Duke not only lost to Navy Saturday, but the last-minute defeat also left four more top offensive players with injuries.
With senior wideout Ronnie Elliot-the Blue Devils' second leading receiver-already out with an injury, Duke (1-4, 0-2 in the ACC) could also be without its top three running backs and its top receiver heading into Saturday's matchup at No. 9 Miami.
"It seems like that's how it goes, the injuries can't be spread out over different positions," head coach Ted Roof said. "When the injury-bug bites, it's all at the same spot. But at the same time, that's part of the deal playing running back at this level."
Justin Boyle, Cedric Dargan and Re'quan Boyette-Duke's top three tailbacks-all were injured in the 28-21 loss to the Midshipmen and are listed as either questionable or doubtful for this week's game. In addition, Jomar Wright, who leads the team in receiving yards this season with 155, suffered a severe knee injury and will likely miss the remainder of his sophomore season.
Boyle leads the Blue Devils with five touchdowns and 55.4 yards per game on the ground. Dargan led the 2004 Duke team with 462 yards and Boyette has seen action in all five games as a true-freshman.
The injuries come at an inopportune time for Duke, with games against the Hurricanes, No. 4 Florida State and No. 24 Georgia Tech next on the schedule.
Sophomore receiver/running back Ronnie Drummer, who generally handles kickoff return duties, will play more snaps in the backfield Saturday, and true-freshman Clifford Harris will get some carries as well, Roof said.
"Everybody has to pick up a little slack in the rope," Roof said. "With our situation this week [Drummer] is going to have to play running back."
With Drummer moving away from the receiving corps this weekend, the Blue Devil quarterbacks will be without three of their five favorite targets on the season. Junior Deon Adams, who caught four passes for 48 yards against Navy, and true-freshmen Eron Riley, Ryan Wood and Raphael Chestnut will all be called upon to catch more balls in the coming weeks.
"The freshmen gained some experience last week," Roof said. "I think Eron Riley did a good job, but he'll need to pick up a bigger role."
Wright may prove very difficult for the Blue Devils to replace. Before his injury, the sophomore was averaging 19.4 yards per catch-almost 10 yards more than any other Blue Devil.
"Losing Jomar is huge," safety Brian Greene said. "He's by far our best receiver and it's going to be a tough deal losing him."
Duke currently ranks 112th out of 117 Division I-A teams in total yards and with five of its top offensive players likely now on the sidelines, the team will face an uphill battle trying to score against the three top-25 opponents next on the schedule.
NOTES:
Roof said that he has not chosen a starting quarterback and that Zack Asack and Mike Schneider will compete for the job this week during practice.... Five-star freshman recruit Vince Oghobaase will be out at least one more week.... Boyle, Dargan and Wright have accounted for 8 of Duke's 11 touchdowns in 2005.
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