bstrickland@heraldsun.com; 419-6671
DURHAM — Duke kicker Nick Maggio will have about 120 friends and family in the stands when he heads home for the school’s first-ever football game against Kansas.
If the Blue Devils hope to knock off the 22nd-ranked Jayhawks, Maggio likely will have to make multiple appearances on the field given the role he’s been assigned.
“I’m going to have Maggio kick extra points. He’s been there and done that and been consistent,” Duke coach David Cutcliffe said Thursday. “[Will] Snyderwine is going to kick our field goals from anywhere rather than worrying about where it is.
“I don’t like being wishy-washy with this, but we’ve got to be careful before we make a final decision.”
This will mark the third kicking combination that Cutcliffe has tried in as many games. After Maggio, the starter a year ago, missed two field goals in the opener when the plan was for him to kick short field goals and Snyderwine to kick longer ones, Cutcliffe went exclusively with Snyderwine last week.
Snyderwine, however, missed a 28-yarder at Army, leaving Duke’s kickers 0-for-3 a year after Maggio went 11-for-14.
“That’s completely unacceptable for us,” Cutcliffe said. “Our regular kicker missed three last year; our quota is up.”
Maggio has been working hard to trade tickets with teammates (players get four tickets for each road game) in order to foot the bill for as many of his supporters as possible.
Duke’s team hotel is about two minutes down the street from Maggio’s home in Leawood, Kansas, is about 40 minutes from Lawrence. Maggio said he grew up a Kansas State fan, but Kansas ended up being his runner-up in recruiting.
“They recruited me pretty heavily,” Maggio said. “But I couldn’t be happier here. Duke is an amazing place.”
Vernon listed as doubtful
Duke could well be missing freshman wide receiver Conner Vernon at Kansas and has to hope that defensive leader Vince Oghobaase and the team’s top two running backs will be good to go.
Vernon is listed as doubtful after injuring his ankle when he got tangled up with a defender in the second half of the victory at Army. Vernon had two catches in the game, including his first touchdown, and also returned a kickoff 55 yards and drew a pair of pass interference penalties.
Oghobaase and second-string running back Jay Hollingworth are questionable, while starting running back Re’quan Boyette is probable along with reserve tight end Danny Parker.
All suffered ankle injuries against Army except for Oghobaase, who has a leg injury.
“These are Thursday releases, and we’re a morning practice team,” Cutcliffe pointed out. “We get treatment all day, all night, so by Friday night sometimes they feel a lot different.
“There always is still some hope.”
Wait and see
If injuries force Duke to play someone other than Boyette and Hollingsworth in the backfield, it’s far from a sure bet that Hillside High School product Desmond Scott would make his college debut.
Redshirt freshman Patrick Kurunwune has been running with the third team, and Cutcliffe said that redshirt sophomore Cameron Jones has come on off late.
So far, the Blue Devils have played just eight of their 27 true freshmen.
“On all of those freshmen, I can’t make a blanket statement. It’s too early,” Cutcliffe said. “We’re trying to evaluate it week to week while also keeping in mind the long-term commitment we’re making to this program to try to reach another level.
“We’re in this for the long haul. If we can redshirt 18, 19, 20 players, that helps us immensely.”
