Cutcliffe on freshmen receivers: "We've got to keep them hungry."

Part three of Cutcliffe's comments to the media

In part three of his bye-week comments to the media, Coach David Cutcliffe talked about his plan for the freshmen wide receivers, now that the team will have Jake Bobo back.

The sophomore, Bobo, missed the first three games recovering from a broken collarbone in preseason. In his place, the freshmen have played too well to send back to the bench.

“We’re rolling Jake in a lot of places,” he said. “We’re going to keep Jalon Calhoun on the field. I love where Eli Pancol is coming. We hope Darrell Harding Jr. is stepping into that role (and) Dennis Smith. … I’m going to try to play those guys, if they’ve earned the opportunity. We’ve got to keep them hungry. We’ve got to keep playing Jalon the way he’s playing, like he is.”

Bobo is a versatile player, which makes it easier to find a place for him.

“Jake can fit in a lot of different spots. In our empty package, he can fit in almost all of them. He’ll play some slot.”

Cutcliffe confirmed that tight end Noah Gray is battling injury, saying the team is “monitoring” his health. He also confirmed that running back Brittain Brown is not practicing as he recovers from injury.

He praised Mataeo Durant, who has taken on an increased workload running the ball with Brown out and said the team’s only other options at the position right now are freshmen Jaylen Coleman and Jordan Waters.

Cutcliffe also discussed receiver Aaron Young, who had a strong game Saturday, discussing his long journey at Duke which has included injury and a near transfer in the offseason.