Mike Kline

Cutcliffe To Take Over Play Calling

Following a big weekend filled with additions for the Blue Devils, Duke announced that head coach David Cutcliffe would be taking over the play-calling duties.

Offensive coordinator Zac Roper, who was much maligned after a less than stellar performance from the Blue Devils offense in his tenure, will remain on staff and coach the quarterbacks, but the responsibilities for directing the offense falls squarely on Cutcliffe’s shoulders.

New Quarterback inspired moved?

Over the weekend Duke landed highly sought after transfer quarterback Chase Brice who left National runner up Clemson and has served as Trevor Lawrence’s back up.

The prevailing thought is that Cutcliffe’s history as a quarterback guru helped steer Brice to Durham and perhaps this fact was the inspiration for Cutcliffe to dust off the coordinator hat and take over an offense which took several steps back this past season.

If you buy a new car chances are you don’t want your teenage kid behind the wheel.

And while a lot of the blame for the offense’s short comings fell on Roper, Cutcliffe, ever the loyalist to his staff, kept him on staff but is taking the keys to the car.

A Familiar Role

Cutcliffe led the offense at Tennessee where he famously coached Peyton Manning and helped the Volunteers win a National Title in 1998 with quarterback Tee Martin.

He then took the head coaching job at Ole Miss coaching Eli Manning and, after being fired for failing to bend to the wills of the boosters, accepted the offensive coordinator job at Notre Dame.

Cutcliffe was unable to coach the Irish following a health scare and after time away to recover returned to Tennessee as offensive coordinator before taking the job at Duke.

Weapons to Choose From

Cutcliffe, who said in a conference call that he has been missing and wanting to get back into the game management of the offense, has plenty of weapons.

The offensive line picked up some additions in the off season and return a lot of experienced players. The running back stable featuring Mataeo Durrant and Deon Jackson could be electric if healthy and the receiving corps has a lot of young talent who should give Brice a lot of reliable targets.

Time will tell whether Cutcliffe’s move to primary offensive play caller will pay dividends for the Blue Devils but it may be the change to maximize what is suddenly turning into an intriguing football season ahead for perhaps a run at the ACC Coastal title.

Duke Hires New O-Line Coach

After parting ways with its previous offensive line coach, Duke finally pulled the trigger on its new man landing Greg Frey.

Frey replaces Jim Bridge who left to take a job with Memphis. Frey comes to the Blue Devils, a 20-plus year veteran college coach including stints at West Virginia, Indiana, Michigan and Florida State.

The new line coach will have a bit of rebuilding as the line struggled to protect the quarterback in the passing game this past season. With a new quarterback, one destined to have far less experience under his belt, it will be all the more important for the line to improve.

Frey will also be working on opening things up for the running game as Duke has a talented and capable stable of backs to work with.

Up front Duke replaces several key components including center Jack Wohlabaugh and guard Zach Baker. Maurice McIntire, Robert Kraeling, Jacob Monk and Rekavius Chambers all players with experience return, so their is some experience to work with for Frey.

Duke’s Bridge Parts Way with Team

A busy off season which has featured some notable departures just added one more to the list as Duke offensive line coach Jim Bridge has resigned his position with the Blue Devils on Wednesday.

Bridge, who joined the Blue Devil coaching staff joined the program in 2016 after stints at Boston College and NC State, coached the offensive line the last two seasons. During that time the offensive line struggled.

This season the line struggled mightily in pass protection, and despite only giving up 28 sacks, was rated second worst in the nation in pressure allowed following the snap.

Duke fared slightly better in the running game, but the offensive line woes seemed to permeate the entire offensive scheme. Bridge had to juggle a line featuring a lot of younger inexperienced guys along with injuries.

No word yet on the reason for the resignation but the line was considered by many a weakness and a change may be necessary to help the Blue Devil’s offense, which will feature a new starting quarterback next season, right the ship.

The new offensive line coach will have some talent to work with, but improvements will be needed for Duke to get back to their recent winning ways.

Duke Nets 16 On Signing Day

Duke had a productive National Signing Day signing 16 targets on Wednesday, a good haul albeit slightly smaller than normal.

The Blue Devils signed players from the normal recruiting grounds of Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina while reaching out to California, Alabama, and Massachusetts. All of the prospects signed were rated 3-star recruits according to 247-Sports ranking Duke 11th in the ACC and 56th nationally.

The likely prize of the class is quarterback Luca Diamont, a dual threat Quarterback out of Los Angles. Diamont is a 6-3, 185 pounder. He is likely to be the Blue Devil’s quarterback of the future but will likely need a year to two of grooming and strength training.

Duke added some possible weapons for Diamont signing wide receivers Jontavis Robertson (6-foot, 180 lbs), Malik Bowen (6-foot-2, 180 lbs) and Nicky Dalmolin (6-foot-4, 215 lbs ). They also added tight end, Cole Finney (6-foot-6, 240 lbs).

The Blue Devils also landed two athletes in Jaylin Stinson (5-foot-8, 160 lbs) and Da’Quan Johnson (6-foot, 190 lbs) who had committed to Troy before decommiting on Monday and declaring for Duke following his visit on Dec. 6.

Duke added lineman on both sides of the ball including offensive linemen Graham Barton (6-foot-5, 300 lbs), Calib Perez (6-foot-5, 270), and Gary Smith (6-foot-2, 310 lbs). Adding to the defensive line are Michael Reese (6-foot-4, 260 lbs) and Aeneas Peebles (6-foot-2, 265 lbs).

