Reports suggest there is a chance that Daniel Jones could be ready to go on Saturday, but should Duke football coach David Cutcliffe give him the green light this soon?
Simply put, the answer is no. Daniel Jones, who was the starting quarterback for the Duke football team in the previous two seasons and in the first two games of this season, broke his collarbone on Sept. 8 during the Blue Devils’ 21-7 win at Northwestern.
And after that injury left fans feeling worried about the future outcome of that game–as well as the outcomes of future games–Quentin Harris took his place and began the process of relieving fans’ anxiety levels.
Not only did Harris play with enough poise and confidence to help finalize Duke’s victory that day, but he has also done enough from under center during the Blue Devils’ two wins since to support the reasoning that there is no reason at all to rush the return of Jones.
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Like Jones, Harris has not thrown an interception yet this season.
In addition to Harris’ competent play, though, three weeks just seems way too fast for a return from the type of injury that Jones suffered. Despite the fact that Jones has healed enough to take snaps in practice–according to Steve Wiseman of the News & Observer–and the injury occurred on the opposite side of his throwing arm, there would certainly be no harm in giving him even more time to heal.
However, Cutcliffe has hinted that a return from Jones against the Hokies is possible.
“We are getting some complete medical information on Daniel,” Cutcliffe said Thursday, according to Wiseman. “I can’t tell you what I know except that he has practiced and done well.”
But what’s the hurry?
Sure, Virginia Tech is probably one of the three toughest opponents remaining on the 4-0 Blue Devils’ schedule–the others being Clemson and Miami. That being said, there is evidence to back the notion that Harris is up for the task. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound redshirt junior does, after all, have infinitely more passing touchdowns to interceptions (six to zero) this season; also, he has rushed for 141 yards on 26 carries (5.4 average) and another touchdown.
He’s garnered the confidence of coaches, teammates, and fans. And if he can lead Duke to a victory over a nearly ranked Hokies squad on Saturday, he will give them all reason to remain calm if–God forbid–Jones goes down again in the future (this season or next; both quarterbacks still have a year of eligibility remaining).
And there is also a superstitious reason for giving Jones one more week to heal. The 2013 squad–which finished as the only team in the program’s history to win 10 games–lost its quarterback, Anthony Boone, to the same type of injury as Jones during the exact same point of the season. Boone sat out three games–the team lost the first two during his absence–and as soon as he returned, the Blue Devils appeared to be unbeatable until their next loss, which didn’t come until the ACC Championship Game against Florida State.
Even if Duke was to lose this weekend without Jones, the team would still have plenty of time to recover–with a fully recovered Jones–to win enough games to make a return visit to Charlotte on Dec. 1.
And even if the Blue Devils’ offense suddenly starts to sputter this week with Harris at quarterback, they will still have one thing that should be plenty capable of bailing them out: a smashmouth defense.