Duke 2012 Recruiting

Duke Blue Devils 2012 ... Head Coach: David Cutcliffe

Duke Blue Devils

2011 Record: 3-9

Sept. 3 Richmond L 23-21
Sept. 10 Stanford L 44-14
Sept. 17 at Boston Coll. W 20-19
Sept. 24 Tulane W 48-27
Oct. 1 at FIU W 31-27
Oct. 8 OPEN DATE
Oct. 15 Florida State L 41-16
Oct. 22 Wake Forest L 24-23
Oct. 29 Virginia Tech L 14-10
Nov. 5 at Miami L 49-14
Nov. 12 at Virginia L 31-21
Nov. 19 Georgia Tech L 38-31
Nov. 26 at North Carolina L 37-21

2010 CFN Prediction: 3-9
2010 Record: 3-9

Sept. 4 Elon W 41-27
Sept. 11 at Wake Forest L 54-48
Sept. 18 Alabama L 62-13
Sept. 25 Army L 35-21
Oct. 2 at Maryland L 21-16
Oct. 9 OPEN DATE
Oct. 16 Miami L 28-13
Oct. 23 at Virginia Tech L 44-7
Oct. 30 at Navy W 34-31
Nov. 6 Virginia W 55-48
Nov. 13 Boston College L 21-16
Nov. 20 at Georgia Tech L 30-20
Nov. 27 North Carolina L 24-19
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 The Entire 2012 Recruiting Class

Top 5 Duke Recruits To Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. LB Keilin Rayner
6-3, 210, Scout.com 36th ranked, three-star middle linebacker. Moved from defensive end to linebacker. Had 127 tackles -- including seven for a loss and two sacks -- and two forced fumbles

2. RB Jela Duncan
5-9, 180, Scout.com 37th ranked, three-star running back.

3. RB Shaquille Powell
5-9, 200, Scout.com 44th ranked, three-star running back.

4. PK Ross Martin
5-10, 180, Scout.com 2nd ranked, three-star kicker.

5. TE Dan Beilinson
6-5, 230, Scout.com 29th ranked, three-star tight end.

The 2012 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.

Team Concerns For 2012: The offense has to start producing like it’s supposed to. Varner is the only big loss with QB Sean Renfree, all the top backs, and Vernon returning to provide the experience needed to be consistent, and after going through the growing pains with four underclassmen starting up front, all five starters are back on the line. This is when the payoff has to come.

Looking Ahead To The 2012 Season: Will the offense finally start to work like it’s supposed to under head coach David Cutliffe? It finished 115th in the nation in rushing but gets top rushers Desmond Scott and Juwan Thompson back to work behind a line that was painfully young last year but now gets four starters back. The line was solid in pass protection, and QB Sean Renfree has to take advantage after a disappointing year. Conner Vernon should be among the ACC’s best receivers, and Brandon Braxton has to step up as a No. 2. The defense that was among the worst in the conference gets nine starters back, losing safety Matt Daniels and NG Charlie Hatcher.

The 2011 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.

Nov. 26 at North Carolina 37 … Duke 21
CFN Analysis: Even though the team was competitive, it still finished the year with seven straight losses. The biggest problem? A secondary that couldn’t come up with enough stops. The UNC passing game did whatever it wanted. … The Blue Devil run defense wasn’t exactly a rock, either. … Sean Renfree was doing a good job, completing 13-of-20 passes for 153 yards and two scores with a pick, but the more mobile Anthony Boone threw more of a scare into the UNC defense with 41 yards on just seven carries while completing 12-of-20 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown with a pick. … Matt Daniels didn’t make too many impact plays, but he finished with 18 tackles with a half a tackle for loss.

(AP) CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Dwight Jones had three touchdown catches while redshirt freshman Giovani Bernard ran for a season-high 165 yards and a score to help North Carolina beat Duke 37-21 on Saturday.

