Charles Westfall covered the Duke Football Camp on Saturday.  Here are his thoughts -

Familiarity can be a comforting thing. That thought struck me as I lumbered down the steps of Wallace Wade for the second edition of Duke's Junior Day. Because as I approached the field, you could hear chants of  "do not round your cuts, son", "nice catch, #35", and "finish, finish, finish....I don't care if you're going to win that drill, you will complete it". These were the types of things that I heard the Saturday before.

Duke's Junior Day is considered an evaluation type of camp, but there were subtle teaching points going on. If you walked over to the practice field, then you could spot Mike MacIntyre telling his offensive line proteges to  "always have your hands open and making a small target. Your hands have to be your camera. Remember what the guy said in the movie The Patriot: Aim small, miss small". Receivers were instructed to keep their cuts sharp and not cross their hands when catching a ball. Simple, but important stuff.

Though the names of the 270 attendees weren't provided, the effort by the players and coaches to do the right thing was always visible. Coaches and players from Hillside, Southern Durham, Myers Park (Charlotte), R J Reynolds (Winston-Salem), and players who ventured outside the state from places like Pittsburgh eagerly lined the field.

Not surprisingly, there was an abundance of talent making a mark. A tall receiver from the Midwest surprised campers and coaches alike with his separation. A local product, Kendrick Williams, prevented a receiver from getting off the line by utilizing good leverage. In fact,  I spoke with one local coach who said that 10 skill  players showed up to the camp. He calmly told me that "we've got several guys at this camp who can run and hit, and are quick as lightning". After witnessing these kids, I looked up and half jokingly said, "Coach, do you have any players that don't run a 4.4". He said, with a big grin, "Yeah, they're just not here today".

Drills ranged from defensive lineman hitting obstacles and taking precise cuts to cornerbacks alternating between press and zone coverage on wide receivers. Offensive linemen diligently used "step slide" techniques instead of "hopping" from one foot to the next. Defensive linemen speared  tackling dummies with purpose. At the end of the day, sprints between the linebackers, tight ends, quarterbacks, linemen, cornerbacks/wideouts really punctuated the day. The kids were straining to finish in the top 3 of each race for nothing other than pride.

Some things to note:

Danny Parker, Colin Jones, Thad Lewis, Alfred Williams, and  Kinney Rucker were on hand to assist the "campers". All looked to be in fine shape. Colin even took some time to speak to this reporter's nephew who was attending the camp, and offered a lot of encouragement and some good advice. Coach Cutcliffe made a special point to recognize these individuals.

Hillside product Corey Gattis verballed an offer to Duke after the event, and this is particularly significant.  The last very talented recruit to matriculate to Duke (and someone can feel free to correct me) was Emmitt Tilley. Tilley starred at Duke, and later became a standout linebacker for the Miami Dolphins.

Charles Westphal caught up with a quarterback prospect who visited during the Duke Football Camp.

Josh Byrum (2009) QB - Victory Christian, Charlotte, N.C.

1) How did the Duke camp go, Josh?  How did you feel about the guys that you were "repping" against? 
 Josh: I really liked it. Coach Roper worked with me. The other QB's were really good, but the thing that surprised me the most about the camp was the speed (ie of the receivers and defensive backs).

2) As you self evaluate, what were some of the things that you needed to work on?
Josh: I'm always working on my technique--specifically my drops.

3) How about your footwork?
Josh: I'm always working on that. (Josh politely indicated that improving footwork is something that is habitual).

4) How do your classify yourself as a QB? Are you pro-style or a dual guy?
Josh: Pro style.

5) Where else have you camped?
Josh: I camped at Missouri a few weeks. ago. The camp went very well. I received good coaching there, also.

6) So what are the schools that have confirmed interest?
Josh: NC State, Duke, and Missouri

7)What are your goals going into the season?
Josh: Just getting it all together. Last year, I threw for 12 or 13 TD's and for 1300 passing yards. We run a lot of our offense out of the I formation. We were 6-4 last season, and I feel confident that we'll be in the playoffs.

8) So, I'm assuming that with that formation that it naturally gives you time to set up play action?
Josh: Absolutely. Also, we have a good set of running backs as well.

9) Did you get to visit with Coach Cut?
Josh: Not really, he was overseeing everything. Coach Roper was very solid, though.

Thanks, Josh
Josh: Thank you, sir.

Duke Football hosted round 1 of their annual camp this past Saturday.  The Blue Devil Nation will have coverage from this event where we talked to some prospects and their parents which have interest in Duke.  That said, please check back!  Until that time, here is a photo gallery from the event. (View as slideshow)

Frank Dascenzo states the home opener against James Madison University will be difficult and is advising Coach David Cutcliffe to give Coach George Welsh a call. Welsh coached the Virginia Cavaliers to 134 victories over 19 seasons, but he lost his home opener, back in 1982, 21 -17, to James Madison University.

