David M. Hale 9y

David Cutcliffe confident Thomas Sirk can handle starting job

There's plenty of turnover at Duke this year, with mainstays like Laken Tomlinson, Jamison Crowder, David Helton and, now due to injury, Kelby Brown gone. So, too, is the winningest quarterback in the program's history, but that doesn't seem to be much of a concern for David Cutcliffe, as the Greensboro News & Record writes.

Thomas Sirk and his 14 career pass attempts is ready to step in, and Cutcliffe has repeatedly said the redshirt junior has his full confidence. And why shouldn't he? Cutcliffe's built a career on developing quarterbacks, even at Duke.

From the News & Record:

"During Cutcliffe's seven-year tenure at Duke, his quarterbacks have completed 61.5 percent of their passes. only once has a starting quarterback finished the season with a completion percentage lower than 60, and that was Boone last year.

This season will be the third time that Duke, under Cutcliffe, has rolled out a new starter at quarterback. Each time, Cutcliffe has at least managed to coax a productive season out of the newcomer."

The story hypes Boone's success as one more reason to believe in Cutcliffe's magic, but it also manages to offer some perspective on the job when mentioning Boone's relatively low completion percentage last year.

It's not to take anything away from Boone, who deserves ample credit for leading the offense for a program that's won 19 games in the last two years. But look at the raw numbers, and they're not exactly Heisman-worthy.

Of the 75 quarterbacks with at least 100 attempts against Power 5 competition last year, Boone ranked 64th in passer efficiency (111.2), 66th in yards-per-attempt (5.69) and 56th in completion percentage (54.3) -- all while boasting the third-lowest sack rate in the country and having a strong stable of backs at his disposal.

Sirk's legs have been his hallmark thus far, and Cutcliffe said he's the fastest quarterback he's ever coached, but it's his arm that's the big question. But as Boone's numbers last year showed, Sirk doesn't need to have a stellar season to be effective. What's more, if he can be a bit more of a downfield threat than Boone was -- his 5.69 YPA was the lowest by any Duke quarterback since Cutcliffe arrived -- it might open things up more for what should be an exceptional ground game.

There's reason for concern at Duke this spring because so many key pieces are missing, but Cutcliffe is right to focus his anxiety elsewhere. Sirk won't need to dominate, and he's more than capable of being an effective enough weapon to match Boone's numbers from a year ago.

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