Jones finished with 10 catches for 101 yards to set a school single-season record for receptions, while Bernard had a season-high 30 carries and finished with 222 total yards to lead the Tar Heels (7-5, 3-5 Atlantic Coast Conference). Bryn Renner also threw for 274 yards and tied a school single-season record for TD passes, helping UNC beat the Blue Devils (3-9, 1-7) for the eighth straight year. North Carolina also capitalized on four turnovers, getting a pair of field goals and Jones' 8-yard scoring catch midway through the fourth quarter following those miscues.

Sean Renfree threw a pair of touchdown passes for Duke, though coach David Cutcliffe went with mobile backup Anthony Boone for most of the second half.

Boone led a third-quarter touchdown drive that ended with his 11-yard pass to Donovan Varner and cut North Carolina's lead to 23-21 late in the third. But the Tar Heels answered when Renner found Jones for an 18-yard TD grab -- Jones hauled it in with his left hand -- that again made it a two-possession game. Then, after Boone threw an interception to end a drive that had crossed midfield, Renner directed a 91-yard drive that took 6 1/2 minutes off the clock before he found Jones for the 8-yard score that made it 37-21 with 8:17 left.

With the win, North Carolina can look forward to a likely bowl game and a chance to match its 8-5 record of each of the previous three seasons, though 16 of those wins were later vacated due to NCAA penalties. That NCAA investigation into improper benefits and academic misconduct led to the firing of coach Butch Davis just before training camp and the promotion of defensive coordinator Everett Withers to interim coach.

Withers wouldn't talk in recent days about whether this would be his final game in Kenan Stadium, saying only that he believed he was a candidate to be the permanent head coach. Regardless of his future, he at least extended the Tar Heels' recent dominance against the Blue Devils and kept the Victory Bell in Chapel Hill.

North Carolina had won 20 of 21 meetings and managed a 100-yard rusher in six of the last seven meetings, an indication of its physical edge in the rivalry. This one fit right in, with Bernard cracking the 100-yard mark in the first half and bursting up the middle for a 48-yard sprint to the end zone early in the second quarter.

Renfree found Juwan Thompson for a 70-yard touchdown pass on a perfectly called route out of the backfield in the first quarter, then hit Jamison Crowder for a 45-yard score late in the first half while taking a late hit from Zach Brown that cut UNC's lead to 20-14 at halftime. But Duke went three-and-out on the first drive of the second half and Renfree fumbled on a blindside sack to end the second drive, prompting Cutcliffe to switch to Boone and leave Renfree watching from the sideline.

Duke closed the year with seven straight losses after a 3-2 start. Three of the previous six losses had been by a touchdown or less.

Nov. 19 Georgia Tech 38 … at Duke 31
CFN Analysis: Duke pushed hard in the comeback attempt, but the defense couldn’t come up with enough stops to get off the field. It it’s possible to give up 364 rushing yards and have a decent defensive game, Duke did it with Walt Canty leading the way with 12 tackles and a forced fumble. … Conner Vernon did caught nine passes for 92 yards and a score, but Sean Renfree did a good job of spreading the ball around. … Being competitive isn’t enough anymore, but Duke is playing well enough to sneak out a win. Time has run out, though, and North Carolina is the last chance. The O has to get hot early to have a shot. 

Nov. 12 at Virginia 31 … Duke 21
CFN Analysis: Duke came up with a good drive in the second half to tie it at 21, and then the offense was shut down. The running game sputtered – as always – and Sean Renfree couldn’t generate points off all his yards. He threw for 303 yards, but the offense didn’t score over the final 25 minutes. … The ground game finished with just 34 yards on 29 attempts. The sacks didn’t help the cause, but this was Renfree’s game to try to keep up the pace. However, Juwan Thompson closed with two short scoring runs. … The team is playing well enough to be competitive with anyone in the ACC, but now it’s on a five game losing streak with Georgia Tech up next. This was a winnable game, but the offense died late. 

