Game Preview: The Duquesne Dukes
To open the season, the Duquesne Dukes come to Brookings to take on the Jackrabbits under the lights of Dana. J. Dykhouse Stadium on Thursday (8/31) night. Typically, teams from the Northeast Conference (NEC) and the Pioneer League are viewed as push-overs. However, Duquesne is not your typical opponent from these conferences. Their head coach Jerry Schmitt has been leading the program for 13 seasons and has guided The Dukes to four NEC championships in the past six seasons. Furthermore, the team returns five starters on offense and eight starers on defense. Lets take a look at the roster and see what makes this team tick.
Offense
The Dukes offense only returns 5 of 11 starters but is still very dangerous. The team last year featured a very balanced attack on its way to scoring 31 points per game. While there is still some uncertainty about who will fill the open positions, the experience they do return should make their offense okay.
We don't have to look very hard find out what makes the engine go. Running back #32 A.J. Hines returns for his sophomore season after winning the 2016 Jerry Rice Award; which is awarded to the FCS Freshmen of the Year. Hines is a big running back, checking in at 225 pounds, who has good feet and vision. For perspective, SDSU's big back is Mikey Daniel who is listed at 6'2 220 pounds. Last year Hines rushed for 1,291 yards and 13 touchdowns while holding 5.3 ypc average. He added 15 receptions for 200 yards and a touchdown showing that he isn't a one-trick pony. Check out his highlights in the clip below. When Hines does come off the field, #3 P.J. Fulmore is also a threat after going for 355 yards and 2 touchdowns last season.
Duquesne does return 3 of their 5 starting offensive linemen. #57 Matt Fitzpatrick and #66 Ben Huss were awarded with All-NEC recognition and are joined by returning starter #72 Alex Conley. Huss has also received recogniztion as an STATS All-American. These three are maulers. Watch Hine's highlights above to appreciate the work these three do. Between the three, they average 305 pounds. Again, this is unusual size for an NEC team. All three of these players also started all 11 games last year. The Dukes are replacing their right tackle and center.
At wide receiver the Dukes lose their top two statistical leaders who accounted for 98 receptions but bring back some experience with #1 Nehari Crawford returning after catching 30 passes for 359 yards and 3 touchdowns. Crawford is also dangerous on kick returns after averaging nearly 27 yards per return in 2016. #15 Kareem Coles will also see his share of passes in 2017 after catching 19 for 149 yards last year. #24 Chavas Rawlins started 1 game and had 15 receptions, 144 yards, and 1 touchdown on the season.
The big question for Duquesne is at quarterback. The Dukes lost former Oregon State grad-transfer Dillon Buechel to graduation, after he threw for 2,800 yards and 23 touchdowns. At the end of spring ball, the Dukes had not yet picked a starter and no official announcement has been made yet. The two who were finalists for the position were sophomore, #7 Brett Brumbaugh and Boise State grad-transfer #6 Tommy Stuart. Brumbaugh only had one passing attempt in the 2016 season. Stuart attended the same community college as Aaron Rodgers (Butte CC) and then transfered to Boise State. His statistics at Boise State are limited but it appears he is a dual threat quarterback. Whoever starts for Duquesne will give plenty of hand-offs to Hines. However, they will have to be able to complete a few passes to keep the defense honest.
Defense
The Duquesne defense returns 8 starters on a unit that only allowed 25 points per game. The group is led by Lindy's Preseason All-America, #54 Nate Stone. Stone, who has started every game of his college career (35 in a row entering 2017), will enter his senior year with 232 tackles (123 solo) and 25.5 tackles for loss, including 12.5 sacks. Stone plays fast and loves to hit. Below is an interview he did this fall and they show a few highlights of his plays.
Joining Stone in the line backing corp is #42 Carter Henderson a Penn State transfer. Henderson racked up 90 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception and recovered two fumbles as a junior. Stone and Henderson will certainly draw a lot of attention but they are not the only difference makers.
In the secondary, the Dukes return all four starters as well as their nickle cornerback. The safeties are #2 Branden Stanback (29 tackles and 7 passes defended) and all-NEC performer #11 Abner Roberts (19 tackles, 1 INT). The cornerbacks are #14 Jonathan Istache (21 tackles, 1 INT), Penn State transfer #4 Daquan Worley (16 tackles, 1 INT) and #10 Malik Shegog (23 tackles, 2 INT, 7 passes defended). It looks like this a solid secondary as opponents only averaged 191 passing yards per game.
The defensive line is where they may have their most questions. Returning starters are All-NEC performer #36 Andy Struttman and #99 Zack Blystone. Struttman is only 240 pounds but he plays with an incredibly high motor while registering 49 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 2016. Blystone started 10/11 games as a freshmen and contributing 15 tackles. He checks in at 6-2 280 pounds so he is a big body in the middle.
The Dukes will be breaking in a new kicker and punter as the same athlete managed both responsibilities in 2016.
Prediction
Last year, National Runner-Up and MVFC foe, Youngstown State defeated Duquesne 45-10 in the opening game of the season. I will expect a similar result this year for the Jacks. Isaac Wallace and Brady Mengarelli will each go over 100 yards rushing. The run defense will have to show up and clog the middle as The Dukes will look to pound the football. It will be a great test for the new defensive linemen and linebackers. The Jackrabbit's win this one 41-17 with plenty of players seeing their first game action.
About Duquesne University
Duquesne is located in Pittsburg, PA and features 80 different majors and a little over 6,000 students. Here is some historic info taken directly from their website.
