Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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42 PRESEASON 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED progress. None of them had Pro Foot- ball Focus (PFF) pass-blocking grades above 60. Duke's run-blocking is similarly troublesome. The offensive line ranked 114th in opportunity rate, which measures the percentage of car- ries that created four yards of avail- able space for running backs. Fifth- year senior center Jack Wohlabaugh had a 67.9 overall PFF grade, the high- est of any returning starter. He was an honorable mention All-ACC selection. "I'm excited about our offense," Cutcliffe explained. "It all starts up front. I think we have a very competi- tive circumstance up front. We have some good players, we have some depth. I'm anxious to see just how good that front can be. "… We've just got to make sure we get this quarterback thing right. That's going to be competitive. … There's no news there other than they all need a lot of work. I think we're going to have an exciting offense." Duke's offense doesn't need to be a machine that churns out five touch- downs per game. It just needs to keep pace and support a defense with a few playmakers that could be one of the ACC's better units. An oft-tired Blue Devils defense was 42nd in yards per play, 20th in sack rate and 24th in passing yards allowed. Seven of the 2019 starters are back. "Defense should be the cornerstone for this team," McLawhorn said. The Blue Devils' edge rush trio could rival anyone else's in the con- ference. All three members — redshirt junior Chris Rumph II, and seniors Victor Dimukeje and Drew Jordan — h a d d o u b l e - digit quarterback hurries, per PFF. Rumph, though, is the unheralded star. No Football Bowl Subdivision player had a better pass-rush win rate than his 30.8 percent mark. PFF credited him with 48 pressures in 198 pass-rush snaps. He had a 93.7 overall grade, a 92.7 pass-rush grade and 13.5 tackles for loss. "Chris Rumph has first-round draft ability," Cutcliffe said in July. "If he stays healthy, that's what I expect to happen. He's got to go earn it and he knows that. "You should see Chris now — oh my God. He had a personal coach at home and he gained almost 20 pounds of muscle. That guy can fly. He can really, really run." Duke's secondary can be a strong point, too. All four starters return, and there's some clear depth as well. Se- nior safety Michael Carter can play either spot and is an All-ACC cali- ber player. He allowed an 81.4 NFL passer rating with eight passes broken up when targeted. Opposing receiv- ers caught only 41.7 percent of the passes thrown at redshirt junior cor- nerback Josh Blackwell; none were touchdowns. Michigan transfer J'Marick Woods, a redshirt junior who would have headlined many Duke classes as a re- cruit, is likely a backup. There's also no clear starting job for fifth-year se- nior cornerback Mark Gilbert, a for- mer All-ACC player who missed all of 2019 and eight games in 2018 due to injury. He is a full participant in training camp. Despite boasting two established corners, Duke would be hard-pressed not to find some role for Gilbert. In his last full season, he had six intercep- tions and an ACC-best 21 passes de- fended. The latter set a single-season school record. "No one really knew what to expect leading into camp, and reports out of camp are that he is showing flashes of his old self, which was All-ACC and All-American before the injury," McLawhorn said. "His return will be a huge lift for an already strong sec- ondary if he can stay healthy." On special teams, Duke is break- ing in a new punter and kicker, but brings back all- c o n f e re n c e re d - shirt junior return specialist Damond Philyaw-Johnson. He averaged 32.3 yards on kick re- turns and scored two touchdowns. Duke players returned to campus July 13 to begin workouts. COVID-19 testing numbers have not been re- leased for the football team itself. Duke administered 700 tests to ath- letes in the first three weeks of July, with nine positives. Cutcliffe said football had some positives. Two players have opted out of the season. One of them, Ben Wyatt, was the team's primary long snapper the last three years. ✦ GAME PREVIEW: DUKE Quarterback Chase Brice, who threw for 1,023 yards and nine touchdowns as a backup to Trevor Lawrence at Clemson, was brought in by the Blue Devils as a graduate transfer to give their offense a much needed shot in the arm. PHOTO COURTESY DUKE ATHLETICS 2020 DUKE SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Time (ET) Sept. 12 at Notre Dame (NBC) TBA Sept. 19 Boston College TBA Oct. 3 Virginia Tech TBA Oct. 10 at Syracuse TBA Oct. 17 at NC State TBA Oct. 31 Charlotte TBA Nov. 7 North Carolina TBA Nov. 14 at Virginia TBA Nov. 21 Wake Forest TBA Nov. 28 at Georgia Tech TBA Dec. 5 Florida State TBA 2020 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Time (ET) Sept. 12 Duke (NBC) TBA Sept. 19 South Florida (not official yet) TBA Sept. 26 vs. Wake Forest* TBA Oct. 10 Florida State TBA Oct. 17 Louisville TBA Oct. 24 at Pittsburgh TBA Oct. 31 at Georgia Tech TBA Nov. 7 Clemson TBA Nov. 14 at Boston College TBA Nov. 27 at North Carolina TBA Dec. 5 Syracuse TBA * at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. "They're embarrassed by how they played last year." DEVILSILLUSTRATED.COM PUBLISHER BRIAN MCLAWHORN ON THE DUKE OFFENSE'S 2019 SEASON