WRAL Sports Fan

Duke

Cutcliffe focuses on speed and discipline with 27-man class

By Josh Hailey

Feb 4, 2009

One thing Duke football coach David Cutcliffe does not lack is optimism. The second year coach told the Wednesday afternoon that his 2009 recruiting class reminded him a lot of the class of 1934.

That would be the class that eventually went undefeated in the fall of 1938 and became known as the “Iron Dukes”. Pretty lofty expectations, but that is the attitude coach Cutcliffe is using to rebuild the program.

Cutcliffe called the class of 27 Duke signees “an emphasis on speed and skill and size and skill," and stressed the collection of athletes were a group of  “disciplined young men from disciplined families.”

He noted that the biggest difference between Duke and the rest of the league was team speed, and that the issues had to be addressed, starting with the recruiting class of 2008.

Cutcliffe added, as he pointed out the window to Wallace Wade Stadium, “that field will see more speed than it’s seen in a long time…maybe ever.”

Recruiting begins with in-state talent, something Cutcliffe has emphasized since his arrival in Durham. That focus has paid off with in the form of signatures from some of the area's finest players, including Corey Gattis and Desmond Scott from Durham Hillside and Zach Greene from Leesville Road.

While keeping the best North Carolina talent from leaving the state's borders was important, Cutcliffe also recognized the fact that in order to compete in the ACC, Duke had to recruit nation-wide. During his travels from coast-to-coast, Cutcliffe was pleased to hear comments about how Duke football was back, and how players were really enjoying watching the style that the Blue Devils play