Core Value
Rebuilt line critical to Duke's offensive identity
Jim Sumner, GoDuke The Magazine
Justin Pickett says he loves new things.
Good thing. The Duke co-captain and 317-pound offensive lineman went into spring ball with a new head coach in Manny Diaz, a new offensive coordinator in Jonathan Brewer and a new offensive line coach in Jeff Norrid.
What he didn’t have was new teammates on an offensive line that desperately needed a talent infusion. Duke lost Graham Barton and Jacob Monk to the NFL draft following the 2023 season, along with five-year rotation guard Maurice McIntyre and transfer portal linemen Jake Hornibrook and Scott Elliott.
Pickett, Brian Parker and Matt Craycraft were the only returnees who garnered significant playing time on the offensive line last season. It was so bad by the end of spring ball that Duke couldn’t actually have a traditional spring scrimmage because they only had five healthy offensive linemen.
Norrid says that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“We had some core guys we could kind of develop, spend a lot of hands-on time with and develop. I have my own process. It was really good to spend some time with these guys and let them know how we do things and during the summer when guys got here, we just added them to the process.”
Pickett describes Norrid as “a great teacher. He’s super technical.”
“It brought some challenges and some adversity,” Pickett says of the small spring contingent, “but I was really impressed with how Coach Diaz and Coach Brewer and Coach Norrid handled it, and it really showed. The character that all three of those guys have, and their work ethic and how they can change things around in practice and implement it to help our team — I think that was super crucial for us.”
Norrid came to Duke from Louisiana and said he was very aware of the challenge that awaited him.
“I knew going into it what the issues were. We had a plan. There was never any panic. We obviously knew we needed to go into the portal to get some older, more experienced players, especially more physically developed guys. When you’re talking about the offensive-line world, whenever you’re trying to find high school guys, every high school player has to get stronger. That’s why we had to go into the portal, to get some guys physically ready to roll. We scoured the country in the portal and found the right guys.”
Diaz was on the same page.
“It’s the trenches, right?” he said at the end of fall camp. “There’s a difference between being 22 or 23 years old and being 18 and 19 years old. You’re just not putting a guy in the game that has never done it, has never prepared for a game, is surprised by the speed of it.”
Gradually, portal veterans became Blue Devils; Eric Schon from Holy Cross, Jack Purcell from Pennsylvania, James Pogorelc from Stanford.
The returnees went out of their way to start the blending process as early as possible.
“Earlier in the summer, when they all got here, we put a huge emphasis on gelling the group,” Parker says. “Me and Craycraft are roommates and we have a pool at our apartment. Guys came over to the pool all the time. We had an O-line dinner Thursday nights. So, we built really good relationships, which played in really well with the OTAs we were doing during the summer as much as it could. I feel like that really helped.”
Norrid says he saw the benefits.
“You’ve got to develop trust. You’ve got to trust the guy next to you, that they’re going be able to execute their blocks so it helps you. It’s not five individual guys blocking. There are times when everybody has to act in unison. Being able to get together off the field and develop that camaraderie speeds up that process.”
Two transfers had separated themselves by the end of fall camp.
One was no surprise. Grad student Bruno Fina was a starter at UCLA last season and slotted into the important left tackle position.
But Caleb Krings was more under the radar. The 317-pound grad student had 36 starts at Elon and beat out a number of players from power conference schools to seize the other starting guard spot, opposite Pickett.
“From a personality fit, I knew they would fit in very well,” Norrid says. “You don’t just recruit talent, you recruit people. It was easy to plug them in.”
It helped that the newcomers were able to work with strength and conditioning guru David Feeley, who Pickett calls “the best in the country.”
Parker wasn’t expected to play much last season as a redshirt freshman but injuries to teammates forced him onto the field at both tackle and guard.
“I got thrown into the fire more than I expected but trusting my coaches and teammates gave me the confidence that I can go out and do it and do it time after time.”
Moving Craycraft to center was a key lineup switch.
“Centers have to have a high football IQ,” Norrid says. “They have to be able to process a lot of different information very quickly and then articulate what needs to be done. They’re the true quarterback of the line. Everything starts with the center. It didn’t take me long to figure out that Matt mentally had the makeup of what a center is. The great ones all have the same mold and he fits that mold. He understands the game from a big-picture standpoint at a very high level and he has done very well.”
“I’ve been extremely fortunate to have some veterans in the O-line room like Jacob Monk and Graham Barton who have taught me each position,” Craycraft adds. “I really enjoy playing center. I think playing the other positions has helped me out a lot because scheme-wise, understanding that if someone goes out of your gap, who will come into it and things like that. I’m really enjoying it. I’m loving it and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
“Craycraft erupted a little bit last year in practice and stuff,” Pickett maintains, “but he has just totally taken off this year, and I’m so happy and excited for him. He’s helped gel our offensive line. He helps us lead that room. He helps us lead this team. I think his leadership qualities are very undervalued and may not be seen by the outside public, but I think it’s a huge part of who he is, and huge part of that position.”
Speaking of leadership, Norrid goes out of his way to praise Pickett’s leadership skills.
“He’s got such a huge value as a leader. The whole team respects him. Now that he’s healthy, he’s playing really well. He’s physical, he finishes blocks.”
The redshirt junior says being named a captain checked a big box.
“In fall camp, I got voted to be a team captain. That had been a goal of mine when I came back this year, just had been a super big goal for me. I always had lots of guys like Ja’Mion Franklin and Jacob Monk and DeWayne Carter, and I knew those are the steps I wanted to follow within this program, and guys like Monk and Graham Barton within the O-line room. I knew that was gonna be a pivotal part in my career. When I officially found out that I was nominated captain, I decided to really emphasize my role as a leader and show why I deserve it, to help the younger guys, help lead this team as well.”
Still, with these many new faces, there have been struggles. Duke rushed for only 59 yards against Elon. Craycraft said his group heard the critics.
“Obviously we see it and use it as motivation to a certain extent. On the other hand, we know what we have in the room. We know we can execute. It’s just a matter of playing with technique, playing with effort. We’re not surprised we’re coming together. We try not to listen to any voices outside that room. We just kind of block it out.”
Duke has started to put it together. Duke rushed for 142 yards against Connecticut, 168 against Middle Tennessee State.
But the second half of the North Carolina game was the sign that all the teaching, all the lifting, all the hard work was paying off. After falling behind 17-0 at intermission Duke gouged the Tar Heels defense to the tune of 148 second-half yards, keying an historic comeback win.
Diaz said he challenged both lines to up their game at halftime and “I thought we dominated the line of scrimmage in the second half.”
There’s still work to be done, gains to be made. Norrid says he wants to let the five starters “roll a little bit” but he still would like to develop more depth.
Brewer is on the same page.
“They’re playing at a really high level,” Brewer said after the bye week. “We have guys ready to go in but we’ve kind of settled in to the core five guys. We have guys who are able to roll in but we’ve hit a smooth streak with those guys. They’re playing really well together.”
“Consistency, fundamentals, correct technique” will continue to be the primary points of emphasis according to Norrid.
Pickett says Norrid tells his group that “the O-line controls the destiny of his team. It’s up to us to lead the team in every aspect of it, playing and leadership.”
This story originally appeared in the 16.3 issue of GoDuke The Magazine – October 2024. Dedicated to sharing the stories of Duke student-athletes, present and past, GoDuke The Magazine is published for Duke Athletics by LEARFIELD with editorial offices at 3100 Tower Blvd., Suite 404, Durham, NC 27707. To subscribe, join the Iron Dukes or call (336) 831-0767.