Extra Points: August 9

DURHAM, N.C. - GoDuke.com will feature daily notes and udpates from Duke's preseason practices in what is called Extra Points beginning with this first installment after the Blue Devils opened practice today at the Brooks Practice Facility.

One hundred players took the field for the first practice on Monday night ... with 102 players on the official roster, only freshman safety Quan Stevenson and sophomore wide receiver Georgie Kerber did not participate in drills ... Stevenson is out indefinitely after suffering a leg injury in July while Kerber has not yet reported to campus ... specialists were the first players to take the field at 5:50 p.m.
Head coach David Cutcliffe spoke to the media before and after practice with several members of the local media in attendance, including three TV stations and seven writers.
Two new coaches took the field for their first fall practice at Duke ... Jim Knowles serves as defensive coordinator and coaches the safeties while Matt Lubick is the passing game and recruiting coordinator and coaches the wide receivers ... Knowles joined the staff in December and Lubick was added in February.
Several players continued to learn new positions after changing prior to spring practice ... Junior Johnny Williams and redshirt sophomore Kenny Anunike each moved from offense to defense ... Williams moved from wide receiver to cornerback and Anunike switched from tight end to defensive end ... also changing positions was junior Lee Butler who moved from cornerback to safety.
Redshirt freshman safety Anthony Young-Wiseman was on the field for his first fall practice as a Blue Devil ... Young-Wiseman missed the entire preseason and regular season a year ago after suffering a knee injury during 7-on-7 drills in the summer ... he was limited in some drills during spring practice.
Redshirt freshman cornerback Ross Cockrell showed why he earned the starting cornerback job after spring practice by recording pass breakups on each of his two one-on-one scenarios early in practice.
As expected, redshirt sophomore quarterback Sean Renfree took the reins of the Duke offense, replacing Thaddeus Lewis, who finished his career as the second all-time leading passer in ACC history and is now in preseason camp with the St. Louis Rams ... "I thought Sean Renfree was significant tonight," said head coach David Cutcliffe. "He was really, really good all night. He did what I thought he would do. He has mastered the control part of it."
Renfree connected with junior wide receiver Donovan Varner twice for gains of 20+ yards in the first set of team drills.
The defense followed with two caused fumbles in the next set of team competition ... the fumbles were recovered by redshirt freshman safety Taylor Sowell and Young-Wiseman.
Later in team drills, true freshman quarterback Brandon Connette soared a 65-yard bomb to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Tony Foster for a touchdown.
Following the workout, Cutcliffe noted the presence of two rookie running backs, Josh Snead and Juwan Thompson ... "Snead and Juwan Thompson just show great bursts of energy," said Cutcliffe. "There is no question that 23 (Thompson) and number 9 (Snead) caught everybody's eye out here. There is certainly an amount of speed there that we haven't had at that position."
Cutcliffe also was quick to express his thoughts on practicing in shorts and helmets, saying "I've seen some shorts All-Americans, and then when you put the pads on they disappear like the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz." ... The Blue Devils will practice in full pads for the first time on Friday morning.
Former Blue Devil defensive end Charles Porter, a letterman from 1998-2001 was on hand at practice and spoke to the team afterwards.

Players Mentioned

Kenny Anunike

Lee Butler

Ross Cockrell

Brandon Connette

Tony Foster

Georgie Kerber

Thaddeus Lewis

Sean Renfree

Josh Snead

Taylor Sowell

Quan Stevenson

Juwan Thompson

Donovan Varner

Johnny Williams

Anthony Young-Wiseman

Duke information