DURHAM – The first day of fall camp that Duke’s football team put on full pads saw an emphasis on how it finishes games.

“One of the emphasis we have this year in camp is, we’re trying to focus on the finish of the drive,” coach Mike Elko said. “It’s one thing to go and work two-minute (situations) … but then there’s the other part of it, which is the specific parts of the end.”

Friday’s fall camp practice saw the Blue Devils spend a large chunk of it working on late-game situations.

These were, indeed, specific. The first one was 45 seconds left, the offense at the defense’s 35-yard line and trailing by two points, with one timeout to spend.

The situations only saw the offense get closer to the end zone, with less time, from there.

“There’s a goal in each one of those situations,” Elko said. “You go out there down three, you want the touchdown, you want to win the game, you’ve gotta kick the field goal at the very least to get the game to overtime.”

Adding to the situational drama was that along with this being Duke’s first practice in full pads, it was the first time the Blue Devils tackled to the ground. In most practices, “thud” is observed — which is basically wrapping up ballcarriers without finishing the tackle and taking them to the ground.

“Felt great to actually get out there and get hit,” receiver Jordan Moore said. “Like Coach (Kevin) Johns was saying, most of the year we’re in shorts and t-shirts, so to get guys out there and get some live work is really good.”

Late-game situational work is necessary for a team that, per Elko, was involved in 19 two-minute drives last season. If that number seems high, consider all four of the Blue Devils’ losses came by eight or less, and three wins came by eight or less.

“What you’re looking to do is just put those kids in as many situations as you possibly can,” Elko said, “so that when you see them and when it happens during the season, it’s not new.

“We anticipate being in a lot of games like that.”

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

Equipment: Full pads.

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

It’s the situational periods that seal it, despite the offense getting some favorable field position.

Jaylen Coleman ran for a 15-yard touchdown when the offense was only down two. Otherwise in that down-by-two segment, Todd Pelino went 3-for-3, making field goals from 41, 35 and 37 yards.

Jalon Calhoun scored on a throw short of the end zone, with him knifing his way through the middle of the field and extending the ball over the goal line (that last part wasn’t ideal).

The defense wasn’t far from making this category a draw. There was a fourth-and-goal stuff on the 1-yard line — I had Dorian Mausi making the tackle with help from two others whose numbers I didn’t catch.

And there was a botched handoff between Riley Leonard and Jordan Waters that was scooped (eventually) by Jaylen Stinson and would’ve been about a 78-yard touchdown going the other way.

Catch of the day: Receiver Mehki Wall.

This wasn’t anything extraordinary like Moore’s catch a couple of days ago but it’s an excuse to bring up an important anecdote.

Wall’s catch came near the end of the practice, a strong one in the end zone from Henry Belin IV. Those two seem to have a strong connection as a couple of second-year players.

Early in practice, Wall and the receivers were running routes against air (no defense). He did something that was either wrong or needed to be sharper, and Calhoun and Elko took the time to explain whatever it was.

Quote of the day: “I mean, I’ve been small all my life, so it’s just having good instincts, attacking the ball, playing strong. Not only just being small, I’m lower than everybody, so just being low to the point of contact helps me.” – Stinson

Thought this was a hell of a way to look at being undersized (Stinson is 5-8, 177).

Freshman/newcomer of the day: Cornerback Al Blades Jr.

I’m not sure I’ve heard a defensive back as vocal as Blades.

The Miami transfer was talking a fair share of smack and backed it up with a strong practice. I had him getting beaten by Moore in a 1-on-1 rep early in practice and I think that was the last time his receiver had a catch all day.

Blades kept letting Moore know that he hadn’t beaten him on a few routes. It didn’t feel malicious; it felt motivational and in the spirit of competition.

Blades’ reaction when Nicky Dalmolin didn’t come up with a sliding catch at the goal line reflected that. Dalmolin had beaten the defense to the front corner but couldn’t make the catch, and Blades ran over and yelled, “Catch the ball bruh, we need those.”

(there might have an been an extra word in there)

News of the day: That was covered here.

I’m not coming here to diminish the news; Duke is going to miss Eli Pancol for however long he’s out. And when Moore says things like this — “Eli’s a great teammate, one of the best teammates I’ve ever had, hard worker”— it drives home how much the Blue Devils will miss his presence.

But receiver is a position that Duke can handle an injury or two and still be effective.

Sahmir Hagans, Calhoun and Moore are going to be a solid top three, with Jontavis Robertson and Malik Bowen-Sims as solid options behind them. Where competition should breed depth is having Apollos Cook, Spencer Jones, Sean Brown and Wall vie for snaps as the sixth option in the rotation.

What Duke will miss without Pancol is size. At 6-3, 205, he’s the biggest receiver among Duke’s returning options. That’s why the development of Cook and Jones will be interesting over the next couple of weeks.