DURHAM, N.C. -- Kickoff times for Duke's first three football games have been set as Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John D. Swofford announced the league's early-season television schedule on Tuesday afternoon.
 
Duke opens the year with a pair of 7 p.m. tilts against James Madison on August 30 and Northwestern on September 6.  On September 13, the Blue Devils ...   more »

Here is Bill Brill on the positive atmosphere surrounding Duke Football.  In a season where many of the teams in their division have questions, Duke hopes to sneak up on unsuspecting teams.  Duke opens with four straight home games and make no mistake, the most important one is James Madison.  The Duke's have been to the NCAA Championships three of the last four years and have the speed to give the Devils fits.  In fact, they pretty much blew a game to Appalachian State, a team which defeated Michigan in the big house.  For more on the changing of culture surrounding the program, go here.

Click Here for the Duke Spring Football Game Photo Gallery (Go to slideshow mode in the link)

(View as slideshow)

Here is BDN's Charles Westfall's take -

Outlined against a blue/gray April sky, the Four Horsemen rode again. Ok, I'm not here to masquerade as Grantland Rice. But, if you were at Wallace Wade, well you remember the play. Freshman running back Tony Jackson starred as Red Grange and bolted 75 yards for the White team for the lone offensive TD score of the game. Duke's version of the Four Horsemen opened up the field, and Jackson found the crease to lead an underdog white team to a methodical 14-3 win over the Duke Blues.
 
Indeed, the running game was the strong suit for the White. Jackson, for his efforts, ran 5 times for 85 yards. Thad Lewis, the winning QB,  kept it mostly conservative by focusing on Brett Huffman and Jeremy Ringfield. Clifford Harris ran in tandem with Jackson and gained 40 yards on 5 carries.
 
On defense, the winning team limited the rush attacking for the Blues to 39 yards. This was a team without the services of Vince Oghobaase, Marcus Jones, Leon Wright, and Ayanga Okpokoworuk. Wes Oglesby, who played admirably at defensive end as a freshman, recovered a fumble deep in White territory and rumbled 7 yards for the clinching score. Vincent Rey and a host of others also contributed to the effort.
 
All of this transpired before a record crowd of 3,250 fans. While there may be some dubiousness to that stat, it was clear that the Cutcliffe Era got off to a good start by Duke standards. What the crowd witnessed  were some things that were not evident in a large part of the Roof reign: hustle, ball pursuit, and well conditioned line play. Players were not grasping at their knees with fatigue.  Players were shuttling in and out of the game with a greater sense of focus. As a colleague of mine put it, "There were times in the past when guys were talking about Psych 201 on 3rd and 1 in the Roof Era. Not the case this year. Not even close".
 
What else was not even close and was a welcome sight was the play of the offensive lines. Duke gave up a record number of sacks last year. Throughout this game, the interior of the line was solid. Zack Asack rolled away from the rush with some ease as linemen held their blocks. And the clincher is that three sacks were given up for both teams. That is a good news/bad news proposition, but it was clear that the ball was getting delivered quickly out of the backfield for both teams.
 
Not all was perfect. The wide receiver had trouble getting open, for instance. With the addition of young players like Randez James, does that bode well for the defensive secondary? Hard to tell at this stage. A few of the running backs had trouble finding cutback plays that were open momentarily. And the imaginative playcalling was limited for some people's liking. However, spring ball is limited to fifteen practices. One cannot install a comprehensive offense or defense in that time frame.
 
The prevailing sentiment was one that most fans expected. We've got an upgrade with David Cutcliffe and his staff. He is the most confident coach that we've had since Steve Spurrier. Arguably, he is the most experienced coach (32 years)  that has coached on The Methodist Flats. Time will tell, but the signs point to better game days in Durham. 

Blue Devil Nation Premium will give you a behind the scenes take on the game on Monday.  The photo galleries from this event are generally for premium members, but we feel the entire Duke fanbase needs to get a feel for what Cutcliffe is doing with the program.  I hope that all of you will get your season tickets and get ready for the four game home stand which opens the season.  BDN supports all Duke Athletics and we here are especially excited about the 2008 football season.

Check back for more thoughts on the Spring Football game, including a photo gallery of the event.

DURHAM, N.C. – Tony Jackson rushed for 85 yards and one touchdown while Wesley Oglesby returned a fumble for another score as the White squad defeated the Blue team, 14-3, at the Duke Football Spring Game in front of 3,250 fans on Saturday ...   more »