David Cutcliffe is known for developing quarterbacks and he has to be excited about his latest prized recruit.
Four-star quarterback Chazz Surratt announced his verbal commitment to Duke Tuesday afternoon, at in a ceremony at East Lincoln High School. 247Sports ranks Surratt as the 12th-best dual threat quarterback in the nation and the 329th player in the country and Scout.com ranks him as the 19th-best quarterback in the nation.
Surratt had been eyeing the Blue Devils for a while, after taking official visits to Durham and Chapel Hill to visit North Carolina. He was recently divided between the Tobacco Road rivals, but was thought to be no longer considering North Carolina after three-star quarterback Logan Byrd committed to head coach Larry Fedora April 8. Surratt also had offers from Vanderbilt and Clemson, among others.
The Denver, N.C., native posted eye-opening statistics during his junior season last fall, throwing for 3,079 passing yards and 38 touchdowns and rushing for 795 yards and 17 touchdowns, according to 247Sports.com.
Surratt is the first quarterback in Duke's 2016 class, but he joins a list of talented quarterbacks who have decided to take their talents to Durham during the Cutcliffe era. Current NFL quarterback Sean Renfree was a highly-touted recruit under center back in 2008 and four-star prospect Nico Pierre signed with the Blue Devils in 2014. Pierre redshirted last season and has yet to see game action.
With Surratt's commitment, Duke's 2016 recruiting is now ranked ninth nationally and fourth in the ACC. He joins four-star players athlete Scott Bracey and tight end Mark Birmingham as the top players in the class.
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