Upcoming Event: Football at Syracuse on September 27, 2025 at 12 p.m.
/
12 p.m.
Football
at Syracuse
Pressure Points
1/13/2020 9:40:00 AM | Football
This story originally ran in the 11.5 Issue of GoDuke, the Magazine -- Dec. 2019
Isn't Chris Rumph II too small to play defensive end at a Power 5 school? He weighed 214 pounds as a senior at Buchholz High School in Gainesville, Florida. Most teams recruited him as a linebacker and the recruiting experts all pegged him as a college linebacker. He was a healthy redshirt as a freshman at Duke, while two classmates played at defensive end. He's only made one start at Duke and that was as a linebacker, 2018 against option-oriented Georgia Tech, when Duke went out of its customary 4-2-5 defense into a more standard 4-3-4.
And truth be told he might rather be in the NBA.
Three years ago, some 800 miles up the east coast Victor Dimukeje was getting ready to go one of several Ivy League schools pursuing his services. He was a student at academically prestigious Boys' Latin School in Baltimore and grew up in a family that prioritized academics over athletics. When Duke started recruiting him they couldn't get his prep coach Ritchie Snell to stop talking about Dimukeje's academic prowess. Mother Chinelo was especially set on an Ivy until Duke convinced her that her son could get an Ivy League-caliber education at Duke, while playing a higher level of football.
Fast forward to 2019 and Dimukeje is a second-team All-ACC selection and Rumph a third-team All-ACC selection, with a second-team All-America nod from Sports Illustrated.
This is the first time since John Ricca and Ernie Clark in 1973 that Duke has had two defensive ends make All-ACC and the first time since Kenny Anunike in 2013 that any Duke defensive end has made All-ACC.
Just what Ben Albert planned.
Albert came to Duke from Boston College in February 2016 to become Duke's defensive line coach; he's since added co-defensive coordinator to his responsibilities.
Albert knew what he needed.
Playmakers.
"With the field so spread out you need guys who can make plays at junction points, guys who could make plays in space," he said. "All of those guys were playmakers in high school."
"Those guys" includes Drew Jordan and Ben Frye, also members of the high school class of 2017. Bringing in four defensive ends in a class of 22 shows the importance of the position in Albert's plans.
Rumph's father, also Chris, was a linebacker at South Carolina and was an assistant coach at Florida when his son was in high school in Gainesville; he's now an assistant at Tennessee.
Rumph II says his father would gladly have accepted him at Florida but "when it came to recruiting he went into dad mode not coach mode. He wanted what was best for me. He did a great job."
Duke was one of the few schools recruiting him as an end. He liked that and he liked the academics.
"I made an unofficial visit after my junior year and immediately felt it was the place for me."
Conventional wisdom is that coaches' children have a leg up. Â
"My childhood was not consumed with football," Rumph II noted. "I dreamed of playing in the NBA. But I got to 6-3 and just stopped growing."
But Albert says he sees the benefits.
"He has learned from his father. He's a smart football player. He understands football. He's never out of a game mentally."
After three seasons in Duke's weight program Rumph is up to 225. All of Duke's key linebackers are bigger than that.
Rumph says he'd like to get to 240 or so. Albert says that may be possible but may not be necessary.
"He has a really good frame. He's thick in the thighs. He's got great length and carries it well. But I've studied heavyweight champions of the world. Some are 260 pounds, some are 205 pounds. It's what you do with it. The game is speed, tenacity, passion. He has all these."
Rumph usually is blocked by tackles 70-to-100 pounds heavier than him. Or they attempt to block him.
"I use my speed to my advantage," he said. "I don't let blockers get into me. I find the crease and exploit it. I move around a lot, read the blocking and take what's there."
Rumph has a distinctive personality, extroverted and positive. The glass is never half-full or half-empty for him. It's always full.
"I've always been that way. If somebody needs a smile, needs cheering up, I want to be the guy who has the smile."
Albert says that's definitely an asset.
"He always has a smile. He's a very positive influence. He's the little brother in the room, which is good."
Rumph ended the season with 3.5 sacks in Duke's 27-17 win over Miami. When told that was the most sacks in a single game by a Duke player since the 1940s he leaned over and with a big smile on his face theatrically whispered "tell Vic that."
If it's a rivalry it's a healthy one, Dimukeje says. "We make each other better. We're always competing. That's how you get better."
