A retooled Wallace Wade Stadium was not the only unfamiliar part of Duke’s scrimmage Saturday afternoon.
A flurry of young, new faces took the field in place of the veteran players fans have been used to seeing during the past four years. Gone are players such as Anthony Boone, Jamison Crowder, Issac Blakeney, Laken Tomlinson and David Helton, who were vital to turning around a program that had historically ranked near the bottom of the college football world. In their places are fresh, talented players like T.J. Rahming, Keyston Fuller, Nicodem Pierre and Chris Taylor—players who have yet to play a game in a Blue Devil uniform.
The group of incoming true freshmen and redshirt freshmen have big shoes to fill with the departure of All-ACC players such as Crowder and Tomlinson, but there is confidence that gains on the recruiting trail in the last two years will bring even better talent to Durham. The last two recruiting classes were undoubtedly head coach David Cutcliffe’s best at Duke. The Blue Devils received their first-ever ESPN 300 commit when Trevon Lee committed to the program in 2014, and then received a number of high-profile commitments in 2015 to give Duke a top-50 recruiting class, according to ESPN.
Cutcliffe is finally beginning to see some of the talent his coaching staff has reeled in during the past years in action. So far, the young players are living up to the hype, with some challenging established veterans for first-team reps as the team prepares for its Sept. 3 opener at Tulane.
The versatility and athleticism of the young players has stood out in the past few weeks. Pierre—who was a four-star recruit at quarterback back in 2014, shined in Saturday’s scrimmage—bulldozing his way through defenders for 31 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. The Miami native is poised to make an impact if injuries to backfield regulars Shaun Wilson and Joseph Ajeigbe persist.
Pierre is not the only new face with the versatility to play multiple positions. Fuller, a true freshman, was slated to play defensive back at Duke, but Cutcliffe is now utilizing his services on the other side of the line of scrimmage as a wide receiver. He showcased his speed Saturday when he hauled in a 68-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Quentin Harris late in the scrimmage, on a day when the first-team wide receivers struggled with route running and drops.
Although Cutcliffe is still trying to figure out where Fuller will play, his speed and talent will make him a threat anywhere on the field.
“Fuller played offense in high school,” Cutcliffe said. “After seeing him and giving him a real opportunity at corner, I wanted to take a look at him at wide receiver. He has really got great top-end speed.”
One of Fuller’s classmates and fellow top recruits, Rahming, saw first-team reps throughout the scrimmage at wide receiver and was targeted on a number of plays. The Powder Springs, Ga., native was a threat wherever he lined up on the field in high school and had an impressive performance in the U.S. Army All-America game in January. Listed at 5-foot-10 and 165 pounds, Rahming is undersized—like Crowder—but his toughness has put him in a position to bypass a redshirt year and make an immediate impact for the Blue Devils.
On one play Saturday, Rahming was running a deep route down the right sideline and hauled in a pass, only to have the ball jarred loose after a huge hit from safety Phillip Carter. As everyone on the sideline held their breath, the freshman popped back up and never had to leave the game.
“No matter his size, he’s going to keep coming back up at you,” redshirt senior safety Jeremy Cash said. “And you see right after he took that big hit, he was right back in the game. He didn’t ask to come out for a sub or anything.”
With a new stadium and plenty of new talent, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic in Durham this fall. The team has plenty of spots to fill, but it also has an arsenal of athleticism with the some of the nation’s former top recruits ready to play under the lights of Wallace Wade Stadium this fall.
“It felt good to be in here to say the least. It was a great experience to come back and see the new revamped Wallace Wade Stadium,” Cash said. “I definitely think that we have a newer revamped team as well, so it’s only right that we come back into the setting.”
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.