Duke adds new wrinkle to its football depth chart: What in the world is a ‘vyper’?
Duke football begins its new era under coach Manny Diaz Friday night with a new starting quarterback, an offensive line rebuilt via the transfer portal and a vyper on defense.
What’s that?
Yes, vyper is a new position name for one of Duke’s defensive linemen in the scheme that Diaz and defensive coordinator Jonathan Patke will utilize when the Blue Devils open this season at Wallace Wade Stadium against Elon.
The defense also has players at star, rover, mike and will in addition to more traditional defensive position names like nose guard, cornerback and free safety.
New position names on defense are just one of the answers the first depth chart of the new season provided. Here’s that information and other tidbits.
Watch out for the `vyper’
Duke defensive coordinator Jonathan Patke said naming one of the defensive ends as the vyper dates back a decade to the season he and Diaz coached defense together at Louisiana Tech.
“In 2014 at Louisiana Tech,” Patke said, “our boundary end, more of our dropping end, pass rushing end, got the name of vyper. So it kind of stuck from there and that’s how we kind of brand our defense.”
Wesley Williams, a redshirt sophomore, is listed as the starting vyper on the depth chart Duke released on Monday. The 6-3, 245-pound Williams started three games, including Duke’s 17-10 win over Troy in the Birmingham Bowl, at defensive end last season.
Graduate student Michael Reese and redshirt freshmen Kevin O’Connor are the reserve vypers.
Who is the defensive ‘star’?
Elsewhere on Duke’s depth chart, the star position has either Cameron Bergeron or Tre Freeman as the starter. Think of star as either a safety or a linebacker.
Last season, the 6-foot, 230-pound Freeman was a second-team all-ACC linebacker who led the team with 106 tackles. Bergeron, at 6-0 and 190 pounds played safety in 13 games with one start.
Diaz said Duke will either use a third linebacker (built like Freeman) or a fifth defensive back (built like Bergeron) at the star position depending upon the offensive personnel.
“It’s become a little bit more of a hybrid position,” Diaz said. “Potentially a safety-type body or potentially a speedy linebacker-type body, someone that can play in space. The game has turned with the spread offense. Teams always have three wide receivers on the field.”
Duke also lists two linebackers with positions called ‘Will’ and `Mike.’ Freeman will start at Will when Bergeron starts at Star. When Freeman starts at Star, Alex Howard is listed as the starter at Will.
The starting ‘Mike’ linebacker is Nick Morris. That’s important because he’s the defensive player with the helmet outfitted with a communications system that allows Patke to relay 15 seconds worth of information to him between plays.
Rebuilt offensive line
Duke only had seven healthy offensive linemen during spring practice because of players who had finished their careers and were preparing for the NFL, injuries or players who had transferred.
But the Blue Devils used the transfer portal to bolster that position over the summer and the depth chart shows the impact.
Graduate transfers Bruno Fina (UCLA) and Caleb Krings (Elon) are listed as starters at left tackle and left guard. Second-teamers who transferred in include guards Eric Schon (Holy Cross) and Jack Purcell (Penn), center Michael Barr (Lafayette) and tackle James Pogorelc (Stanford).
Fresh faces
Among the freshmen making the two-deep depth chart are wide receivers Que’Sean Brown and Chase Tyler, offensive lineman Caleb Dorris, defensive tackles Desmond Aladuge, Preston Watson and David Anderson, defensive end Tyshon Reed, linebacker Kendall Johnson, cornerbacks Vontae Floyd, Landon Callahan and Kimari Robinson, and safeties Leon Griffin and DaShawn Stone.
Many of them are redshirt freshman. The only freshmen in their first seasons of college football are Callahan, Floyd, Reed and Tyler.
Brown is listed as a possible starter at wide receiver along with redshirt junior Sahmir Hagans. Brown is also listed as the team’s first-string punt returner.