After the judge told the NFL they couldn't stop people from coming out early,
it took us a bit to really think about it and to realize that it could have a
very positive effect for Duke.
As you'll remember, if you've read this site for a while, we said several
years ago - certainly by the time Duke played UConn in the finals, but we're
thinking before that - that teams like UConn and Maryland, who mostly got
players slightly below the elite level, would become greater powers, because
they would retain their core groups longer than schools like, oh, say UNC, where
elite players started leaving earlier and earlier, and thus made it tougher to
keep an iron grip on their status.
The same thing may be happening in football. Where a school like FSU
can have their pick of the great high school players, they also have to be able
to replace them, potentially much faster now.
At a school like Duke, where recruits often come in at a (relatively) pautry
210 pounds before bulking up, they may well be able to build a core of solid,
mid-level players who are a better group than a more talented lumping of younger
players at a traditional football power.
Does this mean that Duke will be kicking FSU's butt on a regular basis?
No. But it may mean that Duke has a chance to win 7 or 8 games on a more
regular basis.