DURHAM — With it looking more and more like quarterback Thomas Sirk will be back from his injured Achilles’ tendon in time for Duke’s opener against N.C. Central on Sept. 3, Duke must spend August camp finding out who he will be throwing passes to this season.
The Blue Devils’ leader in receptions and yardage last season was senior Max McCaffrey (52 catches, 643 yards). He’s now on the Oakland Raiders training camp roster in the NFL.
Duke returns its No. 2 receiver, T.J. Rahming, who caught 43 passes for 571 yards and two touchdowns as a true freshman last season.
Senior Anthony Nash didn’t produce much over his first two seasons. As a junior, he emerged during the season’s second half to catch 32 passes for 475 yards and a touchdown.
He’s looked upon as one of the group’s strongest leaders this offseason.
“I’ve seen guys like Anthony Nash, who is normally a quiet guy, coming out and speaking up to the younger guys and showing his leadership that way,” Sirk said.
Rahming and Nash are the known entities. Plenty of other receivers have proving to do when practice resumes on Aug. 8.
“I’m waiting to see who will take over at receiver, but we are deeper than we’ve been since we’ve been here,” Duke coach David Cutcliffe said last spring. “We’ve got guys who can play. Anthony Nash has certainly been the leader of the group. He’s had a dynamic spring. But there’s just a lot to be answered there. But these are good problems because it’s not trying to find somebody it’s trying to see who is going to step up and separate themselves.”
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