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The preseason is officially underway with the start of practice! I just had to post something.

Bob Green wrote:The preseason is officially underway with the start of practice! I just had to post something.

You old post whore ;) .

Video interviews at Blue Devil Nation with Coach Cutcliffe, Kelby Brown and Jamison Crowder:

http://bluedevilnation.net/2013/08/coac ... 2013-camp/

Good stuff!

No Injuries No Injuries No Injuries No Injuries No Injuries No Injuries No Injuries No Injuries No Injuries No Injuries No Injuries

Preseason hype video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grqpbHgd ... A2VfTccRpA

Happy tears in the Varnish Zone at about the 3:55 mark.

Coach Cutcliffe impressed by freshmen:

http://bluedevilnation.net/2013/08/duke ... -freshmen/

Video interview after Day 3 practice. The team will practice Thursday evening and then Friday morning as a check on conditioning and fitness.

Teams first scrimmage is in the books:

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/dukenow/f ... -scrimmage

Breon Borders and Ryan Smith were impressive. Lots of tweets out in the Twitterverse:

Laura Keeley

Fr. Johnell Barnes was returning kicks with Juwan Thompson

Edit: Strong praise for Breon Borders from Coach Cutcliffe:

“He just continues to make plays,” Cutcliffe said of Borders. “He’s know of those guys that’s just got really, really good size and speed and a blend of athleticism. He has shown up since he’s been here. He’s gained the respect of a lot of players.”

Injuries to Tanner Stone (OT) and Britton Grier (DE) in yesterday's scrimmage. No details have been provided, but updates should be available sometime today.

Bob Green wrote:Injuries to Tanner Stone (OT) and Britton Grier (DE) in yesterday's scrimmage. No details have been provided, but updates should be available sometime today.

No Injuries No Injuries No Injuries No Injuries No Injuries No Injuries No Injuries No Injuries No Injuries No Injuries No Injuries

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it has started...

Tanner Stone's ankle injury is serious so he will undergo surgery tomorrow and is out for the season per a thread at The Devil's Den. Stone was projected to play lots of snaps at offensive tackle this year so our OL takes a depth hit.

Here is a link to the press conference:

http://www.goduke.com/mediaPortal/playe ... id=2965405

A few Coach Cutcliffe comments which stood out to me:

1. As many as 10 or as few as 5 or 6 freshmen could see action this year. The evaluation process continues.
2. The secondary will be good.
3. Thomas Hennessy (long snapper) is very talented. He hasn't done it in a game yet, but he looks really good in practice.
4. He will not coach timid. The team is going back on the field today and they will be physical.

Bob Green wrote:Here is a link to the press conference:

http://www.goduke.com/mediaPortal/playe ... id=2965405

A few Coach Cutcliffe comments which stood out to me:

1. As many as 10 or as few as 5 or 6 freshmen could see action this year. The evaluation process continues.
2. The secondary will be good.
3. Thomas Hennessy (long snapper) is very talented. He hasn't done it in a game yet, but he looks really good in practice.
4. He will not coach timid. The team is going back on the field today and they will be physical.

I like all of those. I really like the idea that as few as 5 or 6 newbies could see the field.

Here is an enjoyable article on Brandon Connette and the "Phantom" role he played last season:

http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/08/13/ ... nette.html

It sounds like B.C. will be locked into the back-up QB role at the beginning of the season until Parker Boehme is ready to go or more is known on the timeline for Thomas Sirk. However, this snippet is interesting:

Regardless of Connette’s situation, the phantom role will continue to be a part of the offense. Senior running back Juwan Thompson is practicing in that role, and sophomore running back Shaq Powell is taking reps there, too.

“I’ve been learning a lot more of the receiving position, especially that tight end position where I can split out a lot more and we can have both backs in sometimes,”

CameronBornAndBred wrote:I really like the idea that as few as 5 or 6 newbies could see the field.

I like both sides of Coach Cutcliffe's statement! If only 5 or 6 true freshmen play, it means 14 or 15 redshirt, which helps build quality depth. Depth is invaluable to the overall health of the program. However, if 10 true freshmen play, that validates the theory we are now recruiting better talent into the program.

I am 99.999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999% sure we will see multiple true freshman defensive backs play. There are a lot of true freshmen DBs on the roster: Breon Borders, Evrett Edwards, Chris Holmes, Deondre Singleton, Quay Mann, Jake Kite, Phillip Carter, and Bryan Fields.

More on the subject from defensive backs coach Derek Jones:

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml? ... EM_ID=4200

Bob Green wrote:Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it has started...

And it continues as Offensive Tackle Casey Blaser will have surgery to repair a broken thumb! Insert expletive here! Oh wait, I can do that myself...DAMNIT!

Perhaps we should change the title of this thread to "2013 football injuries have begun."

Vibes for Tanner Stone, Casey Blaser, and the rest of our dukegang.

I do like the solution thrown together (see link below). They are moving Sam Marshall from DL to OL. Sam has the size and played Tackle in high school. The downside to this move is that I think they needed his size and strength for goal line stands. When you need the jumbos, it's hard for us to match it on our DL. We have Wray, Sarmiento, and Ingram that are +285 or more, but in the 3rd quarter, lined up against a wall of 300plus dudes, that's tough.... Sam doesn't change that completely, but it may allow one of the speed guys to get an opening.

I also wondered if they thought about Nick Sink to fill in the RT spot for a few plays.

Funny...I was beginning to wonder why we seemed to keep pulling in O-linemen when we seemed to have needs elsewhere. I guess the Blaser and Stone injuries explain that one. Still, I also wondered if that means they don't feel Carson Ginn is ready to be a reliable back up.

http://duke.scout.com/2/1316206.html

Here is some straight up plagiarism from The Devils Den forum:

Tidbits trickling out on Friday morning's scrimmage. Starters are a bit tricky to pin down, as the staff is still trying out different combinations, but this is how it appeared to observers.

Jela and Juwan started at RB.
Braxton started at WR with Crowder and Blakeney.
Young-Wiseman started at S.
One report had Borders as the starter, another just as getting early reps.
Smith and Singleton got early reps with the 2s.
Snead and Jela were the starting kick returners.
Smith was getting punt return work.
Boone had a better day.
Quay Chambers ran 50 yards untouched on a QB keeper.


More will come out as the various reporters update their blogs.

Laura Keeley has a couple of Tweets out already and she says she will update her blog soon.

Bob Green wrote: Quay Chambers ran 50 yards untouched on a QB keeper

Who? I like him. Whoever he is.

CameronBornAndBred wrote:

Bob Green wrote: Quay Chambers ran 50 yards untouched on a QB keeper

Who? I like him. Whoever he is.

Nice run but where were our DBs and safeties?