Month: April 2023

Interview – Jontavis Robertson

Listen here.

Jontavis “Hollywood” Roberston stopped by for a talk about Duke’s mood coming out of Spring Ball, his position coaches, the deep wideout room, what to expect in 2023, the strength and conditioning program and Coach Elko’s fondness for Coca-Cola products. Jontavis, like all cultured soda drinkers, also likes Coke. Let me just say it’s very reassuring to know that he and Coach Elko don’t like the trash of all soda products, Pepsi.

Jontavis tells us about how much it meant for the Blue Devils to win a bowl game as well as the different running styles of each quarterback. While Riley is a giraffe, we haven’t landed on what animals Belin and Loftis run like. If you have any ideas, leave them in the comments.

Thanks, Jontavis, for stopping by. This was a fun talk.

Let me know what you think about what I think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Post, or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

2023 Game Recaps – Spring Ball

It may not be a game that counts in the win-loss column, but it’s still football. And Duke’s Spring Game was a lot of fun. After a late time change to Friday night, the Blue Devils kicked off a fun night. Now, I’m not going to do the kind of game recap I would do for a regular season, nor am I going to do my Five Things. Instead, I’m just going to list a couple of things I noticed that stood out to me about the game.

No. 1 – Wide receivers. With Hagans, Calhoun, Jordan Moore and Robertson, this unit looks stacked. Eli Pancol didn’t take the field till late, which may be him easing back in from his injury last season, and looked faster and more skilled than last year. And that’s saying something because last year was his best season in Durham. To conclude, it looks like Riley Leonard will have a lot of weapons headed into next season.

No. 2 – Kick returns. There weren’t a lot of those last night, but I liked seeing Hagans on the opening return. None of us understood why he didn’t get more involved in the return game last season given what he did against Georgia Tech. Let’s hope Coach Elko & Co. heard our collective griping and has decided to give Hagans chances to make plays on returns.

No. 3 – All the quarterbacks looked good. Leonard and Loftis looked to be quarterbacks 1 and 2 on the depth chart. Henry Belin looked okay, but a little shaky at first. Once he got a few runs underneath his belt, he started to look a little more comfortable. If Belin can keep running the ball like that and get a little more comfortable in the passing game, he could be real hard for other teams to defend in the coming seasons. Of course, if Loftis can toss bombs like he did in the fourth quarter, the QB battle will be something to watch over the next few years.

No. 4 – Ja’Mion Franklin looks like a man among children. Dude looks like an NFL nose tackle. I think he may cause a lot of problems for the opposing offense.

No. 5 – The linebackers. The unit looked pretty good although it’s hard to know how much we can expect from them. Dillon got a hit or two in as did fan favorite Mem Factor. They also looked much improved from a depth perspective over the last few seasons. It’ll be interesting to see what that group can do as the year unfolds.

Wait, did I just do my Five Things?

Overall, the team looked pretty good. Our safeties played pretty well and showed the ability to put some hits on people. While you can’t always project out too much from the Spring Game, you can get a sense of which guys are ready to play and which guys aren’t. From what I could see, our starters are ready to play and we didn’t have any glaring gaps.

Let me know what you think about what I think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Post, or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

2023 Season – Five Things I’m Looking Forward To

Man, but it has been a while since I posted anything here. I could give you the excuses about how crazy work has been, but you know what excuses are good for. Instead, I’m getting out of the been too busy to post doldrums by putting out a list of the Five Things I’m Looking Forward To for the 2023 season.

No. 1 – An increased level of competition. This has been a hot topic of conversation amongst Duke fans this offseason. 2022 saw the Blue Devils beat a lot of sub-par teams en route to a winning season, a bowl game and a bowl championship. The 2023 schedule looks to be much tougher than last season’s level of competition. Duke will face Clemson, Notre Dame, NC State, Florida State, Wake, Pitt and Louisville this year. Plus there’s the pale blue tools down the road. That’s a tough assignment for any team. Seriously, we’ve got to play powerhouses Clemson and Notre Dame in the first first five weeks of the season. That’s crazy!

