re: Spring Football News & Info

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So I had two choices: Fill up the rest of the column with Duke basketball jokes (“Does Zion play for them?”) or go find out a few things, which I did courtesy of Evan Kollin of the Duke Chronicle.

Duke does have a practice-ending game (played on April 6), which it calls a Spring Showcase, a less ominous name than D-Day. The scrimmage lasted about 65 plays, a good bit shorter than Alabama’s four-quarter A-Day (around 105 plays, give or take the kicking.)

To no one’s surprise, Duke may have a good quarterback again. Quentin Harris rushed for 31 yards on six carries, with two touchdowns, while connecting on seven-of-11 passes, for 69 yards and another score. Without getting into predictions for August, one might think that mobility might be important if not downright life-saving against Alabama. (The offensive line did not earn rave reviews.) The receiving corps is apparently rebuilding around a possession receiver named Jake Bobo. The running backs are good.

The secondary was an issue last year. The Blue Devils were No. 36 in the NCAA in pass defense last year but that’s somewhat deceiving (they are Devils, after all) because teams could run the ball against them fairly successfully. Depth, always a concern in Durham, appears better, according to Cutcliffe, although 12 players sat out of the Spring Showcase.

There is a long wait until Alabama will see for itself what Duke has to offer but Saban has already started preparations so it’s never too early to look ahead

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