swiseman@heraldsun.com; 419-6671
DURHAM — Hardened by experience from his three decades in college football, David Cutcliffe knows better than to relax the night before National Signing Day.
“I don’t know if I ever feel confident on Tuesday night,” the Duke football coach said Wednesday.
On this signing day, though, Cutcliffe’s nerves were soothed by two pleasant surprises.
The Blue Devils had 18 committed players when the week began but added two more to their class on Wednesday when running back Jela Duncan of Charlotte and linebacker Keilin Rayner from Leland picked Duke over several other offers.
Duncan, a 5-10, 200-pound back from Mallard Creek High School, had said via his Twitter account on Tuesday that his finalists were Wake Forest, East Carolina and Purdue.
But he signed scholarship papers for Duke on Wednesday morning, the first day football players graduating in spring 2012 are allowed to formally enter into agreements with colleges.
His inclusion in the class, along with running back Shaquille Powell from Las Vegas and quarterback Thomas Sirk from Glen St. Mary, Fla., gave Cutcliffe and Duke something to be excited about on signing day.
“It’s a backfield, I bet, people are going to remember for a long time,” Cutcliffe said.
Rayner, from North Brunswick, visited Ohio State over the weekend and was mulling offers from North Carolina, East Carolina and Clemson.
He, too, decided to cast his lot with Duke, hoping to help the Blue Devils end their bowl drought that dates to the 1994 season.
Rayner (6-3, 245) and Duncan, both three-star recruits on five-star scales, are among five in-state players Duke signed on Wednesday. The Blue Devils also added tight end Dan Beilinson from Cary’s Panther Creek High School, offensive lineman Casey Blaser from South Mecklenburg and defensive lineman Carlos Wray from Shelby.
Cutcliffe said he can envision several players in the class offering immediate help for a Duke program that has produced consecutive 3-9 seasons.
The player most likely to do so is kicker Ross Martin from Solon, Ohio. Rivals.com listed Martin as the nation’s No. 1 kicking prospect in this year’s class, while Scout.com, ESPN.com and 247sports.com had him at No. 2.
Martin visited Duke for a camp and impressed Cutcliffe with his range and accuracy. Martin was scheduled to visit Florida next, but Cutcliffe made a bold move.
“I was able to offer him pretty quickly after seeing that display,” Cutcliffe said.
Duke’s defense has been at or near the bottom of the ACC in most statistical categories, most notably sacks.
While younger players earned playing time this past season and helped the Blue Devils improve slightly, Cutcliffe believes the recruits will add more talent.
Wray is a big part of the group, as are Michael Mann from Castle Rock, Colo., A.J. Wolfe from Greenwich, Conn., and Allen Jackson from Ellicott City, Md.
“I look at our defensive front,” Cutcliffe said. “There’s strength. There’s size. There is height. There is no question in my mind we have recruited some immediate help there.”
Heading into his fifth season, Cutcliffe has not had the success on the field that he would have liked. He knows 3-9 seasons aren’t going to cause people to flock to Wallace Wade Stadium.
But with a solid class coming in, he believes improvement is coming.
“I hate to say this with all the records we’ve had,” Cutcliffe said, “but we’re pretty good.”
