Duke’s football offseason has started earlier than any year since 2011, leaving David Cutcliffe and his staff with plenty of work.
Needing one win to be one of the 5-7 teams in a bowl game this season, Duke lost each of its final two games in lopsided fashion — 56-14 at Pitt and 40-21 at Miami.
So Duke finished 4-8 overall with just one ACC win against seven league defeats.
Widespread, serious injuries to veteran starters crippled Duke all season, from quarterback Thomas Sirk’s Achilles issues to DeVon Edwards’ torn knee ligaments and Anthony Nash’s broken collarbone.
The bright side to all those veterans getting hurt, though, is that a host of young players were pushed into playing time ahead of schedule. That means guys like quarterback Daniel Jones, wide receiver Aaron Young and cornerback Mark Gilbert return for 2017 with plenty of experience to handle starting jobs.
Speaking of quarterback, Jones heads into the offseason as…
Become a premium member of ACCSports.com to see the rest of the story! Get access to the rest of this article and unlimited access to the rest of ACCSports.com when you upgrade to Premium Access! Click on the button below to view all the benefits of becoming a Premium Access member.Get the rest of the story right now with Premium Access!
Premium Access members receive: