While Duke quarterback Sean Renfree will handle most of the snaps for the Blue Devils Saturday night against Richmond, his backup Brandon Connette will again play a critical role on offense, primarily as a runner.
Last season, Connette, (6-foot-2, 225 pounds) ran 78 times for 321 yards and eight touchdowns to finish as the team’s second-leading rusher.
Duke coach David Cutcliffe said both quarterbacks will play on Saturday.
Going into Saturday’s opener against Elon, Duke coach David Cutcliffe threatened to run the ball more than the Blue Devils did in any game last season. He was true to his word, calling 45 runs and using five different backs.
With Desmond Scott leading the way in a 41-27 win over Elon, the Blue Devils ran for 192 yards and three touchdowns, one each for Scott, Jay Hollingsworth and true freshman Josh Snead.
“That’s a pretty decent game, but we can do much better than what we did,” said Scott, a sophomore from Durham.
DURHAM – Sophomore tailback Desmond Scott, who led Duke’s rushers with 262 yards last season, has earned the starting nod against Elon on Saturday because “he’s a player that’s good in every phase,’’ coach David Cutcliffe said.
“Whether that’s running screens, whether he’s a route runner or running the football – he’s got a nice knack of running the football,’’ Cutcliffe added Tuesday. “Maybe he’s not the fastest one, but he certainly finds a way to find seams and cracks, and he’s been the most consistent guy at gaining 4 and 5 yards, minimum, per carry. … And he’s taken care of the ball.”
DURHAM - Highly ranked and widely recruited freshman running back Desmond Scott will make his first appearance for Duke on Saturday against N.C. Central.
Scott, a Durham Hillside High graduate, impressed the Blue Devils coaching staff as a third-team practice player and has now moved into the second-team rotation. Duke coach David Cutcliffe said Scott had made major improvements since training camp and earned the playing time.
The announcement came during a news conference looking ahead to Saturday's game, which is being billed as the "Bull City Gridiron Classic."
Duke’s incoming class should help the Blue Devils get quicker in a hurry.
The 40 times submitted by players or from various combines aren’t a very good way to compare speed, but the incoming group seems to have several players in the skilled positions with enough speed to make the Blue Devils quicker.
Desmond Scott, one of the top running backs in the state, showed some flash in Hillside's 35-0 win over Southern Vance in Friday's opener.
The senior Duke recruit had to share the ball, but gave a lot of different looks.
Scott didn't waste time, breaking away for a 19-yard run on the first play from scrimmage.
Then in the second quarter he broke away for an 80-yard touchdown reception from senior quarterback CJ Gattis, breaking a tackle and finding the lane to sprint and score.
Desmond Scott of Durham Hillside is one of the top high school football players in North Carolina.
He received his first college scholarship offers when he was in the ninth grade.
He orginally committed to Rutgers, but now says he will sign with Duke.
Staff writer Javier Serna will be at Scott's 2007 debut tonight against Southern Vance and file a blog report.
Next Tuesday, Javier will have a feature story on Scott as part of the High School Huddle's profiles on the state's top high school football player.
Things that caught my eye at the Spartanfest 08 scrimmage tonight at Smithfield-Selma High School. Host SSS welcomed West Johnston, Fuquay-Varina, Middle Creek, Durham Hillside, Southern Durham and Northern Durham for the event. ...
The host Spartans under the direction of Anthony Barbour forced several turnovers on defense. The secondary notched four interceptions that I saw and had a solid hit to force a fumble as well. North Carolina recruits Justin Dixon and D.J. Bunn spent most of their time on the field on the defensive side of the ball. Dixon, looked more physically imposing than ever at the middle linebacker spot, and Bunn's play at safety highlighted an improved group effort by the SSS DBs.
Dixon, who plays fullback on offense, and Bunn, a wing back, both showed flashes on offense with a pair of solid runs but didn't see much time on that side of the ball.
West Johnston, which debuts under new head coach Bennett Jones next week against Athens Drive, showed some flash on offense. Mallie Umphrey had a nice TD run against Northern Durham.
Durham Hillside looked solid on offense. Duke recruit Desmond Scott lined up both at running back and receiver.
I didn't see enough of Middle Creek, Fuquay-Varina or Northern Durham to make any grand judgements. No slight against them, the scrimmages I was watching just didn't line up where I saw much of those teams.
The team that left the biggest impression on me was a 2007 state semifinalist — the Spartans of Southern Durham. Southern, which fell to eventual state champion Wilmington Hoggard in the eastern 4-A championship last December, just seemed to be playing in a different gear, especially on defensive side. Now Southern's offense looked solid too but the Spartans had great defensive pursuit on nearly every play.
