Redshirt freshman QB Thomas Sirk tore his Achilles tendon, putting his 2013 season in serious doubt. Credit: TAKAAKI IWABU

Duke's quarterback depth took a major hit when redshirt freshman quarterback Thomas Sirk ruptured his right Achilles tendon Wednesday. Sirk underwent surgery and will likely miss the 2013 football season, as recoveries typically take 6-9 months.

The injury also leaves Duke in a bind for the Saturday Spring game, as starter Anthony Boone is the only healthy scholarship quarterback (Brandon Connette and incoming freshman QB Parker Boehme are both recovering from offseason surgeries). Junior Mackenzie Sovereign is listed next on the depth chart.

Kenny Anunike (84), a sixth-year senior, anchors an experienced defensive line. Credit: TAKAAKI IWABU

Continuing the build-up to the April 13th Spring game, here's a Q&A with Duke defensive coordinator Jim Knowles (if you missed it, a Q&A with offensive coordinator Kurt Roper ran earlier in the week here).

One news note: Ross Cockrell, a first-team all-ACC cornerback from last season, is out with an undisclosed minor injury. He will not play in the Spring game, giving even more exposure and experience to an otherwise extremely young secondary. With that, here's Jim.

How has it been going on defense this spring?

Ryan Kelly's triumphant return against Miami was one of the most memorable performances in Duke history. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

When Ryan Kelly returned to the lineup after missing 13 games with a right foot injury, he refused to discuss the specifics of his ailments. This trend continued after the season-ending loss at Louisville, the last time he met with the media.

“I was hurt pretty good,” Kelly said. “I’ll let you know if I want to tell you what happened later on. For now, just know that I was pretty hurt.”

Tuesday, the severity of Kelly’s injury came into better focus. He underwent surgery on his right foot and will be out 12 weeks. It’s his second surgery on that foot in 13 months. The surgery was to repair damage stemming from the Jan. 8 injury against Clemson, the school said in a release.

Kurt Roper instructs the Duke offense with quarterback Anthony Boone nearby. Credit: TAKAAKI IWABU

Duke football has one more week of spring practice before the April 13 spring game in Wallace Wade at 4 p.m. (open to the public, by the way). In anticipation of that event, I chatted briefly with offensive coordinator Kurt Roper about what's been happening with the offense.

What have you guys been doing on the offensive side of the ball this spring?

Mason Plumlee said all year he made the right decision to come back to school. Now, everyone can see that. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

Earlier this week, Mason Plumlee won the Pete Newell award, given annually to the best big man in the country. He was also a consensus second-team All-American Tuesday.

What a difference a year makes.

Last April, Plumlee was deciding between returning to Duke for his senior year or going pro and entering the NBA draft. There was great debate between outsiders about what he should do, and even his high school coach, David Gaines, spoke out in favor of Plumlee leaving.

Seth Curry struggled to find room to get off his shots. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

INDIANAPOLIS—The road ends here for Duke.

"In this situation, you want to play your best basketball game," Ryan Kelly said. "We would have had to play our best basketball game to beat that team."

Duke did not play its best basketball in the season-ending, 85-63 loss. Louisville's game plan was the primary reason for that.

It took 11 minutes and 26 seconds for Seth Curry to attempt his first shot. He only got three in the first half. All were tightly contested. All missed.

“It kind of threw us back at first,” Curry said of the Cardinals defense. “We didn’t know what they were in.”

Rasheed Sulaimon was emotional in the aftermath of Duke's season-ending loss. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

INDIANAPOLIS—For 24 minutes, Duke played Louisville to an even draw. Both teams had elaborate, technical game plans to prevent the other from doing what they do best offensively. Both teams made adjustments, and the score was knotted in a dead heat.

Then everything started to go wrong for Duke, and it spiraled out of control.

The Cardinals took control early the final half in their 85-63 win to earn the last spot in the Final Four. The Blue Devils went more than six minutes without a field goal, and Louisville went on a 20-4 run during that stretch.

“I believed with everything I had that we were going to win the whole thing,” said Mason Plumlee, who finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds. “All it takes is one game and you’re out.”

Louisville coach Rick Pitino told Kevin Ware to stay down after his gruesome compound fracture. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

INDIANAPOLIS—The first half ended with Louisville holding a 35-32 lead on Duke. The game changed irrevocably, though, midway through the period, when Cardinals guard Kevin Ware suffered a compound fracture in his right leg that left his right tibia exposed.

Ware jumped to defend a Tyler Thornton 3-pointer and collapsed in a heap. Lying on his back right in front of the Louisville bench, his right tibia was sticking through his skin. The reaction by his teammates and coaches was immediate.

Mason Plumlee has led Duke to the Elite Eight. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

When: 5:05 p.m.
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis
TV/Radio: CBS/WKIX-102.9 FM

Additional reading

Miles, Mason & Marshall Plumlee maybe the most famous players from Warsaw, Indiana, but they had to leave to flourish

Duke needs Quinn Cook to be sharper than he was against Michigan State

Luke DeCock on Mike Krzyzewski and Rick Pitino's past and the future of the ACC

Speaking of Luke, here's his handy work on previewing today's game

Scouting Louisville (32-5)

RPI: 3

How they got here:Big East champion

Keep an eye on:

Giorgui Dieng

Ryan Kelly and Mason Plumlee were all over the boards in the win against Michigan State. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

INDIANAPOLIS—When the Blue Devils arrived at Lucas Oil Stadium, they were assigned to the same locker room they had used during their 2010 national championship run. The three seniors said the memories came flooding back. The underclassmen, though, said not much reminiscing occurred.

That’s because there was—and still is—work to do.

Here's the game story from Duke's 71-61 win over Michigan State .For more reading, here's a column from Luke DeCock. And here are a few more lingering thoughts before we flip the switch to the Louisville rematch: