Blue Devils land three star safety
David Cutcliffe and the Duke coaching staff have added another piece to their defense with a commitment from three star safety Nathan Vail.
Vail, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound prospect from Kennesaw (Ga.) Harrison High announced his decision to choose the Blue Devils on Saturday afternoon.
“I just feel the most comfortable there,” Vail said. “I feel like I can succeed the most on and off the field. It’s where I can see myself being the happiest the next four or five years.”
Prior to his public announcement, Vail informed the Duke coaching staff on a telephone call.
As expected, Cutcliffe and company were excited to get the news from Vail, who many believed at one point was destined to choose the local school, Georgia Tech.
“We were all excited on the phone,” he said. “I had my family on the phone with him and we were just excited. They were super pumped to welcome me into the family.”
Vail chose Duke over 15 other scholarship offers, including from the likes of Georgia Tech, Boston College and Nebraska, who along with Duke comprised his final four.
In addition to those four, Vail had offers from West Virginia, Mississippi State, Wake Forest, Oregon State, Connecticut, Kansas, Indiana, Kansas State, Georgia State, Buffalo, Kent State and Liberty.
The newest Blue Devil commit said his family is behind his decision.
“They support it 100-percent,” he said. “You can’t really go wrong with a school like that and a coaching staff like that. They’re happy for me.”
Vail will be an early enrollee at Duke, as he’ll finish his high school career in December.
It must be noted that Vail has not ruled out the possibility of taking additional visits in the fall. He was originally scheduled to officially visit Boston College on September 25, but as of now it doesn’t appear that trip will happen.
Vail addressed the topic.
“I might if it feels right,” he said when asked if he planned to take any more visits. “But I’m pretty set on Duke.
“I wanted to commit before the season kicked off to get that over with. If I decided to take any visits then I would deal with it when it comes up.”
With all that in mind, Vail does appear to be firm on a future in Durham.
** Russell Johnson contributed to this story. **