Duke's players looking beyond conference shutdowns

Five days into Duke football’s return to practice, it’s business as usual despite the gathering social media storm threatening to shut down the college season versus playing on despite the health risks.

At least that’s what senior tight end Noah Gray and senior defensive end Drew Jordan said following Tuesday’s practice in Zoom interviews.

“Everybody sees what’s going on in college football,” Jordan said. “But I think we’re focused on the goal of winning an ACC championship. That’s what we’ve been sticking to since we’ve been on campus. We’re not worried about the Big Ten or the Pac-12. We’re about ACC football and that’s what we’re continuing to do moving forward.”

Duke began practice on Friday hopeful to begin its season under the revised scheduled that has the Blue Devils traveling to play Notre Dame Sept. 12 in South Bend, Ind. But by Sunday, there were reports the Big Ten and Pac-12 were about to pull the plug on a fall season.

The Big Ten made postponement official at 3 p.m. ET Tuesday. The Pac-12 soon followed. The Mid-American Conference had previously announced its postponement on Saturday and the Mountain West Conference followed on Monday. The Pac-12 is reported to be on the verge of a Tuesday announcement postponing its seasons.

Some Duke players joined the Twitter hashtag chorus of #wewanttoplay, but Jordan said that was more youthful eagerness to return to football than an organized effort. Grey said there haven’t been meetings about joining forces with Pac-12 and Big Ten players that have pushed to form an organization over safety concerns.

“No, we have not had any conversations,” Gray said. “We’re here to play football with the great medical advice were receiving. There is no conversation.”

Jordan added the players are confident Duke’s administration has created a safe bubble and the athletes can maintain it.

“We have the greatest medical staff in the country at Duke and we have the greatest medical support here at Duke,” he said. “They’ve been doing a great job with testing us and the protocols that we to follow. An example would be is if we go to training room and somebody is using something, we do a great job of wiping things down with bleach. That’s mandated by us, the players, and we will continue to do that moving forward.”

Duke coach David Cutcliffe has been consulting with Dr. Cameron Wolfe, a Duke infectious disease specialist, since the spring football was shut down about how to proceed. Wolfe, who also serves as chair of the ACC medical advisory group, has told Sports Business Daily that doctors feel games can be safely with testing and other precautions.

It’s too early for an official depth chart, but Jordan, a 6-foot-2, 260-pounder, is listed as a backup defensive end to junior Chris Rumph II, a returning third-team All-ACC pick. He is one of the reasons the Blue Devils feel better about their overall strength and depth up front this season.

Gray (6-4, 240) was a second-team All-ACC choice. His 51 receptions led the team and his 392 yards was second. He scored three touchdowns. Gray may be on the verge of a breakout season with good pass protection from a stronger offensive line than a year ago.