Blue Devils camp report: Part 8

DURHAM – Earlier this week, coach Mike Elko said he wanted to see more consistency from Duke’s receivers. The Blue Devils saw flashes from several of them, but consistency in execution and route-running was needed.

Two weeks away from Duke’s season opener, that’s still a work in progress.

The Blue Devils were sharp early in Friday morning’s practice, the 14th of fall camp and two weeks to the day from the first game against Temple.

In a lengthy WR/DB 1-on-1 period from the 5-yard line, quarterbacks Riley Leonard and Henry Belin IV connected on touchdown passes on seemingly 80% of their throws. Former quarterback Luca Diamont had a couple of great releases off the line, and still-quarterback-but-also-receiver Jordan Moore had the catch of the day (more on that later).

That gave way to inconsistency in full-team and 7-on-7 periods, though.

A second-down swing pass to Jaylen Coleman went for 9 yards in a late-game situation, but nobody could get open on third-and-1. Sahmir Hagans pulled in about a 25-yard catch, but a throw of about 30 yards to the end zone fell incomplete.

Nicky Dalmolin made a shoestring catch, but Joshua Pickett got an easy pass break-up against Dalmolin on the next play. Moore picked up an offensive pass interference penalty that negated a nice gain by Jalon Calhoun.

This was a heavy day with situation-specific periods, and Eli Pancol made a nice play for a 25-yard touchdown catch down the seam on the first play of an overtime. In the next series, Malik Bowen-Sims made a 9-yard catch on the first play and that was the only completed pass in six total plays.

In the spirit of things, it’s good to have a balanced practice.

But when the head coach is eyeballing receivers and the passing game improvement and consistency, it’s hard to see the defense’s wins as a net positive.

The burden of inconsistency doesn’t all fall on the receivers, either. One of Leonard’s interceptions came on a miscommunication with Pancol, in which the receiver broke to the outside and Leonard threw to the inside. The only way to know who was at fault is to be in film review with coaches.

Another interception came when Leonard threw behind Pancol on a short drag route, and Pancol tipped the ball trying to reach behind and wound up deflecting it into the waiting hands of Brandon Johnson. That felt like both QB and receiver were equal parts to blame.

A couple of Hail Marys were thrown through the end zone; it’s tough to make a play on the ball when you’re two yards out of bounds.

The Blue Devils have to be able to spread the ball around and throw – boasting a strong offensive line and depth at running back doesn’t do much if you’re facing loaded boxes.

“Have we seen it? Yeah, we’ve seen flashes and we’ve certainly seen that we have guys that have the ability to make explosive plays,” Elko said on Tuesday. “We’ve just got to make sure that we’re consistent play in and play out.

“I think that’s probably the big gap that we’ve got to get closed this week.”

Friday’s practice seemed like it’s an ongoing process to close that gap.

Here were my observations during Duke’s 14th practice of fall camp:

Equipment: Full pads

Was today won by the offense, defense or neither: Defense

Might be trying to play things too down the middle, but Duke’s defense had *something* to do with the offense’s inconsistency discussed above.

The most-impressive aspect for the defense was the pressure applied on quarterbacks – with the caveat that when the situations are less than a minute left, it’s easier as a lineman to pass-rush. It didn’t feel like any quarterback ever got too comfortable during the final-minute drive simulations and that was because Duke’s defensive line had a solid day.

Also, four interceptions can’t be ignored. Tony Davis had two of them and came about one foot away from a third, he just landed out of bounds. Brandon Johnson and Datrone Young had the others.

Catch of the day: Jordan Moore

Lining up at receiver doesn’t look totally natural for Moore – who still took snaps at QB on Friday – but he’s picking it up faster than most converted quarterbacks would.

The elite athleticism and hand-eye coordination sure help.

Moore made a leaping-backward, one-handed catch against tight coverage by Jaylen Stinson for a touchdown during WR/DB 1-on-1s. The ball was thrown in a good spot by Belin, and Moore made what might have been one of the best catches in fall camp, cradling the ball in with his right hand.

As it says above, Moore is hardly a finished product as a receiver. Not that he’s expected to be after a little more than a week spent at the position. And he’s still taking QB snaps.

But the safe bet is, whether at QB or receiver, Moore will be on the field for the Blue Devils and he’ll be a nice weapon at offensive coordinator Kevin Johns’ disposal.

Quote of the day: “Nicky, you gotta stiff-arm like that?! You ‘bout broke my nose!” – Darius Joiner to Nicky Dalmolin.

This was cordial, and the safety and tight end were both laughing and embraced. Joiner was having some fun with Dalmolin after a physical 1-on-1 rep.

Freshman/newcomer of the day: Datrone Young, transfer cornerback

It should be clear that Duke’s coaching staff needs a few years to prove itself when it comes to evaluation and development of recruits.

Watching Young and Joiner in the secondary makes you already confident in the talent evaluation part of that, though.

Duke picked up two ACC-caliber starters, and today was Young’s day to shine. He made one of the only standout defensive plays in the 5-yard line 1-on-1s, locking up Calhoun and not giving Leonard a chance to attempt a throw.

The interception Young had later was more good fortune than skill, but he was still positioned in the right place and rewarded for it.

I’ll throw (intended) a note in here: Belin makes some throws each practice that make you think it’d be foolish to list anyone else in this spot. But then there are other times – like taking a sack in a last-minute, end-of-game scenario, or overthrowing a receiver by several yards – where you’re left shaking your head.

In short: He’s a freshman QB. He’s gifted and if he develops, he could be Duke’s QB of the future – but Belin is going through some growing pains during some practices.

News of the day: Don’t know that there’s much news to report.

I guess as far as a programming note … Duke will hold a media day tomorrow afternoon, during which Elko and both coordinators, along with a couple of players, will all be available. And then Sunday afternoon will be the Blue Devils’ second scrimmage of fall camp.

So stay tuned this weekend for more news, notes and observations as Duke winds down camp and gets closer to the opener.