There’s a reason that most teams use only one quarterback for the majority of game situations. But during a losing streak last year, head coach David Cutcliffe implemented a system in which two quarterbacks—starter Sean Renfree and his backup Brandon Connette—both saw significant snaps in the offense. While that strategy occasionally backfired on Cutcliffe, he and his quarterbacks have expressed renewed confidence in their continued plans to share the load at quarterback.
Last year, Connette was utilized primarily in the red zone, frequently as a rushing option rather than a passer. The change in signal callers mid-series might seem to cause problems for the momentum of both quarterbacks, but Renfree allayed concerns that being pulled in and out of the game creates issues for him.
“I don’t think [the rotation takes me out of a rhythm],” Renfree said. “It depends how long I’m sitting out there for. For the most part, I’m in and out pretty quick. I think Coach [Cutcliffe] does a good job managing that.”
Renfree entered last season as the starting quarterback and showed flashes of what made him a sought-after high school recruit. He opened with two 350-yard passing performances, and finished the year ranked third in the conference in passing yards. He ranked just sixth in touchdowns, though, due in large part to Duke’s commitment to running the ball in the red zone.
It was this commitment that led Cutcliffe to use Connette more frequently.
Despite Renfree’s hot start, he did endure a brutal three-game stretch in the middle of the season against three quality opponents: Maryland, Miami and Virginia Tech. During that stretch he completed less than 50 percent of his passes and threw 8 interceptions, and Renfree’s struggles led to increased opportunities for the freshman Connette to take over the offense in key situations. After averaging 4.75 carries and one pass attempt per game in the first four contests of the season, Connette averaged over eight rushes and over two pass attempts per game over the final seven games.
By the end of the year, Connette had registered eight rushing scores to augment Renfree’s 14 passing touchdowns.
This year, Blue Devil fans can expect to see even more of Connette in the red zone. While Connette struggled getting the ball to his talented wideouts Conner Vernon and Donovan Varner, he did show some very positive signs last season, including a 10-play touchdown drive against Virginia when Renfree missed a series due to injury. Connette also hopes to expand beyond his role as a running option, and is looking forward to the opportunity to improve as a passer this season.
“My packages have expanded,” Connette said. “I’m working on some more passing plays. We don’t want the defense to be able to key on me running the ball.”
Duke fans will hope that Connette takes strides forward and is able to get the ball into his playmakers’ hands in the red zone. After proving last year that he can run the ball effectively, he will look to show defenses that he is truly a dual-threat quarterback this season.
However, there is reason to question the team’s decision to take the ball out of Renfree’s hands at critical times. Duke’s 51-percent red zone conversion rate was just tenth-best in the ACC, and indeed it is difficult to score when the ACC’s most dangerous receiving duo is not playing a large part. Connette attempted only 22 passes last season and did not complete any touchdown passes.
History is not on the Blue Devils’ side either. It is very hard to find a productive two-quarterback system in college football. The two successful instances in recent memory are senior Chris Leak and freshman Tim Tebow at Florida and senior Todd Boeckman and freshman Terrelle Pryor at Ohio State. In each of these cases, though, the younger player was a five-star recruit with tremendous upside. Their coaches simply could not justify keeping them on the bench, and while Connette has shown potential, he is not yet in the same conversation as Tebow and Pryor.
Even at Duke, a job-sharing arrangement between juniors Zack Asack and Thaddeus Lewis proved ineffective. Once handed the reins full-time, Lewis went on to the best year of his career.
Still, Cutcliffe has always been a staunch believer in the value of a strong rushing attack, and Connette provides that.
“One thing we’ll try to do physically [in the red zone] is to run the football,” Renfree said. “If you can physically move people and run the football, you can start to play action. I’m sure we’ll use Brandon in different ways.”
Improvement from Connette as a passer could give opponents matchup and preparation difficulties, giving Duke a dangerous multifaceted attack at the quarterback position.
Cutcliffe and his two pupils believe that the system will work, and the Blue Devils’ offensive performance will depend on them defying the odds.
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