Outside of a few positions on both sides of the line of scrimmage, defined starters are not yet determined with Duke less than three weeks away from its first regular season game of the new football season.
The Blue Devils held their first scrimmage of the preseason Saturday night at Wallace Wade Stadium and coach David Cutcliffe used it to mix and match position groups, signaling that his two-deep depth chart remains in flux with the season-opener at Charlotte set for Sept. 3.
“We purposefully worked a lot of people,” Cutcliffe said. “The only way you can get true evaluations are those very things. You are mixing what’s good against good or best against best. A guy may look good against a lower level offensive player and then you put him against the best.”
Here are observations after watching the Blue Devils complete their 85-play scrimmage after dodging thunderstorms and experiencing some delays:
Ball security concerns
The point has been made over and over, but after Duke turned the ball over 39 times in 11 games last season, ball security is a high priority.
The good news from Saturday night is the offense did not turn the ball over. The bad news is three players fumbled and the defense failed to secure any of them.
Cutcliffe considered that a negative from both points of view.
“Taking the ball away on defense and taking care of it on offense is a huge emphasis for our team — for obvious reasons,” Cutcliffe said.
Reserve running back Jordan Waters fumbled twice while Eli Pancol, a projected starter at wide receiver, lost the ball after catching a pass over the middle and taking a solid hit.
Penalty discipline lacking
The other big, looming negative Cutcliffe cited was the 10 penalties that were called. The defense committed six of them while the offense was whistled for four.
“Six on defense that kept drives alive for the offense and four that stopped drives,” Cutcliffe said.
Combined with the ball security concerns, Cutcliffe said those areas “can get you beat early in games,” so it was a big takeaway from the night the staff will continue to address.
“I think we played OK,” senior cornerback Josh Blackwell said of his defense. “Obviously six penalties is something we need to correct. But I think over the next couple of weeks and the week heading into the season we’ll get it corrected and be ready to go.”
Defensive line shuffle
Senior Ben Frye is the only returning starter on the defensive line and he’s moving from defensive tackle to defensive end. Duke scrimmaged Saturday night without sophomore defensive tackle Gary Smith, who had arthroscopic left knee surgery Wednesday and is out indefinitely.
So Duke used several defensive linemen in different groupings throughout the scrimmage. Sophomore Michael Reese, who has impressed early in preseason practices, worked at defensive end opposite Frye with sophomores Christian Rorie and DeWayne Carter at defensive tackle.
Reese recorded one sack in the scrimmage.
Other sophomores getting plenty of playing time along the line were Aenaes Peebles, R.J. Oben, Ahmad Craig and Notre Dame transfer Ja’Mion Franklin. Junior Zamari Ellis, a converted tight end, also worked at defensive end. He recorded a sack Saturday night.
Building offensive line depth
Starting center Jack Wohlabaugh is back after missing last season with a knee injury. He worked with the first team line early in the scrimmage before the coaches shut him down out of caution.
Casey Holman, who has played guard and tackle in his Duke career, worked at center while Wohlbaugh was out. Addison Penn and Kade Parmelly are also working at center.
“That offensive line is an interesting opportunity for us to build depth,” Cutcliffe said.
Graham Barton worked at left tackle with John Gelotte at right tackle. Jacob Monk is the first-team right guard with Maurice McIntyre working as the first-team left guard.
Freshman Justin Pickett earned himself repetitions with the second-team offense at left tackle with strong play early in camp.
Some statistics
Freshman quarterback Jordan Moore impressed with his speed and shiftiness while rushing for 128 yards on seven carries. That included a 65-yard run and a 22-yard touchdown run. Duke also used redshirt freshman Luca Diamont and freshman Riley Leonard at quarterback.
While senior Mataeo Durant only took a few carries (four carries, 44 yards) so the staff could keep him fresh, sophomore Jaylen Coleman looked good behind him. Coleman rushed nine times for 80 yards.
Starting quarterback Gunnar Holmberg completed three-of-eight passes for 36 yards while rushing eight times for 15 yards with a touchdown in a goal-line set up.