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Duke Seniors Ready for Rematch With Richmond
DURHAM, N.C. – Thaddeus Lewis has a vivid memory of the last Duke-Richmond game.
The 2006 season opener was the first game in Lewis’ college career. He didn’t start against the Spiders, but when preseason starter Marcus Jones – a converted wide receiver – failed to move the team early, Coach Ted Roof sent in the freshman from Opa-Locka, Fla., to try an energize the Blue Devil offense.
“I was thrown into the fire for the third series,” Lewis recalled. “I went into the game, called the play ... and by the time I got to the line, I forgot it.”
By all rights, Lewis shouldn’t have been in the game. He was a true freshman who was only three months removed from his graduation at Hialeah Lakes High School. He wasn’t ready to direct the offense at the college level.
“I was so nervous,” Lewis said. “I thought I played well, but I didn’t quite understand the offense well enough to execute in the red zone.”
Richmond will see a very different Thaddeus Lewis Saturday night when the Blue Devils and Spiders kick off the 2009 season in Wallace Wade Stadium. Not only is the once shaky young quarterback now a proven veteran with 34 career starts to his credit, but a number of other Duke seniors – many of whom played significant roles against Richmond three years ago – are older, stronger, more experienced ... better.
“I’m a whole lot better,” Lewis said earlier this week, comparing his 2006 self with what he is today. “I’m more mature. I’ve got better fundamentals because of Coach [Kurt] Roper. I’m better as a leader. And I’m better as a player because I’ve been able to study myself and make corrections and learn the system.”
Duke lost that 2006 game to Richmond, 13-0 as the Blue Devil offense generated just 210 yards of total offense against the FCS opponent. Duke missed two field goals and twice had the ball inside the Richmond 5-yard line late in the game, but was unable to score on either occasion.
“It left a nasty taste in my mouth,” senior running back Re'quan Boyette, who rushed for 20 yards that night, said. “That game foreshadowed the rest of the season.”
Indeed, the Richmond loss led to a 0-12 season in 2006. The Blue Devils had some good chances to win – for instance, Duke dominated eventual ACC champion Wake Forest in Winston-Salem and went down to the game’s final play against Miami and North Carolina – but couldn’t convert those chances to victory.
Lewis and his senior classmates are determined not to repeat their 2006 experience.
“We have grown together,” Lewis said. “We’ve been through the tough times and we’ve been through the good times. We want to make our senior year as good as possible.”
Ayanga Okpokowuruk was on campus for the 2005 season, but missed that year with an injury. He made his collegiate debut as a redshirt freshman against the Spiders.
“That was our freshman year,” Okpokowuruk said. “I hope we’re all better than we were as freshmen.”
As a young defensive lineman, Okpokowuruk was just excited to play. He was a little taken aback by the reaction of his older classmates after that loss.
“I remember a lot of seniors being real angry after that game,” he said. “As a freshman you don’t really understand these things.”
Now he does ... and now he and his classmates understand that this season is their last chance to do what they came to Duke to do – turn the program into a winner. To accomplish that, they have to start by doing what the 2006 team couldn’t do.
That’s to beat Richmond in the opener.
“Richmond was a game that the seniors have taken to heart,” cornerback Leon Wright said. “We were freshmen ... fresh out of high school. It was all new to us. I feel like we’re a better team now. Maybe we’ll play them with a little chip on our shoulder.”
Wright, who like Lewis and Okpokowuruk made his collegiate debut against Richmond three years ago, can remember running down in coverage on the opening kickoff. He played a few snaps at cornerback, but played mostly on special teams.
Now he’s one of the anchors in the Duke secondary, trying to impart his hard-won wisdom to a new generation of Blue Devil defensive backs.
“Our coaches preach leadership all the time,” Wright said. “We’ve kind of taken the younger players under our wing. They’ve been looking really good in practices and scrimmages. Yeah, you have your freshman mistakes, but they’ve learned really fast – a lot faster than I learned my freshman year.”
One of the lessons that the seniors will try to impart to their young teammates is just how important it is to focus on Richmond and not look past a team from the “lower” FCS Division of the NCAA. After all the Spiders are the reigning FCS national champions and are riding a nine-game winning streak.
