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ECU getting 'total package' in DT Dukes
By
Sammy Batten
©2015 Bonesville.net
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Mooresville coach Hal Capps didn't
hesitate when asked recently if his star defensive lineman Jamil Dukes
compared to any players he'd previously coached or competed against.
“He reminds me of the Roseboro kid at
N.C. State right now,'' Capps said. “He's definitely in that mold. He's
a good athlete. He has surprising quickness for a 300-pounder. He plays
on our basketball team and gets up and down the court well.''
That should be music to the ears of
East Carolina fans after Dukes made a verbal commitment to the Pirates
on November 12. He chose the Pirates after also entertaining scholarship
offers from Ball State, Charlotte, Georgia Southern, Miami of Ohio and
West Virginia.
But back to the “Roseboro kid''
reference.
Capps is talking about former
Lincolnton High School and current N.C. State freshman defensive end
Darian Roseboro. The 6-foot-4, 290-pounder was regarded by many
recruiting services as North Carolina's top college prospect as a prep
senior and was a consensus top 100 player nationally regardless of
position. Roseboro enrolled at N.C. State last spring and has seen
significant action as a true freshman for the Wolfpack.
The comparison between Dukes and
Roseboro isn't one Capps makes without some insight into both players.
Capps got an up close and personal look at Roseboro a year ago when both
were part of the North Carolina squad for the Shrine Bowl of the
Carolinas. Capps, of course, was the head coach and Roseboro was one of
the team's defensive linemen.
“They're a lot alike,'' Capps said.
“I do feel like Jamil is more athletic than any defensive lineman of his
size I've ever had on my high school teams. He runs well, has great swim
and rip moves – he's the total package at 300 pounds. Very similar to
Roseboro.''
Unlike Roseboro, whose recruitment
started as early as his sophomore season, Dukes needed a bit longer to
start impressing college recruiters. He was a varsity reserve as a
freshman in 2012, then earned a starting job the following year at nose
guard in Mooresville's three-man front. Dukes produced 45 tackles and
two quarterback sacks that season.
Dukes helped the Blue Devils post a
10-2 record and earn a state 4-A playoff berth as a junior by making 63
tackles and nine sacks. He was named the North Piedmont 3-A/4-A
Conference Defensive Player of the Year for his efforts.
Some early academic struggles kept
some schools from offering Dukes, but the Pirates jumped in with a
scholarship offer with the understanding he might be an academic
“redshirt,'' according to Capps. But Dukes has since “taken care of that
(academic issues) and has done a really great job in the classroom,''
Capps noted.
Dukes began the 2015 season on fire,
collecting 49 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and five sacks through the
first six games before developing a mysterious lower back problem that
was initially diagnosed as a hip flexor strain. The injury actually
confined Dukes to a wheel chair for about three weeks before a
specialist found the real problem was a cyst that had developed in his
spine.
“He played a couple of games while he
was hurting, but the thought was he'd just pulled a muscle in his
back,'' Capps said. “Then, at one point he was told not to walk and was
actually bed-ridden for about seven days. After that he had a wheel
chair to get back and forth to school.
“He'd gone to different doctors and
finally a specialist saw the cyst and in the infection in his back. They
removed the cyst. He's back walking now and he's trying to get back in
shape for the Shrine Bowl.''
Dukes is one of the three players
committed to East Carolina who've been selected for the annual all-star
game against South Carolina scheduled for December 19 in Spartanburg,
SC. He'll join future teammates
Tajh Dean,
a receiver from Southern Nash, and Wallace-Rose Hill cornerback
Keyshawn
Canady on the North Carolina squad.
Capps said Dukes chose ECU in the end
because the Pirates were the most consistent during his recruitment.
“I think the success of their program
and the fact they just stayed in constant contact with him really made a
difference,'' Capps said. “He felt like that was a great place for him
to go.''
Dukes is the 14th player to join
ECU's recruiting Class of 2016 and is the fourth defensive line prospect.
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11/29/2015 05:57 PM |