Nov. 5 at Miami 49 … Duke 14
CFN Analysis:  Sean Renfree completed 19-of-25 passes for 181 yards with a touchdown, but he threw a pick and the offense coughed it up three times. The bigger problem was a run defense that couldn’t handle the speed of Lamar Miller and Mike James, who each ran for over seven yards per carry and did whatever they wanted to. Duke got a little bit of a running game out of four different players, with the mobility of backup quarterback Anthony Boone a plus, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a rough first half. With a road trip to Virginia up next, followed up by Georgia Tech and a trip to North Carolina, getting a win in the final three games would be a shocker.

Oct. 29 Virginia Tech 14 … at Duke 10
CFN Analysis: Duke is battling and it’s playing well, but there hasn’t been much to show for it. The one-point loss to Wake Forest last week hurt, but this one will really sting as there was chance after chance against an ACC big boy, but the offense couldn’t get points on the board in the second half outside of a Will Snyderwine field goal. The four turnovers and struggles on third downs were too much to overcome, but the defense did enough to keep the game close. At some point the breaks will come, but QB Sean Renfree has to make his own good fortune after throwing three key picks. Next week at Miami is winnable against an inconsistent Cane team. Duke is due to break through. 

Oct. 22 Wake Forest 24 … at Duke 23
CFN Analysis: The passing game worked early and the defense came up with one of its best games of the season, but the secondary failed late when it needed to keep everything in front. The run defense was terrific, holding the Demon Deacons to 90 yards and a touchdown, but it gave up two touchdown passes to Chris Givens and didn’t do enough in the second half. The D was strong, for the most part, on third downs, and the offense converted 9-of-22 chance and 4-of-5 fourth down tries to hold on to the ball for over 38 minutes, but the one breakdown in the secondary in the final minutes was the difference. This was a winnable game that the team needed to pull out with Virginia Tech and a road trip to Miami up next. 

Oct. 15 Florida State 41 … at Duke 16
CFN Analysis: Duke faced a desperate Florida State team that needed to come up with a great performance to show that it could. The offensive line that’s been so great all season long in pass protection couldn’t handle the speed and the athleticism of the Seminole defensive front, and there wasn’t any running game to rely on in the first half when the defense was giving up points in bunches. Sean Renfree spread the ball around well when he had time, with ten different receivers catching passes, but Duke just didn’t have the firepower to keep up. With Wake Forest and Virginia Tech coming up next, the home slate doesn’t get any easier. 

Oct. 1 Duke 31 … at FIU 27
CFN Analysis: All of a sudden, Duke has won three in a row with the offense coming through clutch and the defense doing a decent job. Reality is about to set in with Florida State, Wake Forest, and Virginia Tech up next, and the Blue Devils will probably be major underdogs in each of the final seven games, but for now, getting by a dangerous FIU team is something to get excited about. The Blue Devils were in trouble, but Juwan Thompson came up with two short touchdown runs after Sean Renfree and the passing game did its job to come up with the win. With two weeks off to bask in the victory, there’s time to enjoy before the Seminoles come to town.  

Sept. 24 at Duke 48 … Tulane 27
CFN Analysis: All of a sudden, Duke is on a roll. It probably shouldn’t have beaten Boston College, and it probably shouldn’t have lost to Richmond, but now at 2-2 with a road trip to Miami to face FIU, the offense is starting to work at just the right time. Sean Renfree was good, but the production came from several different spots with the blowout starting early and not letting up until the fourth quarter. Charlie Hatcher came up with five tackles and two sacks, the backups got in some meaningful work, and for once, but Blue Devils got a rare breather.  

Sept. 17 Duke 20 … at Boston College 19
CFN Analysis: The passing game had problems over the first two weeks, and the running game was non-existent, but the offense was able to keep the pressure on the BC secondary all game long with Sean Renfree throwing 52 times for 359 yards and two scores with an interception. The running game, though, still didn’t do much with the offense all falling on Renfree. Even with all the success through the air, and even with all the positives, it still took a missed Eagle field goal to win. The Blue Devils will take the breaks when they can get them.  

