he football team got a recruiting boost with the commitment of lineman Joe Suder.
The 6-foot-7, 340-pound athlete played both offensive and defensive line for Bishop Manogue High School in Reno, Nev. Suder said Duke coaches have told him that he will play on the defensive line in college.
“He has tremendous size and strength,” Bishop Manogue coach Joe Sellers said. “As he matures into that body he is going to be a really good player.”
Suder is the third defensive lineman and 13th player to commit to Duke from the high school class of 2005. He will help replenish a pass rush that will likely lose several players to graduation after the current season.
Unlike most high-profile prospects, Suder did not attend many team camps and combines this summer, limiting his national attention. Nevertheless, his size, quick feet and strong academic standing attracted many West Coast schools.
Suder chose Duke over Stanford and Washington—both of which had also offered him a scholarship—because of his comfort level with the coaches and his confidence in the program’s future.
“There are a lot of freshmen starting, and it is a young team,” Suder said. “I definitely see us going to a bowl game and becoming a very good team in the next few years.”
Suder recently suffered a season-ending knee injury that required surgery but believes he will be ready to join the Blue Devils after a three- to four-month recovery. Before the operation, Suder and his doctors were not sure of the extent of the injury, which involved his medial collateral ligament and patellar tendon, but Suder said he received optimistic news after the surgery.
Sellers believes Duke’s commitment despite the injury helped his lineman reach his final decision.
“After the injury, the Duke coaches called and said ‘We wanted you before and we still want you,’ and I think that meant a lot to him,” Sellers said.
The Duke coaches recruited Suder for the defensive line where he has more experience, but Sellers said playing on the other side of the ball would be easier on the surgically repaired joint.
“You do not take cut blocks and some of the abuse defenders take,” Sellers said. “He could play either side. We had not played him much on offense until this year.”
Although Suder has verbally committed to Duke, he cannot sign until National Signing Day on Feb. 2, 2005.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.