Nike Pro Combat concept Duke football helmets
Looks like Nike has plans for some alternate Duke Football helmets for the future. We’ve already seen the Duke Basketball team rocking some alternate Nike Hyper Elite Grays, but the football team is not treated like the golden goose that the basketball program is, for obvious reasons. I like the 1st, 2nd, and 4th ones the most personally. The 3rd one isn’t too much of a difference.
There is a lot of excitement around the program after a solid 2012 recruiting class and getting some alternate looks on the field in the way of different offensive combinations is something that Coach Cutcliffe hinted to in his presser before Spring Practice. Getting some different looks on the jerseys of the players would be good for the players and be attractive to recruits. Tell me what you think about these below.
Duke vs UNC Football Game Film From 1941
Duke Football’s losing records over the last 15-20 years has hidden what was once a power program that participated in two Rose Bowls in the 1930s and 1940s and won 6 of the first 10 ACC Football Championships in the 1950s and 1960s. While Duke had success in the 1980s under Steve Spurrier, the glory days of the Iron Dukes were in the 40s, 50s, and 60s.
In 1942, Duke was invited to their second Rose Bowl in Pasadena, but because of security concerns due to World War II, the game was moved to what was known at the time as Durham Stadium. That team, coached by Wallace Wade, secured their place in this game by defeating the Tar Heels 20-0 on November 15th, 1941. The Duke Library Digital Collection has video of that game on their YouTube channel and claims that it was the first game to be shot in color. Really cool video below.
(h/t to @TarheelMonthly)
Donovan Varner Is Duke’s All-Time Leader In Receptions
While the rest of the world including myself have been busy falling all over ourselves to congratulate Coach K on winning the most games in Division 1 Men’s College Basketball, another Duke Athletics representative deserves some adulation and praise as well.
In Duke’s game this past Saturday against the Virginia Cavaliers, senior wide receiver Donovan Varner grabbed seven catches to move him ahead of Clarkston Hines into first place on Duke’s career receptions record.
All-time receptions (Career):
1. Donovan Varner – 194
2. Clarkston Hines – 189
3. Connor Vernon – 187
4. Scottie Montgomery – 171
While Conner Vernon, a year younger than Donovan, is right there with him and will eventually pass him, this is Donovan’s time to receive some congratulations.
I’ll miss watching the 5’9″ 175 pound Varner be the toughest guy on a field full of large human beings and putting his body on the line for his team every single Saturday. There can definitely be a place in the NFL for a guy like Varner and I hope like hell he gets his chance to prove himself.
Congratulations Donovan.
Duke WR Duo Varner and Vernon On Verge of Records
Image Courtesy of GoDuke.com
The Duke wide receiving duo of senior Donovan Varner and junior Conner Vernon have been prolific throughout their football playing careers. Coming out of Miami’s Gulliver Prep School, both were highly recruited and put up solid numbers together. But, nobody could have predicted just how potent the receivers would be once they arrived at Duke.
Going into a homecoming game of sorts as Duke travels to face the Miami Hurricanes tomorrow on Fox Sports South, both are single digits away from surpassing Clarkston Hines’ career catch record of 189.
All-time receptions (Career):
1. Clarkston Hines – 189
2. Donovan Varner – 183
3. Connor Vernon – 179
4. Scottie Montgomery – 171
Depth Chart Updated for FIU
Good news and bad. Looks like the Duke Football team will get Ross Cockrell back and Lee Butler won’t miss anymore game time than he missed against Tulane. Brian Moore continues to be sidelined with a broken arm, hopefully he can make it back after the bye week.
Here’s a link to the game notes: https://www.nmnathletics.com//pdf8/787820.pdf?ATCLID=205303284&SPSID=22672&SPID=1843&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4200
Scroll down to Page 12 to see the Two-Deep. Jordan Dewalt-Ondijo, who showed promise in the offseason will step into Kenny Anunike’s spot at defensive end. Also, Brandon Connette is back on the chart, which could mean he is healthy enough to resume playing. Anthony Boone has stepped up admirably in his absence though and
the second QB spot is listed as “or” so it remains to be seen who will man that backup QB spot.
Maybe the biggest area of interest for Duke fans is the backfield where there are still questions about Desmond Scott and Josh Snead. Snead hasn’t seen the field yet this season, and Scott went down with (in honor of the return of hockey) a “lower body concern” after a fast start against Richmond in the opener. Expect more information today. From the “take it for what it’s worth” department, Dez Scott hinted on Twitter before the Boston College game that he wouldn’t be making the trip with his teammates, and has taken to Twitter again this week letting us know he’ll be in Miami. This could be a positive sign, which is unusual for anything good to come from a football player tweeting about an upcoming trip to Miami.
Preseason Football ACC Roundtable Session
As part of our promise to cover more of Duke’s sports teams from here on out, DHB is venturing out to cover college football (Duke Football specifically.) Bear with me. Sometimes I will look like John Henson did as a freshman, not unlike a deer trying to figure out how to walk for the first time. Other times, I’ll look like Kyrie Irving did. Polished and precise, right out of the gate. If I come off looking more like Kyrie, it’s probably going to be DevilWolf writing. He’s been at this a lot longer than me.