If the Blue Devils want to go bowling, they are going to have to beat some of the teams I just mentioned and go undefeated against Lafayette, Northwestern and UConn. Given that this is an older team, Duke has a decent chance of being able to win enough games to get back to a bowl. But it won’t be easy. And that’s why we’ll know a lot more about what Coach Elko & Company are capable of by the end of the 2023 season. While you always have to be beat the teams in front of you, the 2022 Blue Devils benefited from from playing a lot of teams that weren’t that good. That doesn’t appear to be the case this season. If the schedule turns out to be as tough at it looks, we’ll know a lot more about how just how good Duke can be under Coach Elko. I can’t wait to see this group face that challenge. These guys are fighters and you know they will compete on every down this season.

No. 2 – The lines. I’m not talking about gambling, folks! I’m talking about the defensive and offensive lines!

On the defensive of the ball, with Carter and Franklin back, we should have a formidable DL. If those guys can maintain gap control and put pressure on the opposing OL, we should get what the TV guys call coverage sacks. In addition to those two, I’m excited to see what the rest of our guys like Anthony, Oben, Reese, etc. do this year (and I think Nelson is back for one more season per the roster at GoDuke.com. I had it my head he had graduated, but I must have been wrong). The experience of the line should also make it harder for the opposing team to run the ball. And, as we all know, making a team one-dimensional is a great way to win games.

The Blue Devils’ OL should also be good this season. The unit returns Monk, Barton, Pickett and McIntyre, among others. If this unit can be as effective as it was last year, Duke should be able to hang around and win some close games. If the OL can create holes for the RBs and Leonard, this team will be able to run the ball, control the clock and open up the passing game for an explosive play or two. That’s a recipe for winning football.

No. 3 – Todd Pelino. You all know about Josh Cox’s man crush on the Blue Devil kicker, so I’ll leave the gushing about Todd to Josh. What I will say is that Pelino solidified what had been a question mark for Duke last year. If he is as good as he was last year, and especially if he is just a bit better, look for the Blue Devils to get two or three wins thanks to clutch kicking in end-of-game situations. As I’ve said numerous times here on the site and probably on the podcast, and forgive me for being repetitive, the kicking teams can win you two to three games a year. It can also lose you a lot more. Expect Pelino and the rest of the kicking teams to try and win more games than they lose.

No. 4 – An older team with a lot to prove. Despite Duke’s success last season, there’s a sense of caution heading into 2023. There’s good reasons for that (see No. 1 above). At one point or another this offseason, we’ve all said that Duke could win fewer games in 2023 than in 2022 but still be “better” than last year. We’re saying, or at least thinking, that because of how much tougher this schedule looks to be. And I bet you that the Blue Devils are sick of hearing those comments and are ready to come out and prove that last year wasn’t a fluke. Duke has done well in the past with older, experienced teams (think of Goldsmith’s first year, the 2012 season and 2018 which, had it not been for injuries, could’ve been a special year) and that’s exactly what this group is. Look at the WR corps, the experienced OL and DL and the TEs. We have some older guys at key positions. Those guys are going to want to go out winners and are going to do everything they can this season to do just that. In addition, programs like ours are at their best with older teams. All that experience usually pays off. And I’m hoping to see it happen this year.

No. 5 – Getting people to Wallace Wade. I am excited to see what the second season of the Elko Era brings. Last year saw more empty seats than we would’ve liked, so hopefully last season’s 9-4 campaign will bring more people to the games this year. As for me, I just booked the tickets for the Duke-NC State game. I can’t wait to see those teams play each other again. And while that’s the only game I’m currently going to, I may just make another game (or two) this season. Wallace Wade is a fun place to watch a game and I want to be there as much as possible. It will all depend on my work schedule.

So, that’s what I’m looking forward to this season. What are you looking forward to? Let me know what you think about what I think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Post, or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!