Tre Hornbuckle Remembers Missing Bowl Game: "It Wasn't Fun"
Tre Hornbuckle remembers what it feels like to miss a bowl game. He was a freshman on the 2016 Blue Devils who went 4-8 and missed a bowl game.
“It wasn’t fun watching other teams play in a bowl game,” he said. “It wasn’t fun. Granted, it was nice to go home and be with my mom for Christmas and all that. I’d much rather, after experiencing it two years in a row, I love spending Christmas with the team. It’s such a great environment. We create a true family environment. It’s eventful. We’re definitely trying to work hard to get to another bowl game this year.”
In order to make a bowl for the third year in a row, Duke needs to clean up some problems the team has had in recent games.
“Just some mistakes we shouldn’t have made, honestly,” he said. “We corrected them Sunday. We worked this week on not making same mistakes and come out on Saturday and playing fast. (The mistakes were) execution—schemes. People trying to do more than they’re supposed to do. It’s all about coming down to doing your 111s. We have to trust each other.”
Duke has lost three in a row, but the team hasn’t gotten down.
“Our confidence is still high,” he said. “We’re still out here putting work in day in and day out, because that’s how you earn confidence, by putting work in, by preparation.”
Facing Syracuse’s offense, Hornbuckle hopes the Blue Devils can pressure the quarterback.
“We need to do what we can to get back there,” he said. “They’re an explosive team. They try to get off a lot of plays during the game. We need to work this week on pass rush techniques. That’s where all the sacks will come. It’s time to get them.”
