Duke depth chart breakdown - secondary: How big an impact can Mark Gilbert make?
The coach is gone but most of “The Coalition” remains at Duke.
Derek Jones was the high-energy assistant coach who liked to call his defensive backs the “Cheetahs” and his secondary “The Coalition.” Jones left Duke after last season, taking a defensive job at Texas Tech, but the group he left behind will give the Blue Devils a seasoned, experienced collection of DBs.
Also back: Mark Gilbert. The senior cornerback has missed most of the past two seasons because of hip issues and surgery. But Gilbert has worked his way back — literally — into Duke’s plans for 2020 and will give the Blue Devils a player who was tied for third nationally in interceptions in 2017, his last full season, and was a first-team All-ACC selection.
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“I’ve gained my confidence back,” Gilbert said in a media call this week. “I’ve gained a lot more IQ in the game of football and added more physical aspects, as well.”
The Blue Devils now have assistant coach Chris Hampton in charge of the cornerbacks while Matt Guerrieri, Duke’s co-defensive coordinator, handles the safeties. Hampton was at Tulane the past four seasons and a part of two bowl-winning teams with the Green Wave.
Duke coach David Cutcliffe can look at a depth chart topped by Michael Carter II, Marquis Waters, Josh Blackwell, Leonard Johnson and Lummie Young IV. Former team captain Dylan Singleton has graduated but Gilbert has returned.
“This secondary is fast, experienced,” Cutcliffe said. “It’s been a real war to watch our young receivers compete against those guys.”
Who is expected to start?
Guerrieri likes the flexibility of his secondary, with the ability to flood the field with DBs if necessary in pass situations but also have players who can jump up near the line of scrimmage to be a part of the run defense.
Duke’s defensive scheme recently in practice has had Gilbert and Blackwell as the first-team guys at corner, Waters the bandit safety, Carter II the strike safety and Young IV lined up as the rover. Johnson is backing up Gilbert at corner.
Carter II, a senior, started all 12 games last season and was on the field for a team-high 945 snaps. In contrast, Young, a redshirt junior, has just three career starts but had a career-high 15 stops last season against Wake Forest and is looking to be a major contributor on defense.
There will be no ease-in period for the group — the Blue Devils are scheduled to open on Sept. 12 at Notre Dame, which beat Duke 38-7 last year in Durham as quarterback Ian Book passed for four touchdowns.
Who are the key reserves?
Jeremiah Lewis, a redshirt sophomore from Plano, Texas, has been working as a backup corner behind Blackwell. Lewis played in all 12 games last season. Tony Davis, a redshirt freshman, is the fifth cornerback.
Getting work at safety have been Nate Thompson and Jalen Alexander, along with transfer J’Marick Woods. Thompson, a redshirt sophomore from Sanford, is Waters’ backup at bandit and Alexander has been backing up Carter II.
Alexander got in 12 games as a freshman in 2019, starting against North Carolina and Syracuse. The 5-11, 160-pound sophomore picked off two passes, one against UNC.
Duke announced Wednesday that cornerback Ken Torain would have surgery for a shoulder injury and be out indefinitely.
Who might surprise us?
It could be J’Marick Woods. The 6-3, 215-pound safety enrolled at Duke in January after playing three seasons at Michigan.
Woods graduated in December with a degree in kinesiology and the Florence, Ala., native then made the move to Duke. Woods played in 27 games for the Wolverines and adds both depth and size to the Duke secondary.
What are the strengths of the group as a whole?
Few teams have Duke’s degree of experience on the back end. Consider that in terms of career starts, Carter has 25, Waters 24, Johnson 21, Gilbert 18 and Blackwell 15. That’s a lot of football.
The Duke group should face few schemes that confuse them. They should be able to read and react off each other, confident that each player in the secondary has a good grasp on their responsibilities on the field and will take care of them.
Gilbert said a football motto he always has admired is: “Do your job, trust your teammate.” This secondary can do that.
What are the weaknesses of the group as a whole
While the Blue Devils were 24th nationally in passing yards allowed per game (199), Duke finished 87th against the rush (180.6 yards per game) and has lost a player in Singleton who led the secondary with 87 tackles.
The secondary must help bolster the rushing defense and do more ball-hawking — Duke’s defense had nine interceptions last season.
This story was originally published September 3, 2020 at 12:53 PM with the headline "Duke depth chart breakdown - secondary: How big an impact can Mark Gilbert make?."
