Duke held its first practice of the 2013 season Monday night as training camp officially began. With the Blue Devils seeking to make back-to-back bowl games for the first time in program history, here are three position battles to watch throughout August camp.
1. Running back—The Blue Devils will return each of their three top rushers from last season in senior Juwan Thompson, redshirt junior Josh Snead and sophomore Jela Duncan, each of whom carried the ball more than 75 times last season. Duncan was the team's leading rusher as a true freshman, gaining 553 yards and averaging 5.1 yards per carry. But Duke's depth chart at running back is identical to what it was heading into last season, with Thompson at the top followed by Snead and Duncan. Throw in the fact that Shaquille Powell—who only received 28 carries during his freshman campaign—appears ready to make the leap as a sophomore, and it appears Duke has a lot of carries to try and split between four talented runners. The coaching staff has remained adamant that all four backs will receive carries throughout the season and that the team will ride the hot hand, but it will be interesting to see who can position themselves for a bigger role in next year's offense.
2. Linebacker—Duke lost its starting middle linebacker when Austin Gamble used up his football eligibility at the end of last season, but gained one right back when Kelby Brown rejoined the team after missing all of 2012 recovering from an injured ACL. David Helton and C.J. France split time starting at weakside linebacker last season, but France outperformed Helton and ultimately came away with the job. Helton has since moved back over to the strongside, where he is listed as Brown's backup to start the season. France's backup will be Brown's younger brother, Kyler, who also demonstrated improvement throughout last season. It appears that Duke could use as many as five linebackers in its defensive rotation this season, but training camp could be a fierce battle for playing time among a number of experienced players.
3. Cornerback—Preseason All-ACC selection Ross Cockrell has his starting job locked down, but Duke's other cornerback spot could be one of the team's most hotly contested positions. Fifth-year senior Garett Patterson is currently slated to be the team's starter, but registered just 10 tackles last season and was primarily a special-teamer. Patterson will be pressed for his job by true freshman Evrett Edwards, who was the Blue Devils' most highly-touted recruit in their current rookie class, and redshirt freshman DeVon Edwards. Patterson definitely has the edge on his counterparts in experience, but it will be interesting to see if younger talent prevails by the end of the summer.
In case you missed it, here are three players to keep your eye on during August camp. Check back with The Blue Zone for continued coverage of Duke's training camp.
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