2013 Duke Spring Football Analysis

Duke Blue Devils 2013 ... Head Coach: David Cutcliffe

Duke Blue Devils

2013 Schedule
8/31 NC Central
9/7 at Memphis
9/14 Georgia Tech
9/21 Pitt
9/28 Troy
10/5 OPEN DATE
10/12 Navy
10/19 at Virginia
10/26 at Virginia Tech
11/2 OPEN DATE
11/9 NC State
11/16 Miami
11/23 at Wake Forest
11/30 at North Carolina

Why To Get Excited … for the first time in almost two decades, the Blue Devils will begin a spring session with a bowl experience tucked away in their short-term memory. The program is confident that it can continue to build under sixth-year head coach David Cutcliffe, especially since both lines welcome back a bunch of key veterans.

Why To Be Grouchy … Duke is moving on without its two offensive stalwarts of the past few seasons, longtime starting QB Sean Renfree and prolific WR Conner Vernon. Yeah, QB Anthony Boone has game experience and WR Jamison Crowder is leading man material, but the latter needs help on the outside, and the former must prove he can excel as an every-down triggerman for Cutcliffe.

The Number One Thing To Work On Is … defense. What else is new in Durham? The Blue Devils are perennially weak on D, ranking near the bottom of the country in a handful of categories a year ago. While DE Kenny Anunike is back for a sixth year and CB Ross Cockrell is a future pro, they’re unlikely to bail out a defensive backfield missing three seniors.

Team Concerns For 2013: The Blue Devils have to improve the defense to have any chance of equaling the 2012 success. The offense will be fine, but the secondary was a disaster giving up deep play after deep play. With three starters gone in the 4-2-5 alignment, the Blue Devils have to rebuild as well as improve. The kickoff return game was among the worst in America.

The 2013 Class Is Heavy On ... Defensive backs. It's an easy recruiting pitch. Our secondary was awful and there are several holes needing to be filled - come to Duke and play defensive back right away. Corners Johnell Barnes, Evrett Edwards and Deondre Singleton all have the potential to be an instant upgrade, while safeties Chris Holmes and Jake Kite were nice gets. David Cutcliffe isn't going to totally ignore the offense, picking up quarterback Parker Boehme and running back Joseph Ajeigbe.

2012 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 51. That Class Was Heavy On ... More options for the passing game. The 2010 class addressed the quarterback situation for the next few years, but more and more targets need to be developed for down the road. Head coach David Cutcliffe is trying to build up the offensive talent level, and he’s getting a few more good prospects than normal. With Donovan Varner gone and Conner Vernon done next year, the opportunities will be there to shine early on. 

2011 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 63. That Class Was Heavy On ... Offensive linemen. The skill players were all but ignored after going big for the passing game last season, and now the David Cutcliffe offense needs blockers to allow the machine to run. Marcus Aprahamian is a strong tackle prospect with the body to be ready almost right away, while guards Lucas Patrick and Cody Robinson out of Tennessee should be good in time. The defense got help up front with Sam Marshall leading a decent group of linemen, while the secondary went big on the corner with Jared Boyd, Jamison Crowder, and Tim Burton all good enough to have gone somewhere bigger.

2010 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 70. That Class Was Heavy On ... The passing game. Now that David Cutcliffe isn't going anywhere (at least for this year), bringing in decent quarterback prospects isn't an issue. Who wants to be a statistical star? Brandon Cromartie is one of the better quarterback prospects the program has had in a while, and Anthony Boone will get his chances. Brandon Braxton and Braxton Deaver are dangerous receiver prospects, and Juwan Thompson could be the key to the running game this year.

2009 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 56. That Class Was Heavy On ... defensive backs. The Blue Devils perennially struggle to stop opposing passers, which prompted David Cutcliffe to go extremely heavy on the secondary. Almost one-third of the class is either a safety or a cornerback, led by Taylor Sowell, a 6-0 speedster who garnered a lot of attention from the rest of the ACC. Duke had rare success in South Carolina, a credit to the job being done by secondary coach Derek Jones.