With Duke football season just around the corner, head coach David Cutcliffe and his staff have to be happy with the way their 2013 recruiting class is shaping up.
The Blue Devils successful haul began on March 17, when Quay Chambers, a 6-foot-4 athlete, was the first member of the 2013 recruiting class to commit to Duke. Shortly after that, Austin Davis (OL), Evrett Edwards (DB), Jake Kite (S), DeQuavais Mann (CB) and Breon Borders (DB) also gave their pledges to Duke this spring.
Davis and Mann are considered high-end three-star prospects by rivals.com.
For the time being, Edwards is rivals.com's 48th-ranked cornerback, but Blue Devil fans can most likely expect Edwards to rise significantly in the next set of rankings given his impressive showings at camps and combines this summer. This past week Edwards tweeted, “#NickSaben just told me I’m one of the best CB he’s ever seen.”
With defensive backs like Edwards, Kite, Mann and Borders on board, it is clear that the Duke coaching staff has made it a point of emphasis to recruit talented and versatile defensive backs to fit the Blue Devil's 4-2-5 defensive scheme.
In mid-June, Cutcliffe received verbal commitments from Johnell Barnes (WR) and Darren Andrews (WR).
At just 5-foot-11 160-pounds, Barnes plays both cornerback and wide receiver. With a 40-yard dash time of 4.45 seconds according to scout.com, Barnes' terrific speed and should allow him to excel in Durham, regardless of what side of the ball he plays on.
Hailing from La Puente, California, Andrews is scout.com's No. 100 receiver in the class of 2013.
Turning the attention to the trenches, in June the Blue Devil coaches also scored commitments from Mike Ramsay, Sterling Korona, and Gabe Brandner.
Ramsay is a 6-foot-3 260-pound defensive tackle from Marietta, Georgia who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.79 seconds, according to scout.com.
Korona, a 6-foot-8 255-pound offensive tackle, gave his pledge to the Blue Devils over Tulsa, Washington State, Kansas, and schools in his home state of Texas-- Houston and Southern Methodist.
Standing at 6-foot-6 and weighing about 250 pounds, Brandner, a Columbia, South Carolina native, reportedly ran the 40-yard dash in 4.9 seconds, according to 247sports.com. Clemson, Maryland and Air Force, were also recruiting Brander before he committed to the Blue Devils.
More recently, Cutcliffe and his staff have picked up two verbal commitments from Florida quarterbacks Tyler Douglas and Parker Boehme.
Of the two, Boehme is the higher rated recruit. The 6-foot-2 Jacksonville product is known as a dual-threat quarterback, who will likely need to improve as a pure passer before making a splash at the next level. Central Florida, South Florida and Iowa State where some of the other schools that offered Boehme before he committed to Duke. Boehme is a three star quarterback according to scout.com.
Douglas, meanwhile, held offers from Purdue, Boston College and Iowa State when he committed to Duke.
The recruiting success is not limited to the class of 2013 either. Duke has already received their first commitment in the class of 2014-- Zavier Carmichael, a 6-foot-1 208 pound outside linebacker from Mobile, Alabama.
The commitments from 2013 recruits will not be binding until National Signing Day, which is set for February 6, 2013.
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