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Rumsey Set To Lead Duke's Youthful Offensive Line
4/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Determining Duke's most experienced offensive lineman this spring hasn't been a difficult process. That person is center Matt Rumsey, the only member of the group with more than one starting assignment to his credit.
The Blue Devils will field one of the youngest offensive line units in the nation in 2006, but that hasn't stopped Rumsey and his line mates from earning both respect and backing from their peers.
“Yes, it is a young group,” said quarterback Zack Asack. “But we have a great deal of confidence in all of them. We know they will work hard, compete and do what it takes for us to be successful.”
“We're making a lot of progress here in the spring, and we've still got the summer and a camp to go through before we get ready for the fall,” Rumsey noted. “We keep taking steps forward. We've got a lot of young guys, and the guys that are here are ready to win.”
After seeing reserve duty as a true freshman in 2004 and starting all 11 games last fall, Rumsey will be called upon to provide steady play and leadership for the upcoming campaign.
“Matt understands what it takes to play at this level, and what it takes to play successfully at this level,” said Duke head coach Ted Roof. “There's no substitute for leadership when it comes from within. Its one thing for it to come from a coach, but it's another thing to help bring guys along and to be the glue.
“For Matt, his role and his responsibilities were different last year,” Roof continued. “For a lot of guys in their first year playing a significant amount, they have to figure out what they have to do in order to make them successful. As a returning guy, who understands the tempo, what's required and the intensity, now it's not about just getting it out of yourself, but about getting it out of your team. And that's what I expect Matt to do for us.”
On Duke's first unit, Rumsey is joined by guards Zach Maurides and Rob Schirmann and tackles Cameron Goldberg and Fred Roland. Goldberg, who started the 2005 season finale at North Carolina, is the only lineman other than Rumsey to start a game for the Blue Devils. Maurides joins Rumsey in the junior class while Goldberg, Roland and Schirmann all are rising sophomores.
The offensive line will pave the way for Duke's top three ground gainers from a year ago in Justin Boyle, Ronnie Drummer and Re'quan Boyette. The trio combined to rush for 1,047 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2005, and each back owns a run from scrimmage of over 75 yards. In the passing game, Asack returns after starting six of the final seven games as a true freshman a season ago and throwing for 966 yards and five scores.
“We've got one returning starter in Matt Rumsey while Cameron Goldberg played a good bit at the end of last season,” Roof commented. “Fred Roland and Rob Schirmann, our other penciled-in starters, also played very limited roles last year. The good news is I think we've got some guys who are going to be good players at that position, but offensive line is the hardest position to play as a young player because, number one, that's still a position that, from a strength level, guys usually aren't developed there at that point yet. And number two is the reaction time because they're so close to the ball and so close to their assignment that things happen so quickly, as opposed to being a receiver or a defensive back where you've got some space in between you and what you're trying to do.”
Rumsey came to Duke from a highly successful gridiron program at the Marist School in Atlanta, Ga., where he helped the team to 47 wins against six losses over four seasons. He was a first team all-state selection in 2003 after Marist captured Georgia's AAAA state championship. He senses an atmosphere in the Duke locker room that will yield success for the Blue Devils.
“I think that the core group of guys here is very hungry to win,” Rumsey said. “We knew it wasn't going to be an immediate change, but that we were going to have to work for it, and that's where the reward is.”
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