Blue Devils camp report: Part 1

DURHAM – Duke was a morning team throughout spring football practices, so Tuesday’s first practice of fall camp starting at 6:30 p.m. was an adjustment for the Blue Devils.

“A lot of guys got here really early today,” defensive tackle DeWayne Carter said. “Well, guys usually get here early – but (today) like 2-3 hours early. Just, you know, in anticipation of the new season.”

Indeed, it’s the start of a new season at Duke – the first under coach Mike Elko, who takes the reins of a team that’s less than 10 years removed from playing in the ACC championship, but has also won a combined five games in the past two seasons.

Tuesday’s initial foray into fall camp brought a new energy and intensity. It’s not that there weren’t those things for 15 practices during the spring – it’s just that the ramp up with the season about a month away is a different feeling.

“We put the work in in the summer, obviously went through the spring,” Carter said, “that was kind of like a foundation layer.

“Now it’s just attacking our plan and trying to expand on the work we did in the summer.”

Duke’s summer of workouts under strength and conditioning coach David Feeley was lauded by Carter, Elko and the program’s other representatives at ACC Kickoff.

What Carter wouldn’t do – and what it sounds like other Blue Devils won’t do, either – is compare Elko’s first-year staff to that of David Cutcliffe from prior seasons.

“We don’t usually compare staffs around here. Coach Elko preaches to embrace the grind,” Carter said. “It’s kind of like we left everything in the past. Forget everything that we were – that I was kind of raised on, being in my fourth year here, and do what Coach Elko wants, Coach (Jess) Simpson wants, what Coach (Harland) Bower wants, Coach (Robb) Smith wants.

“It’s just a whole new mindset.”

The energy was there for Day One despite the late start – after Wednesday night’s practice, Duke’s schedule will shift to more mornings and a few afternoon practices – but tight end Nicky Dalmolin raised an interesting point about it being sustainable.

“I think we had a lot of energy, but I think that’s to be expected on Day One,” Dalmolin said. “So we just need to bring that energy on Day 13.”

And, obviously, beyond.

Here were my observations during Duke’s first practice of fall camp:

Equipment: Helmets only.

Interesting to note: The vast majority of players had the Guardian caps (pictured here) on their helmets, which was the case in the spring as well.

Was today won by the offense, defense or neither: Neither.

It was the first practice and players were only in helmets – it’s hard to gauge much.

And it also seemed like a balanced practice. The defensive line seemed to get the better of the offensive line during full-team periods, and the receivers seemed to be a step or two ahead of the defensive backs in 1-on-1s.

Which brings up a point that needs to be made early: The most-difficult part of evaluating Duke’s fall camp is going to be figuring out whether the wide receivers are actually making decent plays, or if they’re just taking advantage of a mostly young and inexperienced secondary. And vice versa, if the secondary is winning the majority of reps, will it be because they’re finding their footing or because Duke’s receivers aren’t completing catches and/or routes.

(I don’t envy the coaches who have to break that down)

Catch of the day: Darrell Harding Jr.

There were several candidates, but this one goes to Harding for a diving catch along the sideline once the practice moved to the indoor facility. It was really good coverage – sorry, didn’t get the DB’s number – and Harding pulled it in and got a foot down before tumbling out of bounds.

Freshman/newcomer of the day: Darius Joiner.

The Western Illinois transfer had one of two interceptions (that I saw, there might have been more) of the night, a nice snag of a bullet pass over his head.

Joiner is an intriguing addition for Duke, a sixth-year safety who was an FCS All-America player last season. He joins a secondary that figures to have plenty of opportunity for playing time this season, and he seemingly made a good first impression.

Of note: Freshman Chandler Rivers had the other interception during 1-on-1s.

Quote of the day: “That’s insane, I did not know that. I believe it though, he’s a good dude.” – DeWayne Carter when told Joiner had 142 tackles in 11 games last season.

News of the day: This section winds up being more of a catch-all, and sometimes there just isn’t hard-breaking news from practice. So a few observations:

- Duke still doesn’t want us reporting any depth chart-type information, so you won’t see anything about which quarterback was taking more first-team reps or who the first four defensive linemen were for a full-team period.

- It’s worth noting – and I think within the rules – that there was a ton of mixing and matching in personnel. Even if I were permitted to report a “first-string” at select positions, it’d be a fool’s errand.

- Defensive ends coach Harland Bower had a noticeable energy to him, especially during the full-team period. He was adamant that the defensive ends, even when a play got 10-20 yards downfield, turn and sprint in pursuit – and made a few ends run to the ball well after the play had finished.