Duff's work may earn start
Noah Amstadter
Sports Editor
Hard work.
That is the key for Irish rising sophomore Vontez Duff this spring. With the departure of senior Brock Williams, who has declared himself eligible for the NFL draft, Duff is one of the leading contenders for the vacated cornerback spot alongside rising senior Shane Walton.
"He's athletic and he's a raw talent that I think works hard and has a great attitude," Irish head coach Bob Davie said of Duff, who also ran track in high school, posting a time of 10.5 seconds in the 100-meter dash and clearing 23 feet in the long jump.
Still, Davie is far from conceding that the job is Duff's to lose.
"He hasn't done anything on the field that says, `wow, we've got ourselves a corner that's just going to jump out there next year and be an all-star,'" Davie said.
So much hard work is expected from the 5-foot-10, 175-pounder because the entire concept of playing defense is new to him. In high school, Duff earned The Sporting News No. 12 ranking among top college prospects after carrying for 1,145 yards and scoring 14 touchdowns as a senior. He even threw for two touchdowns out of the backfield.
"It's just how our offense was," Duff said of his years at Copperas Grove High School in Copperas Grove, Texas. "It's just very multiple offense. It's just something I did to make the team a better team."
When he arrived at Notre Dame, Duff was moved to special teams and defensive back. The freshman appeared in all 11 games last fall — almost entirely on special teams, a role that he feels prepared him for his role on defense this coming season.
"Special teams helped me out a lot," Duff said. "It gave me a little experience just getting on the field and getting that game time. That just made me work my technique better and work my fundamentals better to be a corner."
He saw his first game time at cornerback Oct. 14 against Navy, but played less than two minutes. When Walton injured his wrist during Notre Dame's win over Rutgers on Nov. 18, Duff stepped in and played 15 minutes at corner recording his first career interception.
"Unfortunately Shane had to get hurt," Duff said. "People have times when they have to step in. It felt good to be out there and just be a part of the team."
What Duff may be lacking in on field experience, he makes up for in commitment. Although he played basketball his junior year of high school, Duff declined the opportunity to play in the Bookstore Basketball tournament this spring.
"I ain't playing Bookstore," Duff said. "I ain't no basketball player. I'm a football player. I came here and that was basically to play football."
Notes:
* Defensive lineman Ryan Scarola left practice early with an injured knee Tuesday.
"We were doing field goal protection full speed and he got run into," Davie said. "I don't know how bad that is."
* Arnaz Battle, switching from quarterback to receiver, is beginning to adjust to the added running involved in his new position.
"He came out [Tuesday] he was full speed," Davie said. "He struggled a little bit Sunday the day after we practiced. He struggled a little bit [Monday]. But he was able to go full speed at practice today."
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, April 4, 2001
