Notre Dame football: 3 Duke players to watch on offense against the Irish
By Matt Clark
Chase Brice
As previously mentioned, Duke’s starting quarterback from the 2019 season, Quentin Harris graduated, leaving a vacancy under center for the Duke Blue Devils. During the preseason, it was a three-man battle between graduate transfer Chase Brice, junior Gunnar Holmberg, and junior Chris Katrenick.
In the end, the transfer, Brice, would be named the starting quarterback for Duke to begin the season. Brice spent the last three seasons as the backup quarterback to arguably the best college quarterback to have played the game in some time, the University of Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence.
As Lawrence’s backup, Brice would complete 82-136 passes for 1,023 yards, nine touchdowns and four interceptions in 25 games over three seasons. The most notable of those games was the 2018 game against Syracuse University, where Lawrence was knocked out of the game and Brice led the Tigers on a 94-yard game-winning drive.
Chase Brice is a former 3-star recruit who is known for having a strong and accurate arm in the passing game. As a result, the 6’3″ and 235-pound quarterback is expected to allow head coach David Cutcliffe, who has assumed offensive playcalling duties this season, to open up the ariel attack with a vertical passing game.
This will be a different look for Notre Dame than they saw last season from Duke. With Harris under center and offensive coordinator Zac Roper calling plays in the game against the Irish last season, the Duke offense featured a lot of short-yardage passes underneath, something the Notre Dame defense was able to contain, making the Duke offense stagnant.
What Duke has in their new quarterback Brice is a bit of an uncertainty. Being stuck behind the best quarterback in college football isn’t exactly ideal. Now, Brice gets a chance to shine under the tutelage of Cutcliffe, who has mentored the likes of Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, and Daniel Jones during their collegiate careers.
While Brice doesn’t necessarily have the pedigree of those three quarterbacks, there was a reason he was targeted by Dabo Swinney and a blue-chip program like Clemson University. As a result, the Notre Dame secondary, who lost veteran starters Alohi Gilman, Troy Pride Jr., and Jalen Elliott, will have to be cognizant of the deep passing attack of Brice and his wide receiver corps of Jalon Calhoun, Eli Pancol, Jake Bobo, Darrell Harding Jr., and company.
If the offensive line can provide protection to Brice and give him time, there is a chance that he can expose a Notre Dame secondary that features three new starters. It will be imperative that Irish defensive coordinator Clark Lea and the Notre Dame defense bring pressure to Brice and keep him off balance all game if they hope to secure the victory in their season opener.