DURHAM – Being down to two scholarship quarterbacks, both with relatively little experience, is a positive for Duke offensive coordinator Kevin Johns.

No, that’s not a typo.

“That’s a benefit, that there are only two scholarship guys right now that are taking the bulk of the reps,” Johns said after Monday morning’s practice. “But then also that they’re so young and inexperienced, that I can really mold them kind of how we want.”

Riley Leonard and Jordan Moore played sparingly last season behind Gunnar Holmberg, who transferred amid the coaching change. Leonard completed 37 of 62 passes (59.7%) for 381 yards, while Moore was third on the team in rushing yards (183) and touchdowns (three).

Leonard played 164 snaps last season; Moore played 85. Leonard’s time on the field usually came in lopsided games; Moore was deployed as a wildcat QB because of his running ability.

Now, both of them are growing under Johns, who joined coach Mike Elko’s staff after being at Memphis for the past three seasons.

“They’re hungry, they’ve been working very hard, I’m proud of them,” Johns said of the quarterbacks. “And I can see them getting better every single day.”

Johns said the main concern and focus right now – keep in mind that Duke’s season opener is about 4½ months away – is to get both QBs to “settle down and just play.”

“I think as a young guy, they both want to do so well,” Johns said. “They’re such competitive kids that, ‘Just relax, let the game flow, just let it happen.’”

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Here are notes from Monday morning’s practice:

- Starting the notes package with WR-DB 1-on-1s from about the 10-yard line (going in).

You’re going to see the names Malik Bowen-Sims and Darrell Harding Jr. appear several times in this recap, as they both had active days.

Here, Bowen-Sims won on a slant against Placide Djungu-Sungu for a touchdown catch from Moore.

- Joshua Pickett, a second-year cornerback, had a pass break-up against Jalon Calhoun.

One PBU by itself might not be that notable, but when it’s a second-year player who got 57 snaps as a freshman notching one against a starting receiver … you take note.

- Leonard hit Harding for a touchdown on a nice inside move.

- Sophomore Cameron Bergeron got beat on a middle route but recovered in time for a PBU – I think this was against a tight end, but I’m not positive.

- Converted slot receiver Luca Diamont made a nice move to the back corner and drew a pass interference call against Khilan Walker.

- Leonard threw a frozen rope of a touchdown to tight end Andrew Jones, who ran a shallow out route.

- Moving into the first 7-on-7 segment of the day with Leonard’s strike to Jontavis Robertson on a slant for about 15 yards.

- On third-and-5 in the same series, Shaka Heyward had a great PBU to end the possession.

- Next was Moore’s turn, and he threw a great back-shoulder ball to Harding for about 20 yards.

On the next play, Moore and Diamont connected with a nice throw and catch.

- Moving right along into full-team work: This practice had a theme of late-game situational work, as you can see from Elko’s post-practice speech to the team.

There was an emphasis on being aware of time, ball placement, timeouts available and score; again, with practices having been closed under the previous staff it’s hard to tell how different this is … but practicing these types of situations pays off when they arise during the season.

- This situation was 40 seconds left, offense needs a touchdown, I think one timeout left.

- Leonard missed on a high throw on the first play, but hit running back Jordan Waters out of the backfield for a nice gain.

- This was the only negative of Harding’s active day: He had a drop on a hook route.

- Leonard threw deep over the middle and overshot his target, with Brandon Johnson sliding in for an interception.

- The next drive was Moore’s turn, and he hit running back Jaquez Moore (no relation) for an early gain.

- And then it become the Malik Bowen-Sims Show, with Jordan Moore dialing him up for three catches, including a sliding, back-of-the-end-zone touchdown catch.

The second of the three straight Bowen-Sims catches was a 20-yard gain down the sideline; it’s important to note what offensive coordinator Kevin Johns said about receivers winning 50-50 balls:

“I love our wideouts, I think we have some dynamic guys that can go down the field,” Johns said. “Making competitive plays – that’s either something you have in you, you have the heart to go up and get the ball, or you don’t. …

“You throw a jump ball, your guys have to go get it, they have to have that mentality. But I like what we’ve got.”

- Back in 7-on-7 action in the red zone, Moore hit Waters on an underneath route – he beat Heyward in coverage.

- Jaylen Stinson has been relatively quiet in the practices I’ve seen, but he makes a nice play for a PBU on a ball in the back corner of the end zone.

- Leonard with a touchdown pass to Harding – so that was him making up for the drop in the previous segment.

- Back to 11-on-11 play for the last two segments that weren’t special teams.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Leonard to Harding for a touchdown. The senior receiver (with two seasons of eligibility remaining) really had a fantastic day and this might have been his best catch, getting inside leverage and making a diving catch on a bullet pass.

- Leonard then threw a swing pass to Waters, who could’ve walked into the end zone.

(couldn’t tell which defender was lost, but this was a blown assignment)

- Moore took over at QB and got flushed from the pocket by an unblocked Heyward, so Moore threw the ball away.

Johns ran halfway across the field to point out something to Moore and go over things with him – seemed like a good teaching moment.

- Aaron Hall had a sack – I had this as the only sack of the day.

- That coaching moment with Moore and Johns seemed to work, as Moore threw two touchdowns later in this period.

The first was to Bowen-Sims, who was wide open in the back corner of the end zone. I’ve got to think, given this was a snap from inside the 10, there was a pick or rub route here.

The second was an impressive throw to tight end Nicky Dalmolin, who ran a shallow out-route and was available for Moore’s bullet pass that was thrown on the run.

- The last period was more late-game situational stuff, with the offense having less than 10 seconds left and starting around midfield.

The defense didn’t give up a touchdown until the sixth or seventh possession of this situation, and the starting spot kept moving forward – the first touchdown was a fantastic throw and catch from Leonard to Bowen-Sims, covering about 20 yards.

Diamont had two catches from Moore to end the practice, and the first was more impressive than the second, which was a touchdown.

The QB-turned-slot receiver fought through pass interference (as called by referees) for a great catch while falling along the sideline. The touchdown came next, I think it was on a slant.