As part of my initiation into covering football for the site, the fine folks of the ACC Blogger Roundtable have invited me to participate in the first installment of the group conversation for 2011-12. Here’s how it works: one site hosts (this week it’s BC Interruption , and provides us with a list of questions. After the answers come back, a roundup is posted by later in the week to get a somewhat accurate snapshot of the conference’s image by people who are obsessed with their school’s athletics like I am. Thanks to Brian Favat for the questions and be sure to check his site tomorrow or Friday for the roundup:
1. Most ACC programs are hitting the snooze button for the first two weeks of the season before hosting four preseason top 25 programs in week 3 — #1 Oklahoma, #18 Ohio State, #23 Auburn and #24 West Virginia. How’s week 3 in the ACC go down? Can the conference win a majority of those four high-profile games on Sept. 17? Read more
Duke Football Friday — Meet The Blue Devils
We all know the Duke Basketball players. They’re on tv more than any other college or professional sports team. Duke Basketball is one of the most recognizable brands in the world and are part of the world’s second best rivalry in sports, according to ESPN. While on their current trip to China, the three basketball games will be shown in as many as 195 countries and could reach over 275 million households. And of course, they have the backing of one of the most interactive fan website of any college sports program, DukeBluePlanet.com.
Duke Football is another story. After suffering through years of mediocrity, and downright pitiful results, it’s easy to see why. But there is a palpable sense of excitement about the program this year. Sure, everybody’s undefeated at this point in the season, but it’s not every season you get the person charged with covering ACC Football for ESPN predicting that Duke will not only improve on last year’s results, but make a bowl game. Read more
Red Eyes, Black Hearts … Can’t Lose
“Well, who do you cheer for during football season?”
And just like that, the conversation ended.
We were having a great time in Washington, DC last summer at this really nice outdoor bar in the courtyard of a downtown hotel. My friends and I were in town for a wedding, and like most conversations at most bars, we all began talking about sports. I ended up with a group from the other half of the wedding party, a nice group of folks with a passion for soccer hailing from Philadelphia and Chicago mainly, and I was holding court defending my beloved Reds from Liverpool against the group who were all Arsenal supporters. “Is soccer your favorite sport?” they asked. “Well, I love soccer, but where I’m from our first love is college sports,” I replied. “Yeah I bet, Tarheel country right?” But even that didn’t ruin the great mood I was in. “Big Duke fan,” I said. “We pretty much hate the Tarheels.” They laughed, and we shared a few jokes at the expense of the evil empire over there in Chapel Hill, and then it happened …
“Well, who do you cheer for during football season?”
“Duke,” I said. I don’t even know how to describe the tone of my response other than to say it was part defiant, part confused, part angry and part defeated. “Hey, I’m going to go catch up with my friends. It was nice meeting you guys.” The conversation was over.
It pretty much ruined my night.
Duke football fans have a reputation of being apathetic, and why wouldn’t we? Our 30,000 seat, outdated stadium is half empty most Saturdays, and our students choose to make a full day out of the pre-game costume party known as “Tailgate” rather than going to the football game itself. This from the same school who can sell out the Greensboro Coliseum for a glorified scrimmage against UNC-Greensboro simply because it’s the only available ticket to most Duke fans who want to see the team play in person. But this is the fatal flaw when pundits and rivals characterize Duke football fans … our perception is based on the empty seats, and not the ones we occupy. Duke football fans aren’t apathetic, or cynical, or fair-weather. We’re as proud, as hopeful, and as loyal of a bunch as you’ll find in all of college football. What brings us out each Saturday? The wins? The atmosphere? Someday, maybe. We come out each Saturday because there is a group of men on the field who believe even more than we do. We love football. We love Duke. And we can’t fathom a world where fans would actually be alright being asked the question “Who do you cheer for during football season?” Read more
My Apology Letter to Duke Football
I’ll admit it. I’m not as big of a Duke Football fan as my partner The DevilWolf is. I’m only slightly ashamed though, as I haven’t cheered for another college football team since I was young and didn’t know any better. I’ve always rooted for Duke, but certainly not as much as I do for the basketball team.
I’m trying to do better. I dragged my wife out to the NCCU game two years ago and sat in the pelting rain on cold metal just to watch Thad Lewis throw the ball all over the field and was giddy with excitement over what Dez Scott could do after watching him run for 100 yards in his first game as a Blue Devil. I watched four games last year, including one at NC State where I was working as an intern for my friend who was a sports reporter for a local news station (that will go unnamed to protect the innocent.) Read more
Football: Work Nearing Completion on Duke Fieldhouse
Duke Sports Information has been updating football fans every Wednesday on the progress of the Duke Multi-Purpose Fieldhouse in the form of pictures since June 15th. This massive improvement to the Duke Football facilities houses a 120-yard playing surface outfitted with artificial turf and the Duke logo in each end zone. Click here to see all 8 photo series as the work has moved forward.
To truly appreciate what this facility means to the future of Duke Football and the level of commitment that the donors and university have for the sport, please read this article about Georgia Tech building something similar. In particular,
Tech and Duke will be the first ACC schools to boast football-specific indoor facilities. Virginia Tech and North Carolina share field houses with other sports. Clemson and Florida State have plans for their own indoor fields. Boston College uses an inflatable bubble. Several SEC schools, including Alabama, Ole Miss and LSU, have full-field indoor facilities. Georgia’s recent expansion of its Butts-Mehre building includes a small area usable for walk-throughs. Read more
