On the scale of Duke football mysteries – 10 being the toughest to speculate and 1 the easiest – the question about whether there will be a season in 2020 ranks a 10. Identifying the quarterback rates a 1.
Well, at least that’s been the fan and media speculation since Clemson’s Chase Brice announced last spring his transfer to Duke. But if Brice earns the job, it wasn’t’ handed to him.
Through the first week of practice, Duke coach David Cutcliffe has drilled redshirt junior Chris Katrenick with the starters, although Gunnar Holmberg and Brice have both taken their reps with the No. 1 unit.
“At the quarterback position we’re playing well, we’re working three guys,” said Cutcliffe during a Zoom interview.
Katrenick, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound redshirt junior from Algonquin (Ill.) Jacobs, was the heir apparent until Brice’s transfer.
Holmberg (6-3, 205) is a redshirt sophomore from nearby Wake Forest Heritage who missed last season with a knee injury.
Brice (6-2, 230), upon graduating in May, has immediate eligibility with two seasons remaining. He served as a backup the past two years to Trevor Lawrence, the projected top pick of the 2021 NFL draft.
This past week has been the first for Cutcliffe to evaluate Brice’s arm live. Brice had to graduate before he could transfer, so he wouldn’t have been at spring football even if not for COVID-19 pandemic canceling workouts the first week into drills.
“He’s got great arm talent,” Cutcliffe said “He’s a natural thrower and his accuracy level is high. He has a great football IQ and understanding. He’s still learning the system. It’s tough as a quarterback; he did get the benefit of Zoom meetings but not what the other guys got all through the spring. He was still in the process trying to graduate. He’s catching up. What I’ll tell you is he’s more comfortable with the passing game each day. He’s a good football player, and it’s important to him.”
Cutcliffe had pursued as the 4-star pro-style prospect out of Grayson, Georgia, so there was familiarity before the transfer. Brice redshirted his first season in 2017, but by 2018 supernova Trevor Lawrence leap-frogged him.
Lawrence enrolled early and won the 2018 starting job over returning starter Kelly Bryant. When Bryant transferred out to preserve a year of eligibility, Brice moved up to No. 2.
Most of his playing time was mop-up duty, but when Lawrence was injured against Syracuse, he led a 13-play, 94-yard game-winning touchdown drive. He finished 7-of-13 passing for 83 yards. The win preserved Clemson’s unbeaten record on a 15-0 to winning the College Football Playoff national title.
In 12 2018 games, he completed 32-of-51 passes with five touchdowns and three interceptions and ran 16 times for 93 yards
In 2019, was Brice 50-of-85 for 581 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. He ran 14 times for 97 yards and one touchdown.
Cutcliffe has praised Katrenick’s off-season preparation for 2020. He redshirted in 2017, saw limited action as the No. 3 QB in 2018, completing 5-of-12 passes for 54 yards with a touchdown and without an interception. In 2019, he backed up Quentin Harris; he was 3-of-13 for 49 yards with one TD and one interception.
Holmberg (6-3, 205) has seen the field for only three snaps to date. In the 2018 redshirt season, he was on the field for the Independence Bowl game against Temple, rushing once for 19 yards. His season ended last year with a knee injury late in fall camp.
The competition at quarterback isn’t all that has Cutcliffe optimistic about the season. He sees improvement throughout the offense, and that can make a difference for the quarterback.
A better offensive line can protect the quarterback and provide running room to keep the defense honest. A better group of receivers complementing All-ACC second team tight end Noah Gray should mean more open receivers in more parts of the field.
“I’m trying to get the timing and good chemistry with all three QBs,” said Deon Jackson, a senior returning starting running back. “I’m impressed with how all the quarterbacks have been in this QB battle. I can tell they’re all getting better.”
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Tom Shanahan, Author: Raye of Light http://tinyurl.com/knsqtqu
— Book on Michigan State’s leading role in the integration of college football. It explains Duffy Daugherty’s untold pioneering role and debunks myths that steered recognition away from him to Bear Bryant.
http://shanahan.report/a/the-case-for-duffy-and-medal-of-freedom
Don’t believe the myths at Duffy Daugherty’s expense about Bear Bryant’s motivation to play the 1970 USC-Alabama game or myths about the Charlie Thornhill-for-Joe Namath trade. Bear Bryant knew nothing about black talent in the South while he dragged his feet on segregation.
http://www.shanahan.report/a/forty-four-underground-railroad-legacy-facts
http://shanahan.report/a/myths-that-grew-out-of-1970-alabama-game-with-usc
http://shanahan.report/a/mystery-solved-in-thornhill-and-namath-myth
David Maraniss, Pulitzer Prize winner and biographer; “History writes people out of the story. It’s our job to write them back in.”
Raye of Light: Jimmy Raye, Duffy Daugherty, The Integration of College Football, and the 1965-66 Michigan State Spartans
https://www.augustpublications.com/
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