Football Player of the Week: Week 8

Jeremy Cash 

Statline: Seven solo tackles, five assisted tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.

The good: The safety from Miami, Fla., built upon his already great senior season with another stellar performance last night in Duke's controversial 30-27 loss to the Hurricanes. Playing against his hometown team, Cash set an aggressive tone for the defense early in the game. On Miami's first drive of the game, Cash introduced himself to running back Mark Walton when the safety read an option run to perfection and bolted out of nowhere to ram Walton back for a seven-yard loss. That play would serve as an indicator of how the rest of Cash’s night would go, as he proved to be a load for even Miami's athletic roster to handle. If Cash continues to lead the defense the way he has so far this season, Duke is more than capable of winning their upcoming games against North Carolina and Pittsburgh. 

The bad: Although Cash is undoubtedly one of, if not the best, strike safeties in college football, the senior’s coverage game still needs improvement. Against Miami's speedy receivers, Cash was exposed on a few plays. The Hurricanes’ redshirt freshman quarterback Malik Rosier—who made his first career start after an injury to Brad Kaaya—completed several passes over the middle that led to big plays, causing trouble for the Duke defense. Even though the safety is a near lock to be an early-round NFL draft pick, he will need to improve upon this aspect of his game if he plans to become a consistent starter on Sundays.

Bottom line: Cash's standout performance was no surprise as the safety has been the team's best defender all season long. The redshirt senior continues to show how badly he wants his final year as a Blue Devil to be a memorable one. Despite playing in a game filled with much uncertainty and controversy, Cash's standout performance should not be forgotten. 

Honorable Mention: Quarterback Thomas Sirk quietly had a decent outing versus the Hurricanes. Often criticized for not taking enough chances downfield with the ball, the junior notched a career high in attempts last night as he threw the ball 52 times, completing 31 of those passes. Although Sirk often threw to the flat or his check-down option, the Glen St. Mary, Fla., native answered the bell when the Blue Devils needed him most. On Duke’s last drive of the game, Sirk led the offense 80 yards down the field in less than two minutes. Had it not been for the controversial kickoff return, Sirk's dramatic rushing touchdown with six seconds left on the clock would have been his second straight game-winning run. Sirk finished the game with 258 passing yards, 51 rushing yards and two total touchdowns.