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Duke Football: Quarterbacks – Upgrade or Downgrade?

By Tyler Young

WACO, TX - SEPTEMBER 15: Quentin Harris #18 of the Duke Blue Devils drops back to pass against the Baylor Bears during the first half of a football game at McLane Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Waco, Texas. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
WACO, TX - SEPTEMBER 15: Quentin Harris #18 of the Duke Blue Devils drops back to pass against the Baylor Bears during the first half of a football game at McLane Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Waco, Texas. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images) /
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – OCTOBER 7: Quentin Harris #18 of the Duke Blue Devils scores a touchdown past Quin Blanding #3 of the Virginia Cavaliers during a game at Scott Stadium on October 7, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – OCTOBER 7: Quentin Harris #18 of the Duke Blue Devils scores a touchdown past Quin Blanding #3 of the Virginia Cavaliers during a game at Scott Stadium on October 7, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images) /

2019

Starter: Redshirt Senior Quentin Harris

Depth: Redshirt Sophomore Chris Katrenick and Redshirt Freshman Gunnar Holmberg

While Daniel Jones was great at leading Duke in the past three seasons, there was not much room for others to gain experience behind him. The three quarterbacks on the Blue Devils’ roster have a combined 2 starts between them. Both of those starts belong to Harris, last year vs NCCU and Baylor.

Speaking of Harris, he looks to be the man under center when the Blue Devils face Alabama to start the season. The 6’1″, 200 lb senior will take the reins of the offense in the biggest season opener that Duke has had in years. In his career he has completed 41 of the 81 passes attempted for 510 Yds, eight touchdowns and one interception as well as rushing for 275 yds on 78 attempts.

Katrenick and Holmberg make up the rest of the depth chart for the Blue Devils. They will be competing for back up duties as Harris looks to have cemented himself as the starter as it stands. In that respect, the experience advantage won out. The redshirt sophomore and redshirt freshman simply haven’t had enough time within the system to win the trust of Cutcliffe.

The offense under Harris is likely to see a change in balance, tilted more toward rushing, to allow the young QB to lean on his running backs as well as utilize more QB runs to take advantage of his running ability. The team’s ability to adjust to the new balance will be the key to success this season for the Blue Devils.

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