By BRYAN STRICKLAND
bstrickland@heraldsun.com; 419-6671
DURHAM -- Freshman running backs Desmond Scott and Patrick Kurunwune carried the load for Duke against N.C. Central last weekend, but the weight of the challenge will grow by a ton this weekend against Virginia Tech.
So while Scott could be slowed -- or possibly even sidelined -- by a hamstring injury, the Blue Devils have to be relieved that the top two running backs on the depth chart look like they'll be good to go against the sixth-ranked Hokies.
Re'quan Boyette, who didn't play against NCCU because of a hamstring injury, and Jay Hollingsworth -- who barely played -- are listed as probable for Saturday's noon kickoff. Scott is questionable after getting hurt in practice Tuesday.
"You can never have enough of those guys," Duke coach David Cutcliffe said. "You look over there the first day of practice, and that line's real long. In the timing and assignment period where the quarterback hands the ball off to each back, it takes forever to get through the period.
"Then last week, we had just two of them."
Defensive tackle Vince Oghobaase, possibly Duke's most valuable defensive player, is probable to return after missing the last two games with a knee injury. Oghobaase might have been able to play last week, but Duke took no chances with the ACC opener against the sixth-ranked Hokies looming.
Oghobaase and Boyette had been building toward what they hoped would be a big senior season, but Oghobaase has missed the first two games of his career and Boyette has missed one game and is averaging just 2.1 yards per carry coming off a redshirt season necessitated by a major knee injury.
"We just check up on each other. We try to keep each other's spirits up," Boyette said. "It's very frustrating coming off an injury last year to now have this setback, but it's not as frustrating as last year. I'm handling it well.
"The offense wasn't playing as well as we should have been the first three games. The running game wasn't holding its weight, but we picked it up against Central. That's a different opponent, but we wanted to improve on some things there and carry it over into ACC play."
Scott and Kurunwune were the beneficiaries of the improvement -- and the level of competition -- combining for 193 rushing yards after the team had netted 184 over its first three games. Scott, a true freshman out of Hillside High School, had exactly 100 yards in his college debut.
"We blocked them better than we had been, and Desmond ran the ball well," Cutcliffe said. "He got a lot out of his runs, and his vision was good. What I liked was he didn't pick and choose. He hit the line of scrimmage, made his decisions and went north and south with the ball. That's a good sign.
"He's got a chance of being a really good player, but he's still in a learning curve,"
Only time will tell if Scott gets a shot at a repeat performance against a Virginia Tech defense that is vaunted but that currently ranks just 91st out of 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in rushing defense, allowing 165 yards per game.
Duke, however, even with its breakout against NCCU, ranks 98th in rushing offense with 104.3 yards a game.
In addition to health concerns for the running backs, some charged with blocking for the running game are hampered. Starting right tackle Jarrod Holt is questionable because of a concussion, but left guard Mitchell Lederman is probable to return from a leg injury that sidelined him for one game.
Also, freshman wide receiver Tyree Watkins is out with a leg injury.