But all that pales to the memory of that 2006 loss.
“We weren’t that prepared and those guys came in with a chip on their shoulder,” Lewis recalled. “I think it was a wakeup call not to take anyone for granted. Going into that game, the word on the street was, “You’ve got to win one game and it’s going to be Richmond.’ When you look back at that, what we learned is, you don’t take anything for granted.
“The guys who have been through that do not want to go through that again.”
Lewis suggested that it will be a very different atmosphere this year.
“Now they’re the national champs and they beat us before, so they probably feel like they’re going to come in and beat us again,” he said. “They should feel like that.”
Now it’s the Blue Devils who come into the Richmond game with a little bit of extra motivation.
“I remember the feeling of losing against them,” senior linebacker Vincent Rey said. “I don’t want to feel that way again.”
Nobody who played against the Spiders in 2006 expects it to be easy in the rematch. Richmond will be one of the most experienced opponents Duke will face this season.
“They have 15 redshirt seniors and seven redshirt juniors as their starting 22,” Coach David Cutcliffe pointed out. “I don’t think I’ve ever faced that in my career. Our hands are full.”
Cutcliffe was not around in 2006 when Duke lost to Richmond.
“I’ve looked at it [on tape],” he said. “It was a tough day for Duke, particularly offensively. Just kind of nothing went right.”
Cutcliffe pointed out that Duke is not the only team with veterans from the ’06 game. Richmond returns a number of players who saw action that night.
“To be honest with you, we’re playing a lot better Richmond team than what was here in 2006,” he said.
But with a little prompting, the Duke coach added:
“We’re a much better football team [than Duke in 2006]. No offense to any of those players who worked hard and prepared, but we’re a much better football team than that team.”
Good enough to win the rematch?
None of the veterans of ’06 is guaranteeing a victory Saturday night, but all express the confidence that they’re better prepared to take on the Spiders than in 2006.
“This is an opportunity for this team to make a statement,” Okpokowuruk said. “Everybody’s kind of saying we owe them one.”
And Thaddeus Lewis was only halfway kidding when he said, “I don’t think I’ll forget the first play this time.”
The 2006 season opener was the first game in Lewis’ college career. He didn’t start against the Spiders, but when preseason starter Marcus Jones – a converted wide receiver – failed to move the team early, Coach Ted Roof sent in the freshman from Opa-Locka, Fla., to try an energize the Blue Devil offense.
“I was thrown into the fire for the third series,” Lewis recalled. “I went into the game, called the play ... and by the time I got to the line, I forgot it.”
By all rights, Lewis shouldn’t have been in the game. He was a true freshman who was only three months removed from his graduation at Hialeah Lakes High School. He wasn’t ready to direct the offense at the college level.
“I was so nervous,” Lewis said. “I thought I played well, but I didn’t quite understand the offense well enough to execute in the red zone.”
Richmond will see a very different Thaddeus Lewis Saturday night when the Blue Devils and Spiders kick off the 2009 season in Wallace Wade Stadium. Not only is the once shaky young quarterback now a proven veteran with 34 career starts to his credit, but a number of other Duke seniors – many of whom played significant roles against Richmond three years ago – are older, stronger, more experienced ... better.
“I’m a whole lot better,” Lewis said earlier this week, comparing his 2006 self with what he is today. “I’m more mature. I’ve got better fundamentals because of Coach [Kurt] Roper. I’m better as a leader. And I’m better as a player because I’ve been able to study myself and make corrections and learn the system.”
Duke lost that 2006 game to Richmond, 13-0 as the Blue Devil offense generated just 210 yards of total offense against the FCS opponent. Duke missed two field goals and twice had the ball inside the Richmond 5-yard line late in the game, but was unable to score on either occasion.
“It left a nasty taste in my mouth,” senior running back Re'quan Boyette, who rushed for 20 yards that night, said. “That game foreshadowed the rest of the season.”
Indeed, the Richmond loss led to a 0-12 season in 2006. The Blue Devils had some good chances to win – for instance, Duke dominated eventual ACC champion Wake Forest in Winston-Salem and went down to the game’s final play against Miami and North Carolina – but couldn’t convert those chances to victory.
