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Duke Football Notebook
8/11/2011 7:00:00 AM | Football
KELBY BROWN LOOKING GOOD
One of the biggest concerns facing the Duke staff as practice opened was the health of sophomore linebacker Kelby Brown. One of the key players for a rebuilding defense, Brown suffered a knee injury late last season and underwent surgery.
One of the biggest concerns facing the Duke staff as practice opened was the health of sophomore linebacker Kelby Brown. One of the key players for a rebuilding defense, Brown suffered a knee injury late last season and underwent surgery.
So far, Brown's performance has delighted the coaching staff and his teammates.
"He's definitely, definitely looking better than I thought he'd be," senior safety Matt Daniels said. "Having Kelby on the field creates a different feeling for the defense. He sparks the defense."
Brown concedes that he's not yet 100 percent, but insists he will be by the Sept. 3 opener.
"The knee's going great," he said. "I've done all the practice so far. They're limiting my reps, but I'm taking all the starting reps."
Brown isn't feeling any pain in his knee. More importantly, he has surprised himself by how quickly he's gotten over the mental aspects of the injury.
"We weren't really sure about it coming into this week, but now that I've gotten my first two practices in, I feel real good about it. I haven't had to hesitate on things. I feel like if I don't think about it, I'm not going to hesitate."
Head coach David Cutcliffe likes what he's seen so far.
"He's going to be limited when we put pads on," he said Monday after the first workout. "We're not going to take any risks. But after what I saw out there today, I'm pleased we can have him full speed to go for the first game. That's one of the things I wanted to see. I may cut him back some. Kelby is one that if you let him go, he's going to go."
After the second practice, Cutcliffe was even more encouraged.
"Kelby has really surprised me ... well, he hasn't surprised me - that's just Kelby," the Duke coach said. "What's great is that his instincts - his nose for the ball, his reaction time - haven't missed a beat. He was grinning afterwards. I think he celebrated because he felt normal."
A year ago, the most-watched knee on the team belonged to quarterback Sean Renfree, who underwent a very similar surgery after the 2009 season. The junior signal-caller said that he never had any doubt that Brown would make a full recovery.
"I don't need to say much to Kelby," Renfree said. "You need to be a tough guy to come back from an injury like that and nobody is tougher than Kelby. I know him and he'll come into the season like nothing happened."
KEEPING COOL IN AUGUST
Cutcliffe was delighted by the new indoor practice facility that went up over the spring and summer alongside the outdoor practice field. Workmen were still putting the finishing touches on the facility as practice opened, but the new field was available for use.
"When we came here, there was no [practice] field longer than 70 yards," the Duke coach said. "We now have two, side by side, 120-yard football fields ... one of them happens to be indoors. So we're not worried about sudden thunderstorms."
Actually, the indoor facility will do far more than a protection against lightning and a sudden downpour.
"We're also not worried about the heat," Cutcliffe said. "We did this at Ole Miss and I was passionate about getting this built. In the South, inclement weather is a sudden thunderstorm, but even more important than that is this heat. My car, last Friday, said 109 degrees. We're not going to put a football team out here during that. Cold weather is uncomfortable to play in, but it won't kill you. Hot weather will kill you. It means everything to us."
The air conditioning in the new building was working perfectly Monday. In fact, with the side doors open, the cold air streaming from inside made the near side of the outdoor field comfortable, despite temperatures well over 90 degrees.
"We're air conditioning Durham," Cutcliffe quipped. "You're welcome."
AT THE CENTER OF THINGS
Brian Moore is a veteran with 24 career starts on the offensive line.
But Moore is also something of a rookie this fall, sliding over to the center spot after playing offensive guard in his first two seasons.
He's replacing Bryan Morgan, who started every game at center in the Cutcliffe era. Although Moore worked in practice as a backup center last year, he's only gotten two snaps at the position in game situations (both late in the Alabama loss).
"There's obviously snapping the ball that you don't have to do at guard," he said. "There are different assignments, but I think the best thing our coaches do is make each player have such a great understanding of the entire system. As a guard, you're relying on tackles and centers. That transition to center - having to know what the center was doing while playing guard - just really made that easy."
Although Duke runs a lot of shotgun formations that require a long snap, Moore isn't worried about requirements of the job.
"It's something we practice every day pre-practice," he said. "Everyone wants to talk about shotgun snaps being difficult, but even under center too, you've still got to get right. I've gotten with Sean [Renfree] and we feel pretty comfortable, but it's something we continue to work on every day."
Moore suggested that this will be the strongest offensive line he's been a part of at Duke. He was asked what makes him think that?
"Just across the board," he said. "It could happen, but this is the first year that a redshirt freshman won't be starting on the line. In terms of experience, size - we've got some big guys up there. If you look at our weight, it's the highest total since I've been there."
Based on listed weights, Duke's starting offensive line averages 290.0 pounds a man ... up from 282.0 per man last year. And that's if redshirt freshmen Laken Tomlinson (310 pounds) or Tacoby Cofield (300 pounds) don't crack the starting five.
The offensive line does face one major test this season. Although Duke has been an excellent pass-protection unit over the last two seasons, the line's run blocking has left something to be desired.
"That's the one thing the whole line is excited about," Moore said. "We take pride in being a great passing team and understanding how to protect the quarterback. I think everyone's excited to get the pads on and go out there and run the ball, knocking some people around. I think running the ball is more of a mentality - obviously, you've got to be a big strong guy - but there's something about just lining up across from someone and it's one-on-one.
"Developing that mentality is something we've been working on."
AN UNSUNG SPECIAL TEAMS HERO
Cutcliffe was asked about his two proven kickers - All-America placekicker Will Snyderwine and returning starting punter Alex King, who might be challenged in preseason by freshman Will Monday, who was rated the No. 1 punting prospect in the nation by one recruiting service.
But the Duke coach used the opportunity to praise an oft-overlooked member of Duke's special teams - long snapper Jackson Anderson.
"He's an unsung hero," Cutcliffe said. "Nobody has an all-conference snapper, but he is one. Any coach would tell you that's a position worthy of selection an all-conference player."
Anderson is 6-4, 260-pound junior from Frisco, Texas. He's handled the job for the last two years - 228 snaps without a bad one.
Duke did have a fumbled punt last year at Wake Forest, but that wasn't Anderson's fault. In fact, the play led to Alex King's insertion at punter - partially because of his excellent hands. A former walk-on who played high school quarterback (and some scout team QB in his earlier days at Duke), King is slated to take over the holding chores of Snyderwine's placekicks.
"He has great hands - that's one of the things people forget is important for a punter," Cutcliffe said. "Alex gives us a lot of options - he can throw the football and he can run the football. He's doing a great job as a holder."
CUTCLIFFE'S ARMY
One of the themes for this year's team is the improved depth that Duke will have this season.
On the first day of practice, Cutcliffe told his team that while they once had a platoon, now they have an army.
"I said that for a reason," he explained to reporters. "I was trying to make our players feel good about that. They should. We have competition at every position. We have players who can step up if need be. There's a lot of difference in what we had in 2008 and what we have to start 2011."
Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles illustrated the difference that kind of depth will make.
"Charlie Hatcher can compete with anybody in the ACC," he said of Duke's senior nose tackle. "But he can't do that if he has to play 65 snaps a game. He can be great for 45 plays a game."
Knowles is hoping that newcomers such as redshirt freshmen Jamal Bruce and/or Steve Ingram can take some of the burden off Hatcher.
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