"One of the nation's top Catholic universities, Duquesne University provides a well-rounded education that will challenge you academically while nourishing your spiritual and ethical development. Founded more than 130 years ago by the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne University is the only Spiritan institution of higher education in the United States. This means we share in the Spiritans' values and are deeply committed to:
Matt
Offense
The Dukes offense only returns 5 of 11 starters but is still very dangerous. The team last year featured a very balanced attack on its way to scoring 31 points per game. While there is still some uncertainty about who will fill the open positions, the experience they do return should make their offense okay.
We don't have to look very hard find out what makes the engine go. Running back #32 A.J. Hines returns for his sophomore season after winning the 2016 Jerry Rice Award; which is awarded to the FCS Freshmen of the Year. Hines is a big running back, checking in at 225 pounds, who has good feet and vision. For perspective, SDSU's big back is Mikey Daniel who is listed at 6'2 220 pounds. Last year Hines rushed for 1,291 yards and 13 touchdowns while holding 5.3 ypc average. He added 15 receptions for 200 yards and a touchdown showing that he isn't a one-trick pony. Check out his highlights in the clip below. When Hines does come off the field, #3 P.J. Fulmore is also a threat after going for 355 yards and 2 touchdowns last season.
Duquesne does return 3 of their 5 starting offensive linemen. #57 Matt Fitzpatrick and #66 Ben Huss were awarded with All-NEC recognition and are joined by returning starter #72 Alex Conley. Huss has also received recogniztion as an STATS All-American. These three are maulers. Watch Hine's highlights above to appreciate the work these three do. Between the three, they average 305 pounds. Again, this is unusual size for an NEC team. All three of these players also started all 11 games last year. The Dukes are replacing their right tackle and center.
At wide receiver the Dukes lose their top two statistical leaders who accounted for 98 receptions but bring back some experience with #1 Nehari Crawford returning after catching 30 passes for 359 yards and 3 touchdowns. Crawford is also dangerous on kick returns after averaging nearly 27 yards per return in 2016. #15 Kareem Coles will also see his share of passes in 2017 after catching 19 for 149 yards last year. #24 Chavas Rawlins started 1 game and had 15 receptions, 144 yards, and 1 touchdown on the season.
The big question for Duquesne is at quarterback. The Dukes lost former Oregon State grad-transfer Dillon Buechel to graduation, after he threw for 2,800 yards and 23 touchdowns. At the end of spring ball, the Dukes had not yet picked a starter and no official announcement has been made yet. The two who were finalists for the position were sophomore, #7 Brett Brumbaugh and Boise State grad-transfer #6 Tommy Stuart. Brumbaugh only had one passing attempt in the 2016 season. Stuart attended the same community college as Aaron Rodgers (Butte CC) and then transfered to Boise State. His statistics at Boise State are limited but it appears he is a dual threat quarterback. Whoever starts for Duquesne will give plenty of hand-offs to Hines. However, they will have to be able to complete a few passes to keep the defense honest.
Defense
The Duquesne defense returns 8 starters on a unit that only allowed 25 points per game. The group is led by Lindy's Preseason All-America, #54 Nate Stone. Stone, who has started every game of his college career (35 in a row entering 2017), will enter his senior year with 232 tackles (123 solo) and 25.5 tackles for loss, including 12.5 sacks. Stone plays fast and loves to hit. Below is an interview he did this fall and they show a few highlights of his plays.
⚠️⚠️#DuqFB #Camp2017 is coming to an end. Hear about it from LB Nate Stone and OL Matt Fitzpatrick ⚠️⚠️#GoDukes #DuqFB pic.twitter.com/oBYgMFJifL— Duquesne Football (@DuqFB) August 19, 2017
Joining Stone in the line backing corp is #42 Carter Henderson a Penn State transfer. Henderson racked up 90 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception and recovered two fumbles as a junior. Stone and Henderson will certainly draw a lot of attention but they are not the only difference makers.
In the secondary, the Dukes return all four starters as well as their nickle cornerback. The safeties are #2 Branden Stanback (29 tackles and 7 passes defended) and all-NEC performer #11 Abner Roberts (19 tackles, 1 INT). The cornerbacks are #14 Jonathan Istache (21 tackles, 1 INT), Penn State transfer #4 Daquan Worley (16 tackles, 1 INT) and #10 Malik Shegog (23 tackles, 2 INT, 7 passes defended). It looks like this a solid secondary as opponents only averaged 191 passing yards per game.
The defensive line is where they may have their most questions. Returning starters are All-NEC performer #36 Andy Struttman and #99 Zack Blystone. Struttman is only 240 pounds but he plays with an incredibly high motor while registering 49 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 2016. Blystone started 10/11 games as a freshmen and contributing 15 tackles. He checks in at 6-2 280 pounds so he is a big body in the middle.
The Dukes will be breaking in a new kicker and punter as the same athlete managed both responsibilities in 2016.
Prediction
Last year, National Runner-Up and MVFC foe, Youngstown State defeated Duquesne 45-10 in the opening game of the season. I will expect a similar result this year for the Jacks. Isaac Wallace and Brady Mengarelli will each go over 100 yards rushing. The run defense will have to show up and clog the middle as The Dukes will look to pound the football. It will be a great test for the new defensive linemen and linebackers. The Jackrabbit's win this one 41-17 with plenty of players seeing their first game action.
About Duquesne University
Duquesne is located in Pittsburg, PA and features 80 different majors and a little over 6,000 students. Here is some historic info taken directly from their website.
"One of the nation's top Catholic universities, Duquesne University provides a well-rounded education that will challenge you academically while nourishing your spiritual and ethical development. Founded more than 130 years ago by the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne University is the only Spiritan institution of higher education in the United States. This means we share in the Spiritans' values and are deeply committed to:
- Educational excellence
- Moral and spiritual values
- An ecumenical atmosphere open to diversity
- Service to the Church, the community, the nation and the world"
Matt
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