Lewis, Scott shine in Duke scrimmage

DURHAM - Despite the slow start from the offense during Saturday's 65-play scrimmage, the Duke football team show some signs of improvements, particularly in the passing game where senior quarterback Thaddeus Lewis returned to top speed.

Duke second year coach David Cutcliffe, who prefers to critique scrimmages after viewing film, remained mostly positive about the scrimmage at Wallace Wade Stadium.

The scrimmage provided the coaching staff a chance to mostly evaluate the depth of second and third string players, although the first team players were mixed into the action. Cutcliffe will announced his two-deep roster later this week.

"There were some nice plays made offensively and some big hits and nice plays made defensively," he said.

Lewis, red-shirt freshman Sean Renfree and Sean Schroeder completed 25 of 39 passes for 240 yards, while redshirt sophomore running back Cameron Jones rushed three times for 49 yards and sophomore running back Jay Hollingsworth rushed four times for 28 yards and a one-yard touchdown.

Freshman Conner Vernon had three catches for 42 yards and continued to look impressive with his speed and ability to run sharp routes.

Freshman running back Desmond Scott, a graduate of Durham Hillside High, had four carries for 25 yards and six receptions for 39 yards.

The highly-touted freshmen showed a comfort level with the offense that he did not have in the first scrimmage a week ago. Freshman are not allow to speak with the media.

"Desmond was busy, and was good," Cutcliffe said. "He was more consistent than he's been and looked comfortable with his assignments."

Duke senior linebacker Vincent Rey left the scrimmage with what Cutcliffe called a "minor ankle sprain." He was not certain about the severity of the injury or how long it could sideline Rey.

Also, sophomore wide receiver Johnny Williams injured his leg, though Cutcliffe was not certain about the details of the injury.

Behind an offensive line that provided time, Lewis completed 7 of 12 passes for 86 yards. Renfree completed 11 of 18 passes for 93 yards, while Schroeder completed 7 of 9 for 61 yards and a touchdown and an interception plucked by redshirt sophomore Colin Jones. -- Edward G. Robinson