Sept. 10 Stanford 44 … at Duke 14
CFN Analysis: Duke is supposed to have an offense, if nothing else. Getting blown out by Stanford is no crime, but the Blue Devil air show that was expected to be able to bomb away on anyone couldn’t produce when the game mattered, Four different players combined to throw for 305 yards, and that still didn’t even make a dent in the game once the Cardinal got rolling. Kenny Anunike came up with two sacks, and that was about t for any pressure on Andrew Luck. The secondary wasn’t awful and the defensive front held up relatively well, but the offensive line isn’t giving the quarterbacks any time and there’s no running game to take the heat off. On the plus side, ACC play kicks off next and there’s a chance to begin anew against a punchless Boston College team that has even more issues than the Blue Devils. 

Sept. 3 Richmond 23 … at Duke 21
CFN Analysis: Richmond might be a good, strong FCS team, but there’s no excuse for the Duke offense not to work. The running game was solid with Juwan Thompson and Desmond Scott forming a strong 1-2 punch, but Sean Renfree was strangely average completing 23-of-33 passes for 201 yards with Conner Vernon and Donovan Varner only combining for 138 yards on 12 catches. The defense did its part allowing just 95 rushing yards and a 14-of-31 passing day from former USC QB Aaron Corp, but the Blue Devil offense simply didn’t produce. That’s a problem with Stanford coming up next.

The 2011 Recruiting Class Is 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.

Five Duke Recruits You Should Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. P Will Monday
Ranked as the # 2 punter in 2011 class, great frame, needs to move drop inside slightly, can hit consistent 4.5-4.8 hang times on 45-50 yard punts. Was 1st team All-State at Georgia HS power. Will finished #1 at the National Scholarship Camp and also won the Southern Showcase Punting Competition.

2. CB Jared Boyd
5-9, 168, Scout.com’s 51st ranked cornerback

3. OT Marcus Aprahamian
6-5, 300, Scout.com’s 65th ranked offensive tackle

4. DT Sam Marshall
6-8, 265, Scout.com’s 75th ranked defensive tackle

5. OG Lucas Patrick
6-3, 285, Scout.com’s 50th ranked guard

2011 Entire Recruiting Class
Marcus Aprahamian Line 6-4 300 Brookfield, Wis. Brookfield Central
Jared Boyd Back 5-9 170 Stone Mountain, Ga. Stephenson
Kyler Brown Back 6-4 225 Matthews, N.C. Charlotte Christian
Tim Burton Back 5-9 170 Hollywood, Fla. Cardinal Gibbons
Jamison Crowder Back 5-9 175 Monroe, N.C. Monroe
Lucas Fisher Line 6-4 245 Monroe, N.C. Piedmont
Carson Ginn Line 6-6 260 Belmont, N.C. South Point
Britton Grier Back 6-1 210 Charlotte, N.C. West Charlotte
David Helton Back 6-4 220 Chattanooga, Tenn. Baylor School
Nick Hill Back 6-2 200 Nashville, Tenn. M.L. King Magnet
Blair Holliday Back 6-3 185 Sherman Oaks, Calif. Oaks Christian
Sam Marshall Line 6-7 255 Fredericksburg, Va. Chancellor
Will Monday Punter 6-4 185 Flowery Branch, Ga. Flowery Branch
Lucas Patrick Line 6-3 305 Brentwood, Tenn. Brentwood
David Reeves Back 6-6 245 Greensboro, Ala. Greensboro Public West
Cody Robinson Line 6-3 290 McMinnville, Tenn. Warren County
Mario Sanders Line 6-5 225 Lyman, S.C. Greer
Matt Skura Line 6-4 280 Columbus, Ohio Worthington Kilbourne
Chris Tavarez Back 5-11 190 Atlanta, Ga. Westlake
Jonathan Woodruff Back 6-3 215 Waldorf, Md. Westlake