Duke lands California speedster

Head football coach Ted Roof has his first commitment from the previous recruiting weekend.

"I verbally committed to Duke," said Ronnie Drummer, a 5-foot-9, 165-pound running back. He cited academics and coach Roof as major reasons for his commitment.

"There aren't many schools that are academically as great as Duke," the Salinas, Ca., speedster said. "Nobody's really guaranteed to make it to the NFL, and I know that if I graduate from [Duke] I have some pretty good job offers waiting."

Drummer also discussed the recent hiring of assistant coach David Kelly, Stanford's former offensive coordinator.

"He came over to the program because he really believes in coach Roof," Drummer said. "They think they can win."

Drummer rushed for 1,800 yards and 19 touchdowns last year for North Salinas High School. One of the fastest players in the state of California, Drummer placed in the 100-m and 200-m dashes at the state track meet. He reported running a jaw-dropping 4.2 second 40-yard dash at a camp at Florida State, and a 4.34 second 40-yard dash at a Nike camp.

Drummer is the twelfth football commitment in the class of 2004. Drummer, however, has mentioned that he will still take one more official visit.