Different Perspectives: inside Duke’s fall camp

Fall camp is a different experience for everyone. Different positions have different drills and different schedules. Those in their freshman season of college football have a much different time than those seniors who have suited up for four or five years. Fifth year senior linebacker Kelby Brown and true freshman wide receiver Chris Taylor opened up about their different perspectives of Duke’s fall camp.

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“Camp’s been awesome. This has been my favorite camp so far,” said Brown. “I finally don’t have class, so I can just focus on football.

That’s one thing that Brown and Taylor can agree on: how they like camp.

“It’s been relatively what I expected,” said Taylor. “At the end of the day it’s football. I love the sport, I love playing it, so it’s been a blast for me.”

Their living quarters aren’t exactly one in the same.

“Camp’s been awesome. This has been my favorite camp so far.”-Kelby Brown.”

“I’m living off campus, I have a house to go back to everyday,” said Brown. I live with my brother Kyler and my friend Marcus Aprahamian, he’s an offensive lineman.”

“I had to first move in to a dorm when I first got here, then we had to move into another dorm in the beginning of June and now we had to move out of that dorm to the Hilton and now we have to move out of the Hilton into another dorm for fall,” said Taylor. “It’s a lot of moving.”

Brown remembers those days though.

“Finally I’m in a house where I can stay. I don’t have to move any more,” said Brown.

When it comes to their down time off the field, what they’re up to is also a little different.

“I have a little bit of chill time during the day because during this first week, a lot of guys have class,” said Brown. “I can go back, get a little nap in, eat some extra food.”

Taylor was one of those guys who had class, but that’s over for him, at least for now.

“I finished my last day of class [on Friday], so I don’t have to worry about that, I can just think about football now,” said Taylor.

They both worry about things, but they worry about completely different things. Brown’s main focus is to stay healthy so he can help out the team as much as he possibly can, while Taylor doesn’t want to get caught up in the speed of training camp and mess up in front of the coaches.

As a fifth year senior, Brown has a little more freedom than Taylor. Brown has a car that he drives to and from camp, while Taylor and the majority of the team take a bus back and forth from the Hilton to wherever they’re going to be practicing.

“It’s a unique experience,” said Taylor. “It’s not too bad, but a lot of the upperclassmen say they don’t like it, but I think it’s pretty fun.”

Brown recollects on it differently.

“I do not miss riding the bus one bit.”- Kelby Brown

“I do not miss riding the bus one bit,” said Brown. “The bus was fun at night when someone would get on the mic and DJ or do a stand up routine. It’s a lot better having a car.”

The players have different opinions as to who they feel is the best player on the team. Taylor goes with an obvious choice when it comes to who has been recognized the most in the media: Jamison Crowder.

“That guy is amazing,” said Taylor.

Brown went with a little bit of a different feel.

“I gotta say Jeremy Cash,” said Brown. “He’s just a playmaker and he shows up every day. I love playing with him.”

Two weeks are left in Duke’s fall camp. According to Brown, things are going “smooth” so far.