Blue Devils regroup behind ‘The Future’

If Duke coach David Cutliffe has a concern about quarterback Daniel Jones, it may be the redshirt freshman hasn’t been getting enough sleep.

Jones, who will start Saturday in the season-opener against N.C. Central, has spent late-night hours watching a lot of game and practice video, Cutcliffe said.

“I don’t need sleep,” Cutcliffe joked. ”I’m old and not playing. He is.”

Cutcliffe may have had some restless nights since Thursday, when quarterback Thomas Sirk went down with another Achilles tendon injury.

“We all felt like we’d been kicked in the gut,” Cutcliffe said.

A major injury in preseason camp can be devastating for a football team, especially when it involves a team leader and popular player at an important position. So it was for Sirk, a redshirt senior who ruptured his left Achilles tendon in February but had worked hard and seemingly recovered well enough to play this season.

Watching Sirk be carted off the practice field Thursday night, after suffering a partial tear of the same Achilles, a season-ending injury, was gut-wrenching for everyone.

“I was heartbroken for him,” Jones said. “He’s such a hard-working guy that we all have so much respect for and look up to.”

Sirk was named one of the team’s four permanent captains for the season and Cutcliffe said Sirk would continue to work closely with Jones and the quarterbacks. But Jones is the No. 1 guy for now, beating out redshirt junior Parker Boehme in fall camp.

Senior safety DeVon Edwards smiled Tuesday when asked about Jones, saying he has been known as “The Future” since coming to Duke.

A nickname already? Jones is 19 and hasn’t played a college game.

“He’s a pretty good quarterback. We’ve known that since he’s gotten here,” Edwards said. “He has a strong arm and he almost looks effortless.”

Cutcliffe said Jones is a “fairly quiet” guy and he came across that way Tuesday when surrounded by the media.

Jones will be only the fourth freshman quarterback to start for Duke since 1951 and the first to start an opener since Bobby Campbell against N.C. State in 1997.

“I’m excited about getting out there Saturday. It should be fun,” Jones said.

So it went. The 6-foot-5, 210-pound Charlotte native appears to have a quiet nature, even demeanor and slow heart rate.

“I get fired up from time to time, but I would say for the most part I’m a pretty calm person,” he said, grinning.

A year ago, Jones had just received a scholarship and was working on the scout team.

“Just getting acclimated to the college system,” he said.

Neither Jones nor Cutcliffe said the game planning would change because of Sirk’s injury. Sirk rushed for more than 800 yards last season, but Cutcliffe said Jones is “fast, a very good runner with the football” and Jones said he ran “a decent amount” while at Charlotte Latin High.

Cutcliffe said Jones’ overall productivity — passing accuracy, game management — in camp “inched” him ahead of Boehme, noting Boehme and Quentin Harris are pushing Jones. Kane Banner, a non-scholarship player, can play quarterback and receiver, Cutcliffe said.

“But it’s a job Daniel has won right now,” Cutcliffe said. “I expect him to play like he’s practiced.”

Cutcliffe said it was gratifying to see Sirk, the day after the injury, come to the team meeting with a smile on his face.

“Thomas Sirk, as we’ve said all along, is an inspiration,” Cutcliffe said.

This story was originally published August 30, 2016 at 2:30 PM with the headline "Blue Devils regroup behind ‘The Future’."