Duke Football head coach David Cutcliffe has officially announced several roster changes for the Blue Devils this season, and the statements come with a mix of good news and bad news for the upcoming season.
Duke Blue Devils
Earlier this week it was announced that All-ACC linebacker Kelby Brown will be out for the season after injuring his ACL for the 4th time, ending his football playing career at Duke. He will continue to be around the team as a student assistant this year while working on a graduate degree. In addition to Brown, defensive tackle Michael Mann and offensive lineman Kameron Schroeder will both be out for the season with unspecified upper-body injuries, and will also join as student assistants in 2015.
Mann would have been a redshirt junior this season, and played as a reserve on the defensive line for Duke. For his career he appeared in 7 games adding 4 tackles. Schroeder redshirted for his freshman year last season and was expected to be a key offensive lineman off the bench this year.
The injuries have opened up a few roster spots on the team, and one of the full scholarships has been awarded to incoming freshman quarterback Daniel Jones. Jones originally joined Duke as a preferred walk-on to try to earn a scholarship with the Blue Devils later in his collegiate career, but Cutcliffe announced that he would be receiving a full scholarship effective immediately for the upcoming season.
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Incoming freshman Daniel Jones was one of the top QB recruits in North Carolina for the 2015 recruiting class. He’s the reigning Quarterback of the Year for Charlotte, NC and the surrounding area after a stellar career at Charlotte Latin High School. The 6-5, 205 pound QB led his team to the state championship game compiling over 2,300 yards in his senior season. The addition of Jones will increase the depth at the quarterback position for the Blue Devils this year and he could also be used down the road to replace 2016 QB recruit Chazz Surratt who backed out of his commitment to play for Duke to join the rival Tar Heels.
The new official roster for the football team for the 2015-2016 season can be seen here. Hopefully all of the the players on the team can remain healthy for the duration of the year as the Blue Devils compete for the ACC Coastal Division and overall conference title, attempt to make a program-best 4th consecutive postseason appearance, and win their first bowl game since the 1961 Cotton Bowl vs. Arkansas.