Rumph says Dimukeje might have the team's best work ethic, first into the weight room or film room, last out.
Dimukeje says that's how he's wired.
"I try to be the best I can be in anything I do. I bring a passion, a motor, a love for the game."
He does all this while majoring in evolutionary anthropology, a degree he hopes to expand in graduate school somewhere down the line.
"He's a special player," head coach David Cutcliffe says. "He's just scratching the surface."
Dimukeje ended the season with 8.5 sacks, including a three-sack game against Georgia Tech. That's the most by any Duke player since Shawn Johnson's 12 in 2002.
He will enter his senior season with 14 career sacks, within realistic distance of Charles Bowser's Duke career best of 22.
Rumph had 6.5 sacks but led Dimukeje in total tackles, 47 to 41.
Â
Isn't Chris Rumph II too small to play defensive end at a Power 5 school? He weighed 214 pounds as a senior at Buchholz High School in Gainesville, Florida. Most teams recruited him as a linebacker and the recruiting experts all pegged him as a college linebacker. He was a healthy redshirt as a freshman at Duke, while two classmates played at defensive end. He's only made one start at Duke and that was as a linebacker, 2018 against option-oriented Georgia Tech, when Duke went out of its customary 4-2-5 defense into a more standard 4-3-4.
And truth be told he might rather be in the NBA.
Three years ago, some 800 miles up the east coast Victor Dimukeje was getting ready to go one of several Ivy League schools pursuing his services. He was a student at academically prestigious Boys' Latin School in Baltimore and grew up in a family that prioritized academics over athletics. When Duke started recruiting him they couldn't get his prep coach Ritchie Snell to stop talking about Dimukeje's academic prowess. Mother Chinelo was especially set on an Ivy until Duke convinced her that her son could get an Ivy League-caliber education at Duke, while playing a higher level of football.
Fast forward to 2019 and Dimukeje is a second-team All-ACC selection and Rumph a third-team All-ACC selection, with a second-team All-America nod from Sports Illustrated.
This is the first time since John Ricca and Ernie Clark in 1973 that Duke has had two defensive ends make All-ACC and the first time since Kenny Anunike in 2013 that any Duke defensive end has made All-ACC.
Just what Ben Albert planned.
Albert came to Duke from Boston College in February 2016 to become Duke's defensive line coach; he's since added co-defensive coordinator to his responsibilities.
Albert knew what he needed.
Playmakers.
"With the field so spread out you need guys who can make plays at junction points, guys who could make plays in space," he said. "All of those guys were playmakers in high school."
"Those guys" includes Drew Jordan and Ben Frye, also members of the high school class of 2017. Bringing in four defensive ends in a class of 22 shows the importance of the position in Albert's plans.
Rumph's father, also Chris, was a linebacker at South Carolina and was an assistant coach at Florida when his son was in high school in Gainesville; he's now an assistant at Tennessee.
Rumph II says his father would gladly have accepted him at Florida but "when it came to recruiting he went into dad mode not coach mode. He wanted what was best for me. He did a great job."
Duke was one of the few schools recruiting him as an end. He liked that and he liked the academics.
"I made an unofficial visit after my junior year and immediately felt it was the place for me."
Conventional wisdom is that coaches' children have a leg up. Â
"My childhood was not consumed with football," Rumph II noted. "I dreamed of playing in the NBA. But I got to 6-3 and just stopped growing."
But Albert says he sees the benefits.
"He has learned from his father. He's a smart football player. He understands football. He's never out of a game mentally."
After three seasons in Duke's weight program Rumph is up to 225. All of Duke's key linebackers are bigger than that.
Rumph says he'd like to get to 240 or so. Albert says that may be possible but may not be necessary.
"He has a really good frame. He's thick in the thighs. He's got great length and carries it well. But I've studied heavyweight champions of the world. Some are 260 pounds, some are 205 pounds. It's what you do with it. The game is speed, tenacity, passion. He has all these."
Rumph usually is blocked by tackles 70-to-100 pounds heavier than him. Or they attempt to block him.
"I use my speed to my advantage," he said. "I don't let blockers get into me. I find the crease and exploit it. I move around a lot, read the blocking and take what's there."
Rumph has a distinctive personality, extroverted and positive. The glass is never half-full or half-empty for him. It's always full.
"I've always been that way. If somebody needs a smile, needs cheering up, I want to be the guy who has the smile."
