Football
DURHAM, N.C. – Duke football co-defensive coordinator Matt Guerrieri met with the media virtually at the conclusion of Wednesday's practice at the Brooks Practice Facility.
"It is great to be back doing what we love to do with the people we love to do it with," Guerrieri said. "And it's been awesome to see our defense and our team run around with great energy and enthusiasm. 2020 is definitely unique but we're really excited to be here today."
Guerrieri is in his ninth overall season with the Blue Devils and his third as the co-defensive coordinator. When asked about his defense as a whole, he had this to say.
"We definitely have some guys that have real juice off the edge for us. You have to take advantage of those guys, whether it's separate on opposite sides or on the same side and how we can game plan to take advantage of that. Whether it's Vic (Victor Dimukeje), Chris (Rumph II), Drew Jordan, I mean, we've got a lot of guys that have played a bunch of snaps. Then you mentioned we've got depth in the back end, right? With guys like Mark Gilbert, Michael Carter II, Josh Blackwell, Leonard Johnson, Marquis Waters. These guys have proven to be good coverage players in the back. So blending those together. Where's the risk-reward as far as being able to play tight coverage and rush the passer. I think you'll see a number of packages that continue to try to exploit those things from an exploiting the offensive standpoint and then highlighting our defensive strengths."
Guerrieri continued about the versatility of his secondary group and training some guys in multiple positions depending on which scheme they're running.
"You know we haven't done any of that right now as far as you know a complete overhaul of positions. But we definitely you know in different packages put guys into spots and cross-train them for sure. There's no doubt we try to make sure that always our goal is to have the best 11 on the field. So, it's our job to do that. And then you know however someone's attacking us, we may need to have extra hats in the box or extra hats in coverage based on what guys are doing to us. So, no complete overhauls of positions, but we've definitely cross-trained some guys."
Before the teleconference ended, Guerrieri shared his thoughts on Mark Gilbert, the redshirt senior cornerback who's missed nearly two seasons due to a significant injury in 2017.
"He's the same Mark Gilbert that you guys knew and loved before he got hurt. He's been absolutely fantastic and an even more mature version because he's had to overcome so much adversity in his life. I've known Mark since he was a sophomore in high school and to see him grow and progress to who he is today, not only what he is, he's always been a talented dude, but who he is. That's a special guy. And I'm really, really proud of that guy and I'm honored to be on the same team as Mark Gilbert."
The Blue Devils' amended 2020 schedule has them scheduled to kick off their season on the road at Notre Dame on Sept. 12.
#GoDuke
The Link Lonk"It is great to be back doing what we love to do with the people we love to do it with," Guerrieri said. "And it's been awesome to see our defense and our team run around with great energy and enthusiasm. 2020 is definitely unique but we're really excited to be here today."
Guerrieri is in his ninth overall season with the Blue Devils and his third as the co-defensive coordinator. When asked about his defense as a whole, he had this to say.
"We definitely have some guys that have real juice off the edge for us. You have to take advantage of those guys, whether it's separate on opposite sides or on the same side and how we can game plan to take advantage of that. Whether it's Vic (Victor Dimukeje), Chris (Rumph II), Drew Jordan, I mean, we've got a lot of guys that have played a bunch of snaps. Then you mentioned we've got depth in the back end, right? With guys like Mark Gilbert, Michael Carter II, Josh Blackwell, Leonard Johnson, Marquis Waters. These guys have proven to be good coverage players in the back. So blending those together. Where's the risk-reward as far as being able to play tight coverage and rush the passer. I think you'll see a number of packages that continue to try to exploit those things from an exploiting the offensive standpoint and then highlighting our defensive strengths."
Guerrieri continued about the versatility of his secondary group and training some guys in multiple positions depending on which scheme they're running.
"You know we haven't done any of that right now as far as you know a complete overhaul of positions. But we definitely you know in different packages put guys into spots and cross-train them for sure. There's no doubt we try to make sure that always our goal is to have the best 11 on the field. So, it's our job to do that. And then you know however someone's attacking us, we may need to have extra hats in the box or extra hats in coverage based on what guys are doing to us. So, no complete overhauls of positions, but we've definitely cross-trained some guys."
Before the teleconference ended, Guerrieri shared his thoughts on Mark Gilbert, the redshirt senior cornerback who's missed nearly two seasons due to a significant injury in 2017.
"He's the same Mark Gilbert that you guys knew and loved before he got hurt. He's been absolutely fantastic and an even more mature version because he's had to overcome so much adversity in his life. I've known Mark since he was a sophomore in high school and to see him grow and progress to who he is today, not only what he is, he's always been a talented dude, but who he is. That's a special guy. And I'm really, really proud of that guy and I'm honored to be on the same team as Mark Gilbert."
The Blue Devils' amended 2020 schedule has them scheduled to kick off their season on the road at Notre Dame on Sept. 12.
#GoDuke
August 20, 2020 at 01:15AM
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Guerrieri Meets with Media Virtually After Practice - Duke University - GoDuke.com
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