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Chat Reel: Carl Franks
Blue Devils don't want to be a Cinderella story
Latest: Thursday August 10, 2000 03:41 PM
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Senior quarterback Spencer Romine may be the starter for Duke in its opener against East Carolina. Jonathan Daniel/Allsport |
Duke coach Carl Franks chatted with CNNSI.com users on August 10, 2000, about the Blue Devils' upcoming season. A chat of his transcript follows:
CNNSI Host: Thank you for joining our college football chat with Duke coach Carl Franks. Welcome Coach Franks.
Carl Franks: It's a pleasure to be with you.
From Duke: How much playing time will D. Bryant see this season? Could he possibly take the starting position?
Carl Franks: If we had to line up tomorrow, Spencer Romine would be our starter. D. Bryant is our third quarterback right now. D. probably has as much talent as any of the two, he just has the least amount of knowledge of our offense right now. I hope we can get in a situation where we can play one of our younger quarterbacks, because Spencer and Bobby Campbell will graduate after this year. So, pre-season practice will help determine how much D. is able to play this coming year.
From Greg Sanders in Durham, N.C.: I've been a die-hard supporter of Duke football since I was a freshman at Duke in the 1980s. What's your take on the level of fan support the team receives?
Carl Franks: We have a tremendous challenge here at Duke in getting fans to the game. We have some very loyal fans that come to every game, and we're very appreciative of those that come. We have the lowest percentage of graduates in our home state of any school in the country, so we have to attract fans that are not Duke graduates. We're doing some things to help increase student attendance, and hopefully we can play some exciting football to attract more fans from throughout our region.
From LoseToNU: It seems like you and Northwestern would have similar programs. Can you see a Cinderella run happening at Duke like theirs in '95?
Carl Franks: We're in the process of building our program. I hope that when we are able to get ourselves in position where we have some more experience on the team, where we've built some depth on the team, that we will be able to maintain a level of consistency, rather than a "Cinderella" situation.
From Airball Fan in Wilmington, N.C.: When will we bring Florida State back to Wallace Wade and do you place more importance on this one after your years with Florida? How many years will it take before you are the only remaining ACC coach without the last name Bowden?
Carl Franks: We're slated to play Florida State in Durham in 2001. I'm trying to think how many sons Bobby has. He's got Terry, Tommy, and there's one that coaches at Florida State, so I don't think he has enough sons to round out eight other teams.
From BcraneATL: Now that the BCS has had a couple of years to show what it can (and can't) do -- do you think it is the best way to handle the top teams of the postseason?
Carl Franks: It's the best way we have available right now. It's certainly better than what we had in the past; it's continually being looked at, how it can be improved. It has allowed the top two teams, voted on through several different criteria, and polls and computer analysis, to be able to meet at the end of the year.
From Darren McKay in San Jacinto, Calif.: Coach, Do you feel that your latest recruiting class will contribute this season?
Carl Franks: We've had two days of practice with the freshmen, and I still believe this is a very good class. I believe you will quite a few of them making contributions this fall. But until they practice against the upperclassmen, and we see how they are able to compete against them on the field, who those individuals are going to be, or how many they're going to be, is almost impossible to answer. There's a lot of change from coming from high school to college, and the level of maturity, both physically, and mentally, the speed of the game, the collision factor of the game, being away from home for the first time - how each individual responds to those factors plays a part in how early they're able to play. We won't be able to determine who it's going to be until we get the rest of the team in.
From go_gators32: It would seem you are walking in Spurrier's footsteps. Would you ever think of going back to coach Florida?
Carl Franks: The only thing I'm thinking of is how to best build the football program at Duke, and that's what I'm concentrating on right now. I'm at my old school, 30 miles from my home, and I'm very happy where I am right now.
From Michael Kitch in Concord, N.H.: What is the major difference between Duke and the class of the ACC, talent or depth?
Carl Franks: Depth is certainly a major factor; that's why we will be playing a lot of younger guys this year, so that we can build some depth on our team. I believe that's part of the way that we need to build our team, so we do not wear down at the end of games or the end of the year.
From You: How can you run the Airball attack with so few receivers? Should we expect Battier to play right away?
Carl Franks: You should expect to see quite a few new faces at wide receiver; certainly a possibility of a number of freshmen playing early at that position, due to the lack of depth. Jeremy Battier, Reggie Love, Khary Sharpe, are some of the freshmen wide receivers who could see some playing time at wide receiver.
From Bill Bay in Overland Park, Kansas: Coach, first let me say that Duke can be a winner in football and you are the right person for the job. Now the question, who can we expect to see step up and be a factor on the defensive side of the ball?
Carl Franks: I think that we have a chance with Troy Austin, who is one of our defensive captains, Charles Porter has had an outstanding off-season, Kendral Knight is one of our senior leaders, Todd DeLamielleure is our other defensive captain, and we need quite a few others to step up and make big contributions, especially someone in the secondary.
From What: How will Reggie Love and/or Battier joining the hoops team impact your team? Will it hurt them in the long run with conditioning or potential bowl games?
Carl Franks: My policy on players participating on other teams is if they can make a significant contribution to that team, they would be allowed to miss spring practice. Otherwise, they will attend spring practice, but can still be on the other team. As far as a bowl game is concerned, they would remain with the football team. That's who's paying for their school, and that is where their main emphasis would continue to be.
CNNSI Host: That's all the time we have today with Coach Franks. Thanks for joining us Coach, best of luck this season.
Carl Franks: Thank you.
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