ACC Football Kickoff: Significance of Daniel Jones Representing Duke
By Chris Brown
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Daniel Jones will be one of the youngest players representing a team at the 2017 ACC Kickoff media days this year.
The college football is quickly approaching, and today marks the start of Atlantic Coast Conference media days for the upcoming season. Duke head coach David Cutcliffe will represent the Blue Devils at the ACC Football Kickoff, along with senior CB Bryon Fields, Jr. and redshirt sophomore QB Daniel Jones.
Jones is an interesting choice to represent Duke at the conference media days, but could be very significant for the the upcoming season. Cutcliffe normally selects more experienced players like Fields to represent the program at the ACC media days.
There were many veteran players for Duke to choose from, such as seniors Shaun Wilson (RB), Alonzo Saxton II (S), and Austin Davis (C) or juniors Ben Humphreys (LB), T.J. Rahming (WR), Daniel Helm (TE), and Jeremy McDuffie (S), among others. Each of these players would have been great representatives for Duke at the ACC Football Kickoff and will play major roles this year. However, Cutcliffe’s selection of redshirt sophomore Daniel Jones is important and should not be overlooked.
As a second-year starter, Daniel Jones will be one of the youngest players in attendance at the ACC Football Kickoff this year. He will join FSU redshirt sophomores Deondre Francois (QB) and Derwin James (DB), along with Miami sophomore Shaquille Quarterman (LB).
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The takeaway is that David Cutcliffe is looking for Jones to take on a leadership role for the program this year. Last season Jones was thrust into the starting role because of a preseason injury to Thomas Sirk. He played well as a first year starter, but also struggled with his decision making at times. Jones showed flashes of how talented he is with dominant performances in upsets over Notre Dame and UNC. However he also had several terrible games against Virginia and Pitt. Jones will be one of the top returning players for Duke this year, and hopefully a year of experience and offseason of improvement will help him become more consistent and translate to more wins for Duke.
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The Blue Devils struggled finishing 4-8 last season and missed the postseason for the first time since 2011. Expectations will be much higher for Jones and the Blue Devils this season, and his attendance at the ACC Football Kickoff means we can expect a big year from him at quarterback. Jones’ presence at the media days signifies that Cutcliffe believes can become a primary leader for the team on and off the field and hopefully lead the team back to the postseason.