Lewis and his senior classmates are determined not to repeat their 2006 experience.
“We have grown together,” Lewis said. “We’ve been through the tough times and we’ve been through the good times. We want to make our senior year as good as possible.”
Ayanga Okpokowuruk was on campus for the 2005 season, but missed that year with an injury. He made his collegiate debut as a redshirt freshman against the Spiders.
“That was our freshman year,” Okpokowuruk said. “I hope we’re all better than we were as freshmen.”
As a young defensive lineman, Okpokowuruk was just excited to play. He was a little taken aback by the reaction of his older classmates after that loss.
“I remember a lot of seniors being real angry after that game,” he said. “As a freshman you don’t really understand these things.”
Now he does ... and now he and his classmates understand that this season is their last chance to do what they came to Duke to do – turn the program into a winner. To accomplish that, they have to start by doing what the 2006 team couldn’t do.
That’s to beat Richmond in the opener.
“Richmond was a game that the seniors have taken to heart,” cornerback Leon Wright said. “We were freshmen ... fresh out of high school. It was all new to us. I feel like we’re a better team now. Maybe we’ll play them with a little chip on our shoulder.”
Wright, who like Lewis and Okpokowuruk made his collegiate debut against Richmond three years ago, can remember running down in coverage on the opening kickoff. He played a few snaps at cornerback, but played mostly on special teams.
Now he’s one of the anchors in the Duke secondary, trying to impart his hard-won wisdom to a new generation of Blue Devil defensive backs.
“Our coaches preach leadership all the time,” Wright said. “We’ve kind of taken the younger players under our wing. They’ve been looking really good in practices and scrimmages. Yeah, you have your freshman mistakes, but they’ve learned really fast – a lot faster than I learned my freshman year.”
One of the lessons that the seniors will try to impart to their young teammates is just how important it is to focus on Richmond and not look past a team from the “lower” FCS Division of the NCAA. After all the Spiders are the reigning FCS national champions and are riding a nine-game winning streak.
But all that pales to the memory of that 2006 loss.
“We weren’t that prepared and those guys came in with a chip on their shoulder,” Lewis recalled. “I think it was a wakeup call not to take anyone for granted. Going into that game, the word on the street was, “You’ve got to win one game and it’s going to be Richmond.’ When you look back at that, what we learned is, you don’t take anything for granted.
“The guys who have been through that do not want to go through that again.”
Lewis suggested that it will be a very different atmosphere this year.
“Now they’re the national champs and they beat us before, so they probably feel like they’re going to come in and beat us again,” he said. “They should feel like that.”
Now it’s the Blue Devils who come into the Richmond game with a little bit of extra motivation.
“I remember the feeling of losing against them,” senior linebacker Vincent Rey said. “I don’t want to feel that way again.”
Nobody who played against the Spiders in 2006 expects it to be easy in the rematch. Richmond will be one of the most experienced opponents Duke will face this season.
“They have 15 redshirt seniors and seven redshirt juniors as their starting 22,” Coach David Cutcliffe pointed out. “I don’t think I’ve ever faced that in my career. Our hands are full.”
Cutcliffe was not around in 2006 when Duke lost to Richmond.
“I’ve looked at it [on tape],” he said. “It was a tough day for Duke, particularly offensively. Just kind of nothing went right.”
Cutcliffe pointed out that Duke is not the only team with veterans from the ’06 game. Richmond returns a number of players who saw action that night.
“To be honest with you, we’re playing a lot better Richmond team than what was here in 2006,” he said.
But with a little prompting, the Duke coach added:
“We’re a much better football team [than Duke in 2006]. No offense to any of those players who worked hard and prepared, but we’re a much better football team than that team.”
Good enough to win the rematch?
None of the veterans of ’06 is guaranteeing a victory Saturday night, but all express the confidence that they’re better prepared to take on the Spiders than in 2006.
“This is an opportunity for this team to make a statement,” Okpokowuruk said. “Everybody’s kind of saying we owe them one.”
And Thaddeus Lewis was only halfway kidding when he said, “I don’t think I’ll forget the first play this time.”
