“It’s a good day for Duke football.”
As the team begins its spring workouts today, that greeting for all phone calls to the football office this off-season will be resonating across the practice field.
Although many of the 15 returning starters will sit out the spring workouts because of off-season surgeries, the mood around the program is optimistic as head coach Ted Roof enters his second full season at the helm.
“I think we’ve had an excellent off-season,” Roof said. “The consistent high level of intensity has had a major presence within the weight room, and that is a credit to our strength and conditioning staff. We’ve made some great strides in the weight room, and now we need to take those gains and translate them to the practice field.”
The two new coaches the Blue Devils hired mark the most notable difference entering the spring.
Bill O’Brien, the former running backs coach at Maryland, will replace Marty Galbraith as offensive coordinator. O’Brien served as the offensive coordinator at Georgia Tech for two years. Under his direction in 2001, the Yellow Jackets had the third-highest scoring offense and top-ranked passing offense in the ACC.
“Bill O’Brien brings a tremendous commitment to preparation,” Roof said. “I certainly have a strong sense of familiarity with him, having worked with him for four years.”
Roof and O’Brien, along with fellow Duke coaches David Kelly and Glenn Spencer, all worked together on the Georgia Tech staff.
The other new face is that of John Strollo, who was named an assistant coach Feb. 10. He takes over for Tom Knotts, who resigned in mid-January.
Strollo comes to Durham after leaving his position as offensive line coach at the University of Maine.
“He has a very broad knowledge base and he’s been successful wherever he’s been as far as moving the ball,” Roof said. “He’s been an excellent technician, and he has some ties on some recruiting areas we’re trying to break in.”
More than 16 players underwent off-season surgery and will be absent from the 15 spring workouts over the next three weeks. As a result, Roof said the team’s focus will be identifying the strengths and weaknesses of many of Duke’s seldom-used and redshirt players from last season.
Because injuries plagued the Blue Devils so much a year ago, many of Duke’s younger players were asked to play positions to which they were not accustomed.
In addition, former linebacker Malcolm Ruff will switch sides of the ball and play fullback, a position he played in high school and as a freshman.
“We want just to make sure that we’re playing to our strengths and focusing on the preparation to make sure we’re prepared to the nth detail,” Roof said.
A major priority in the upcoming season will be executing under the pressure of close games.
“The teams that win their close games are happy and they’re playing more football,” he said. “The teams that lose their close games aren’t.”
Although the Blue Devils’ recruiting class will not arrive until the summer, standout Vince Oghobaase, who graduated from high school early and enrolled at Duke in January, will be participating in the practices. The freshman will bolster a defensive line that returns three key starters from a year ago, and which will be aided by the healthy return of fifth-year senior Phillip Alexander, who missed nine games in 2004 with a broken leg.
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