Jim Sumner looks at Duke football's first fall scrimmage.

Some good, some not so good.

Duke football had their first fall scrimmage last Sunday. Closed to the public but open to the media.

So, I should be able to tell you oodles and oodles about Mike Elko’s first Duke team.

Don’t get your hopes up.

There are some fundamental limiting factors at work here.

For one thing scrimmages tend to be pretty vanilla. I have no idea if Mike Elko and his staff have tricks up their sleeves but if they do they’re not going to show them in anything resembling a public context.  A basic offense, a basic defense--still a 4-2-5-no kick returns.  

And of course much of this exists in a zero-sum universe.  Duke gets a sack. Yea Duke. But didn’t Duke allow that sack? Boo Duke.

You get my drift.

But the one thing I can report is internal competition. Who’s up, who’s down, that sort of thing.

Well, maybe not.  Mike Elko has yet to release his first depth chart. The narrative in the spring was new-sheriff-in-town. Everybody starting from scratch and all that.

But that’s not all. College coaches tend to be firm adherents of the World War II dictum “loose lips sink ships.” Just imagine what kind of advantage Temple could glean if they knew who was starting at tight end on September 2.

So, the media have been asked not to even speculate about anything resembling a depth chart, to not even note that a particular player is practicing with the first team or the second team or whatever.

So, the ships are safe.

What can I tell you?

There there is a position change of consequence. Senior co-captain Jacob Monk has been moved to center. The 305-pounder has started at tackle and guard during his Duke career.

But he’s never played center, at any level.

“I got one or two practices in the spring,” Monk said after that first scrimmage “and then learned I would be competing for the job in the spring. Getting extra snaps in with the quarterbacks has really helped me. It’s an adjustment each and every day. But I’m loving it so far.”

The buzzwords in the spring were “physical” and “physicality” and that as continued into the fall.  Duke wants to be able to run the ball between the tackles and that’s more than okay with Monk, who like most offensive linemen would much rather run block than pass block.

“I feel like that’s our goal each and every time we step on this field is being able to establish the run game. I feel like everyone wants to be going forward not stepping backwards. That’s something every offensive lineman loves.”

Elko was at least somewhat pleased with that portion of the scrimmage.

“I thought it was good we had some efficiency running the football and our offensive line did a really good job.”

Back to position changes. Sophomores Riley Leonard and Jordan Moore split the quarterback reps in the spring and the early part of fall practice.

So, what did it mean when Moore was spotted working out at wide receiver earlier in the week?

Likely nothing. Once the scrimmage started Moore put on the red jersey reserved for quarterbacks and got about as many snaps at the position as anyone else.

What we did see reinforced the narrative that Leonard is the better passer, Moore the better runner. But it’s easy to take that too far. Leonard can run, Moore can pass.

And true freshman Henry Belin IV made the kind of mistakes freshmen make, mainly throwing the ball to receivers who were covered. But he also showed a strong arm, quick feet and competitive fire.

So, Duke may have three ACC-level quarterbacks.

Still, Elko saw room for improvement after the scrimmage.

“We still need to get a little bit better at executing our passing game. I think with every quarterback that is a big point of emphasis as we head into scrimmage two.”

Some other observations.

The best catches of the day came from tight end Andrew Jones and wide receiver Eli Pancol. Pancol, Jalon Calhoun and Darrell Harding, Sr. are a trio of senior wide receivers with some accomplishments on their resumes.

But sophomore Sahmir Hagans had a big spring and is building on that this fall. Duke has said they want to go deep into the receiver rotation and that might include a freshman or two.

Elko is firm in saying that the best players will play, regardless of class.

Several of the transfers are going to play. Linemen Chance Lytle--he of the big, bass voice--,and Andre Harris, long snapper Evan Deckers and defensive backs Darius Joiner and Datrone Young have impressed.

Joiner in particular has shown a nose for the ball. He had 142 tackles last season for a 2-9 Western Illinois team. And Duke can use that after forcing a modest 14 turnovers last season, while allowing 32 touchdown passes.

Junior Jaylen Stinson says Duke’s defense is “taking the right steps. We’re not where we want to be but we’re taking the right route. You can tell our guys are buying in and we’re moving in the right direction.”

What does Stinson think of Joiner?

“He’s a guy from Alabama [so is Stinson] so you know the guys from Alabama are going to bring it with them. He’s a real playmaker and he’s been a good contributor to our safeties.”

Stinson said it’s crucial for Duke’s defense to force some turnovers.

“Turnovers are going to win games. That’s going to be a big part of our defense. We work everyday with turnover drills.”

\ Those transfers who are making an impact mean that some players who started last season and came back this season may well lose their starting spots this season. That’s what happens when you’re on an eight-game losing streak

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