Oct 22, 2011; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach David Cutcliffe watches his team from the sidelines against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons during the first half at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports
Coach Cutliffe and the Duke Blue Devils have put together a strong recruiting class, one that currently ranks 65th in the nation on Rivals.com, but, with National Signing Day right around the corner, there will be plenty of movement amongst the class of ’13 recruits. Even the verbally committed prospects have had a habit of shaking things up in the past, with numerous athletes having last second changes of heart. With Duke losing recruiting coordinator Matt Lubick this week, there is always the chance that they could lose out on both already committed prospects and prospects who were leaning towards picking Durham. They’ve already felt the immediate impact of losing Lubick, as explained by Brandon P. Oliver of ESPN:
"His reach extended as far west as Nevada and California, as he had Duke in play for two OL recruits that had Oregon offers. Duke was the likely destination for recent Oregon commit Elijah George (Las Vegas/Arbor View) until Lubick got to Oregon and made sure that George was offered. He helped the Blue Devils land players from Northern California, Southern California, Las Vegas and Texas."
I’m not into predicting the unpredictable, though. I can’t sit down with all of the guys that have committed to Duke and demand they tell me their NSD plans. I’m not even sure I would want to do that even if I could, because I think that would be a little awkward. Anyways, what I can do is point out which recruits Duke is still very much in play for. So, let’s do that, instead:
Asiantii Woulard – #34 QB
Duke is listed as a school of interest for the four-star QB out of Winter Park High School, but I wouldn’t consider the Blue Devils to be anything more than a long shot at this point. He has a firm offer from sixteen schools, including UCLA, Clemson, and Ole Miss. All reports considered, I’m predicting he will wind up with UCLA. Still, though, Duke has a chance.
Brandon Floyd – #58 OT/OG
Floyd, a 6’3, 255lb lineman from Charlotte, North Carolina, is still very much in play for the Blue Devils, should they decide to offer him a scholarship. Currently, Floyd holds offers from Charlotte and East Carolina. If Duke does offer him a scholarship, I think they become the favorite. As it stands, though, I really feel East Carolina is the favorite.
Brett Steverson – #71 OG
Steverson currently has a soft verbal to Jacksonville State, but he now holds an offer from Duke, the only BCS school to offer the two-star lineman a scholarship. As recently as late December, SCOUTS reported that he still has an open recruitment going, so we can’t be too sure how serious his soft verbal to Jacksonville State is. Steverson isn’t the most exciting of prospects, but he would provide great size at 6’5 and 300 lbs and his addition would bolster a pretty strong linemen class for the Blue Devils.
Stacy Thomas – #24 OLB
Thomas is a four-star linebacker/defensive end hybrid who has a real shot at winding up in Durham. The Gulliver Prep product currently holds over twenty offers, some of which are from very elite programs (LSU, Notre Dame, Florida, Florida State, to name a few). Considering this, you would think the Blue Devils didn’t have a shot in hell at landing the star prospect, but he shown plenty of interest in Duke’s program, and I wouldn’t be shocked if he ended up choosing them in the end. Thomas is arguably the most exciting unsigned prospect left on Duke’s radar.
Jacob Onyechi – #194 S
According to RIVALS, Onyechi only holds three offers, one of which is from your Duke Blue Devils. I can’t find much on Onyechi anywhere, but Duke’s defense is awful, so adding another safety can’t hurt, right? Onyechi stands at 6’2, 185 pounds and possesses impressive speed. I could see him playing on either end of the ball for Cutcliffe and I really believe he would be a nice prospect to pick up.
The list isn’t a long one, but Duke has made a habit out of locking up most of their class before National Signing Day. Of course, there will likely be a couple random additions that weren’t on this list, but these are five names to keep an eye on come February 6th.