All Sports Discussion

Jack Sears seemed to answer a perplexing Duke recruiting question two years ago. Prior to the 4-star quarterback committing to the Blue Devils, you had to wonder why more highly touted QBs don’t clamor to play for David Cutcliffe? After all, the Blue Devils’ head coach is widely recognized as a quarterback guru that groomed …

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CHARLOTTE, NC. — Florida State’s Willie Taggart said something at the ACC Kickoff that showed he’s a lot like the rest of us. The Seminoles’ new coach had a low opinion of the program’s off-field reputation based on decades of headlines. “To be honest with you, I thought I was going to come here and …

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The week that was for Larry Fedora and how he could have enlightened football fans while he waved the flag. First, Fedora put up a trial balloon equating American exceptionalism and football on a preseason football tour stop, the Pigskin Preview sponsored by the Bill Dooley Chapter of the National Football Foundation on Monday in …

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CHARLOTTE,  N.C. — The NCAA’s recent rule change permitting freshmen to play up to four games without burning their redshirt season was met with universal approval, but the media buzz sounded like a golf clap. Not so when the ruling reached Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson. He celebrated. He freely describes his ACC school as …

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Dave Doeren made building a fence a priority upon his North Carolina State arrival five years ago. That effort to fence-in his new state’s growing talent base is holding its ground. Doeren landed this weekend his 12th home-state recruit of 16 in the 2019 recruiting class. They include players that have turned down Alabama and …

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Army-Duke is overshadowed among marquee college football season openers to watch compared to such luminous matchups of Michigan-Notre Dame, Louisville-Alabama or Miami-LSU. Nonetheless, Army-Duke is one of the more intriguing games pairing two teams that are looking to build on last year’s momentum. ESPN recognized this when the network moved the opener from a crowded …

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He may spend the 2018 football season wearing a baseball cap, holding a clipboard and charting plays, but that doesn’t preclude Syracuse’s Rex Culpepper from Comeback Player of the Year consideration. The rising redshirt sophomore quarterback merely has to do is show up on Aug. 1 for fall camp to resume his place as returning …

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Dabo Swinney finds himself in the unique position of facing a quarterback battle between returning starter Kelly Bryant and a true freshman Trevor Lawrence, but the Clemson coach has no such distinctive challenges on the defensive line. He’s got four anchors in place as returning starters with NFL futures. The titanic weight in the middle …

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Wake Forest should be welcoming back one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the nation in 2018. Kendall Hinton has Lamar Jackson-like electricity with his feet and possesses a stronger arm than opponents understand. In one of Wake Forest’s spring scrimmages, Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson profusely praised his defense, yet on that day Hinton …

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Clemson coach Dabo Swinney no longer hears questions about whether his Tigers can contend for the Atlantic Coast Conference title. Not after three straight trips to the College Football Playoff, topped by a national title in 2016. It’s understood Clemson is among the favorites — if not the frontrunner — for a fourth straight ACC …

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By Tom Shanahan Duke coach David Cutcliffe shares many traits with his successful brethren that have kept him in the college game four decades, including resuscitating the Blue Devils’ long moribund program. But despite such similarities he has demonstrated once again that depth chart paranoia isn’t one of his idiosyncrasies. Many coaches these days wait …

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