Duke football hoping for health as regular season nears

With the season opener on the horizon Sept. 3 at Tulane, Saturday’s scrimmage at Wallace Wade Stadium left just as many questions as answers for an injury-riddled Blue Devil squad.

Although healthy players were able to garner some experience from live-game situations for 75 snaps, there were still 10 scholarships players that were held out of action, including running backs Shaun Wilson and Joseph Ajeigbe. With classes officially in session starting Monday, the timetable for injuries to heal is a relatively short one.

“I think Tuesday is one of the days we’re shooting for,” Duke head coach David Cutcliffe said after Saturday’s scrimmage, noting that he would give his team Monday off to get into the swing of classes. “We won’t take the field again with pads on until Tuesday morning. After the next round or two of treatment, I’ll meet with [Duke trainer Hap Zarzour]...and then hopefully we get a couple of those guys back, if not more than a couple.”

The running backs, who were supposed to thrive this year for the Blue Devils, still remain the most questionable position for injuries. Despite the addition of third-string quarterback Nicodem Pierre to the lineup at the running back position, two more players—redshirt junior Zach Boden and redshirt sophomore Quay Mann—took a considerable number of snaps during the scrimmage.

After Shaquille Powell finished first-team duties with 22 yards on five carries, Boden lined up in the backfield beside quarterback Thomas Sirk. In a recent switch from safety to the backfield, Mann moved into the game as the third running back to take reps for the decimated group of Duke rushers.

“We made a move with Quay Mann because we felt like we needed to and he wasn’t in our rotation on defense,” Cutcliffe said. “I have to always prepare for the what-ifs and I can’t assume that [any of the running backs are] going to be well when [they are] not well.”

The ground game once again featured Pierre bulldozing his way into action at the position. The Miami native rushed nine times for 31 yards, including a cutback to the outside for a touchdown to cap a 17-play drive.

“I thought Nico ran the football well,” Cutcliffe said. “He’s a physically tough competitor. He’s still learning and going to continue to learn. If I get him a little bit lower, he’s not going to be fun to tackle.”

Pierre showed off the running ability that helped him elude defenders as one of the nation’s top high school dual-threat quarterbacks during the scrimmage, but he is also adjusting to something that comes a little less naturally—blocking. When the redshirt freshman was expected to block for freshman T.J. Rahming on a wide receiver sweep, Pierre missed his block, resulting in a loss of yardage on the play.

Fortunately for the Blue Devils, Wilson was dressed on the sideline, carrying his helmet and encouraging his teammates as the scrimmage progressed. If his enthusiasm on the sideline is any indication of his readiness to take the field, it is possible that Duke could see the running back corps closer to full strength in the coming days.

“Shaun Wilson is one I’d like to see back out to full speed Tuesday,” Cutcliffe said. “We need all able bodies before we go to New Orleans. We won’t have everybody, but I think we’ll have a good portion of them.”