Duke National Signing Day Open Thread
Duke has more unfinished business than usual as National Signing Day opens on Dec. 18.
The numbers
At the start of the day, Duke has 13 commitments in the Class of 2020. That number could expand as the day goes on, with the best bet being that the Blue Devils end up around 16 commitments at day’s end.
Depending on any additional players leaving via transfer, early entry to the draft or giving up football, the Blue Devils should have about 18 scholarships to give. There will be a handful of prospects with Duke offers who don’t sign during the early period, and Duke may want to entertain incoming transfers in the portal, so it’s understandable if coach David Cutcliffe doesn’t sign to the limit during the early period.
The Class of 2020
As of the start of the day, here is Duke’s class:
QB Luca Diamont, 6-foot-3, 185 pounds, 3-star, No. 449 overall, No. 18 Dual threat QB. From Los Angeles’ Venice High
WR Malik Bowen, 6-foot-2, 180 pounds, 3-star, No. 845 overall, No. 130 WR. From Mount Juliet, Tennessee.
WR Nicky Dalmolin, 6-foot-4, 199 pounds, 3-star, No. 149 WR. From Cumming, Georgia’s North Forsyth High
TE Cole Finney, 6-foot-6, 220 pounds, 3-star, No. 83 TE. From Hingham, Massachusetts
OL Graham Barton, 6-foot-5, 300 pounds, 3-star, No. 671 overall, No. 41 Guard. From Brentwood, Tennessee’s Ravenwood High
OL Calib Perez, 6-foot-5, 270 pounds, 3-star, No. 88 OT. From Pearland, Texas’ Dawson High
OL Gary Smith, 6-foot-2, 310 pounds, 3-star, No. 92 OG. From Shelbyville, Tennessee’s Central High
DT Michael Reese, 6-foot-4, 260 pounds, 3-star, No. 964 overall, No. 78 DT. From Antioch, Tennessee’s Cane Ridge High
DT Aeneas Peebles, 6-foot-2, 265 pounds, 3-star, No. 90 DT. From Knightdale, NC
LB Dorian Mausi, 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, 3-star, No. 965 overall, No. 67 OLB. From Detroit’s University of Detroit Jesuit HS
LB Christian Hood, 6-foot-0, 205 pounds, 3-star, No. 49 ILB. From Missouri City, Texas’ HIghtower High (highlights at top)
LB Ryan Smith, 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, 3-star, No. 64 ILB. From Kennesaw, Georgia’s Harrison High
S Isaiah Fisher-Smith, 5-foot-10, 197 pounds, 3-star, No. 96 Safety. From Greensboro, NC’s Page High
The rankings
The current class ranks No. 67 nationally and No. 13 in the ACC, down from last year’s rankings of 49 and 8 (all player and class rankings are 247Sports).
Potential additions
There are several players who could still join the class. The best bets are
Da’Quan Johnson, 5-foot-11.5, 175 pounds, 3-star, No. 1,821 overall, No. 145 Athlete. From Flomaton, Alabama. Johnson took an official visit to Duke last week and then decommitted from Troy. The Blue Devils are his only known Power Five offer. Played both ways in high school at quarterback, running back and safety.
Jontavis Robertson, 6-foot-0, 180 pounds, 3-star, No. 802 overall, No. 121 WR. From Gray, Georgia’s Jones County High. Took an official visit to Duke this past weekend, with most of the current commitments. Took an official to Indiana the previous weekend. Also has an offer from home-state Georgia. Will be holding his signing ceremony at 2:30, long after Duke’s press conference. So he may send in the official paperwork (or regrets) early, or this might be a late addition to the class.
Jaylen Stinson, 5-foot-8, 160 pounds, 3-star, No. 1,032 overall, No. 67 Athlete. From Opelika, Alabama. A cornerback, Stinson starts the day as a Purdue commitment. Duke is reported to be making a late push to flip him.
Addison Penn, 6-foot-4, 275 pounds, 3-star, No. 895 overall, No. 20 center. From Southlake, Texas’ Southlake Carroll High. He starts the day as a Boston College commit, although he got an offer from Duke earlier this month.
7:00 Fax machine is on
7:10 Aeneas Peebles is the first in. The DT committed in June, choosing Duke over App State, Navy and a host of FCS programs.
7:16 Nicky Dalmolin is in. The WR has a signing ceremony later in the day which is just for show. He committed in March 2018, choosing Duke over App State.
7:26 Sunday night commitment Ryan Smith, who Duke lured away from a Louisville official visit, is in.
7:33 Class is officially at four players. Isaiah Fisher-Smith is in. The safety committed in April, picking Duke over offers from UNC, Tennessee, Wake, ECU, App State
7:41 Cole Finney is in. The tight end chose Duke over Air Force, Army and a host of FCS schools in June.
7:50 Dorian Mausi is in. The linebacker chose Duke in August over Indiana, Michigan State and several MAC teams.
8:11 Duke lands one of the uncommitted targets on its short list. Athlete Da’Quan Johnson, who decommitted from Troy after his official visit to Duke last week, submitted his NLI to Duke .
8:17 Those tricky Blue Devils flip another one! Jaylen Stinson drops Purdue and submits his letter to Duke.
Duke’s class stands at 15 and gets a big boost from the late-breaking defections from elsewhere. Jontavis Robertson is the last big piece that could put a bow on the class. BC center Addison Penn is also a possibility.
8:23 True to form, David Cutcliffe is once again taking care of all this signing day drama early. Jontavis Robertson is a Blue Devil. Letter is in. He has a 2:30 hat ceremony at his school, which will be for show.
8:36 Deep breath. Okay, back to the letters from the guys already committed. Texas linebacker Christian Hood is in.
8:44 The second-rated prospect in Duke’s class submits his letter. OL Graham Barton is in.
8:49 Gary Smith III is in. That’s two offensive linemen in a row
Twelve letters are in. Four commits to go.
8:56 There’s WR Malik Bowen.
9:07 Michael Reese is in. If you’re scoring at home, there are two commitments left unsigned. QB Luca Diamont is on West Coast time, so 7 AM won’t come for another 50 minutes. OL Calib Perez is the other holdout
9:09 Speak of the devil: Perez is in. Cutcliffe is only waiting for his California quarterback now
9:28 No word on center Addison Penn. That would seem to be a pessimistic sign for Duke, since Coach Cut seems to be trying to get everyone to send in their letters early.
10:06 The class is in the can. QB Luca Diamont sends in his letter. Duke finishes with 16 recruits.
The late additions jumped Duke 12 spots in the 247 class rankings, to 56 and one spot in the ACC, passing Boston College.
We'll have comments from Coach Cut in about an hour
