade and more weapons for Greg Frey, the new OL coach, to work with. It also means there will be a veteran QB to compete with Duke’s young guys, Holmberg and Diamont. This adds a level of excitement to the off-season that hasn’t been present for a while.

But more important, it signals a big change at Duke. These moves to me say that Cutcliffe & Co. are upset with last season’s 5-7 record and are willing to make big changes to prevent that from happening again. Cutcliffe doesn’t want to get caught with a QB who can’t make plays or run the offense consistently. The coaches aren’t okay with more of the same and are willing to take risks to do better. Fortune, as they say, favors the bold.

And with these big changes comes some big responsibility. My very scientific gut tells me that these moves put a lot of pressure on OC Zac Roper. He has a good group of WRs, a well-respected OL coach, some good RBs and three talented QBs (plus Katrenick who I think is better than we realize). While the QBs don’t have a lot of playing experience, I don’t see a lot of excuses for this team. If the offense continues to struggle, Roper is going to have to answer for that.

Duke made investments this off-season. If the results aren’t positive, the program will require more changes. If I’m Roper, I understand this and spend a lot of time upgrading the offense. He needs to review his own performance, figure out what worked and figure out what didn’t. The offense will need to be changed to better fit the talent.

While these 72 hours were a great start, it’s time for Duke to start capitalizing on them.