Rounding out the additions on the defensive side of the ball include linebackers Dorian Mausi (6-foot-2, 215 lbs), Christian Hood (6-foot, 205 lbs) and Ryan Smith (6-foot-2, 200 lbs). The Blue Devils also signed safety Isaiah Fisher-Smith (6-foot, 200 lbs).

Barring any transfers, this will be a solid, if not great class, though David Cutcliffe has been able to find success with 3-star recruits in the past. There has also been talk that Duke may add some more recruits between now and February. Stay tuned!

Rumph Lands All-American Honors

Heading into the 2019 season, there were a lot of question marks for Duke, but the one certainty there was that the Blue Devils would be solid upfront.

Sophomore defensive end Chris Rumph II who showed promise as a freshman didn’t suffer any slump in his second year in Durham en route to earning spot on Sport’s Illustrated Second Team All-American honors.

Rumph a 6-foot-3 defensive end out of Gainesville, Florida, helped anchor the Duke defensive front recording 19 solo tackles, 6.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Rumph was a force all season but saved his best for last netting 8 tackles, 5 solo and recording 3.5 sacks in the season finale against Miami.

Just the third defensive player to earn All-American Honors at Duke, Rumph is the first defensive player since Jeremy Cash who garnered the honors back in 2015.

With two years of eligibility remaining, Rumph is sure to be a stalwart on the Blue Devils’ defensive front.

Besides being named Second Team All-American, Rumph also was named to the All-ACC third team.

Eight Blue Devils Nab All-ACC Honors

Duke’s football season ended unceremoniously last Saturday, but despite the disappointment, the Blue Devils did grab some ACC-Honors.

While no Blue Deivls made it on the first team, they did land on the second team roster. Those included Tight end Noah Gray, Defensive End Victor Dimukeje and Damond Philyaw-Johnson who got All-ACC honors for his special team’s play.

Defensive end Chris Rumph II and linebacker Koby Quansah were named to the third team. Center Jack Wohlabaugh, kicker AJ Reed and punter Austin Parker were named All-ACC Honorable mention.

Gray a junior tight end was quarterback Quentin Harris’ favorite target. He caught 51 passes for 392 yards and 3 touchdowns. Gray has all the size and talent to be an NFL caliber tight end and if he opts to return for his senior year could put up big numbers with the right quarterback.

Dimukeje was a stalwart on the defensive front, recording 8.5 sacks. He will be anchor on the Duke defensive front next season.

Philyaw-Johnson, was a late season sensation after his two kickoff returns for touchdowns against Wake Forest. The sophomore wide receiver didn’t put up much in the way of numbers on offense but proved to be a capable returner with 549 yards on 18 returns and two touchdowns. As a junior he could prove to be an asset as both a receiver and returner.

Rumph and Quansah were big contributors on the defensive side of the ball. Quansah will leave the program but Rumph should return and help provide a formidable defensive front with the likes of Dimukeje next season.

The absence of any players on the first team, speaks more to the inconsistencies of the Blue Devils and their failure to reach a bowl game. While there certainly be some hand wringing in Durham after a disappointing season, the cupboard is far from bare.

Duke Rides Out Hurricanes in Season Finale

Duke enjoyed a sweet end to a sour season by knocking off ACC foe Miami in their final game of the season.

The Blue Devils came from behind in the fourth quarter to pull out the 27-17 victory, and while the win will be enshrined in the weight room and ended their 5-game losing streak it ultimately puts Duke (5-7, 3-5 ACC) one game shy of another bowl birth.

Miami who has struggled this year under first year coach Manny Diaz, was already bowl eligible and looking to bounce back after an embarrassing loss last week to FIU.

The Hurricanes, much like most of the year proved just how far removed from the glory days of the program they have become by dropping their finale to a Duke team that had looked lost over the last month and a half of the season.

Duke once again struggled to find any offensive consistency in the first half. The Blue Devils did manage to keep Miami close and only trailed 14 to 13 at the half.

Quarterback Quentin Harris, the much maligned starter, again struggled with accuracy and ball security though proved to be the hero in the end running for a touchdown and throwing for the decisive score in the fourth quarter.

Jalon Calhoun, the recipient of Harris’ touchdown toss caught 3 passes for 82 yards. Running back Deon Jackson scored the go-ahead touchdown prior to that.

Duke’s defense, which has struggled at times with consistency and getting off the field held firm in the second half, keeping Miami out of the end zone and allowing only a field goal in the second half.

Yet as sweet as the victory over the Hurricanes is, it has to leave players, coaches, and fans with a lot of “What ifs” on a very frustrating season. Even if Coach David Cutcliffe won’t let his team use the word.What if Duke hadn’t score so early against Pitt and or their defense could have held on the Panther’s final game-winning drive? What if Duke hadn’t chosen to run what was a horribly executed jump pass late against North Carolina on the goal line?One of those two winnable games and the Blue Devils would be 6-6 and bowl eligible.

Many will look back at this season as one with lots of lost promise but an ultimate failure: At one point the Blue Devils were 4-1 and had decimated Virginia Tech on the road. After that, Duke fell to Pitt, bounced back to beat Georgia Tech and then the wheels came off. It will go down as a lost and disappointing season with a lot of questions Coach Cutcliffe and his staff will have to answer in the offseason.

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.