Albert says that's definitely an asset.
"He always has a smile. He's a very positive influence. He's the little brother in the room, which is good."
Rumph ended the season with 3.5 sacks in Duke's 27-17 win over Miami. When told that was the most sacks in a single game by a Duke player since the 1940s he leaned over and with a big smile on his face theatrically whispered "tell Vic that."
If it's a rivalry it's a healthy one, Dimukeje says. "We make each other better. We're always competing. That's how you get better."
Rumph says Dimukeje might have the team's best work ethic, first into the weight room or film room, last out.
Dimukeje says that's how he's wired.
"I try to be the best I can be in anything I do. I bring a passion, a motor, a love for the game."
He does all this while majoring in evolutionary anthropology, a degree he hopes to expand in graduate school somewhere down the line.
"He's a special player," head coach David Cutcliffe says. "He's just scratching the surface."
Dimukeje ended the season with 8.5 sacks, including a three-sack game against Georgia Tech. That's the most by any Duke player since Shawn Johnson's 12 in 2002.
He will enter his senior season with 14 career sacks, within realistic distance of Charles Bowser's Duke career best of 22.
Rumph had 6.5 sacks but led Dimukeje in total tackles, 47 to 41.
Â
Fellow end Tre Hornbuckle and tackle Trevon McSwain each had four sacks. Duke's total of 35 was 11 more than 2018's, in one less game. Albert says Duke left lots of sacks on the table that year and devised drills to finish plays.
Best of all 26.5 of those sacks came from the defensive line, six more from the linebackers.
Albert says there's a tremendous advantage in getting that kind of pass pressure without having to blitz.
"It's all about one-on-one. The ability to win those battles without sending extra defenders is huge. It gives us a lot of flexibility."
Duke redshirted freshmen Ahmed Craig, R.J. Oben and Caleb Oppan, although Oben did get 24 snaps. Albert says big things are expected from all three.
Hornbuckle is the only graduation loss but he was an acknowledged team leader. When asked the key to his leadership Hornbuckle said, "Be the best version of me. Do my one-eleventh to the best of my abilities."
He reinforced that lesson in every practice. Do your job, trust your teammates, never be outworked.
Somebody has to take that mantle.Â
Dimukeje is the most experienced and says he's ready, willing and able. But it still has to be done.
Duke ended the season with a nine-sack game against Miami. No one was happy with the way the season turned out (5-7) but nine sacks against Miami is something to build on.
"The goal is to contest every throw," Albert says, "contest every inch of the field, disrupt every play."
Getting back to a bowl in 2020 will require contributions from a lot of areas. But Chris Rumph II and Victor Dimukeje contesting every inch of the field is a good place to start.
Â
Best of all 26.5 of those sacks came from the defensive line, six more from the linebackers.
Albert says there's a tremendous advantage in getting that kind of pass pressure without having to blitz.
"It's all about one-on-one. The ability to win those battles without sending extra defenders is huge. It gives us a lot of flexibility."
Duke redshirted freshmen Ahmed Craig, R.J. Oben and Caleb Oppan, although Oben did get 24 snaps. Albert says big things are expected from all three.
Hornbuckle is the only graduation loss but he was an acknowledged team leader. When asked the key to his leadership Hornbuckle said, "Be the best version of me. Do my one-eleventh to the best of my abilities."
He reinforced that lesson in every practice. Do your job, trust your teammates, never be outworked.
Somebody has to take that mantle.Â
Dimukeje is the most experienced and says he's ready, willing and able. But it still has to be done.
Duke ended the season with a nine-sack game against Miami. No one was happy with the way the season turned out (5-7) but nine sacks against Miami is something to build on.
"The goal is to contest every throw," Albert says, "contest every inch of the field, disrupt every play."
Getting back to a bowl in 2020 will require contributions from a lot of areas. But Chris Rumph II and Victor Dimukeje contesting every inch of the field is a good place to start.
Â
Players Mentioned
DE
/ Football
DE
/ Football
DE
/ Football
DT
/ Football
DE
/ Football
DE
/ FootballCoach Diaz Postgame: NC State
Saturday, September 20
Wesley Williams Postgame: NC State
Saturday, September 20
Sahmir Hagans Postgame: NC State
Saturday, September 20
Tre Freeman Postgame: NC State
Saturday, September 20
