Lucas Patrick never really considered ending his recruitment early - until he absolutely knew it was time to do so.
The decisive moment came during a visit to Duke University's campus in May.
"When I went up there, I just felt at home," said Patrick, the News Sentinel's eighth-best prospect in the state. "You felt like family. The coaching staff up there is really committed to excellence. I'm really excited to be up there."
The Blue Devils should be excited to have him.
Widely listed at 6-foot-2 by recruiting services, the offensive lineman from Brentwood High School said he hit a growth spurt and stands 6-4 and 286 pounds. Patrick, just 16 years old, likely will grow even more in the near future.
On the field, Patrick's lowest rating last season was an 87 percent grade. But that paled in comparison to his highest rating.
"There was one game where I had all checks, so I guess you could say 100 (percent)," he said.
That game came against Oakland High School when he was often matched up against highly rated prospect Tim McAdoo, who signed with Kentucky in February.
"I knew coming out of that game I held my own," Patrick said. "I did my job on every play and did what I needed to do."
Patrick said he's unsure what position he'll play in college and frankly he doesn't care as long as he's able to help Duke win. That, he believes, is an absolute certainty given the Blue Devils' improvement under former UT assistant coach David Cutcliffe.
"I really do think that an ACC championship for Duke is in the near future," Patrick said. ". . . (Winning) was very important because I want to go compete somewhere. The importance of them wanting to win is really important to me because I'm a very competitive guy."
Patrick also believes that Cutcliffe will be at Duke for the foreseeable future, despite the perception that the school could be viewed as a steppingstone for a more prominent job.
Of course, winning is just one reason to accept a scholarship to Duke. The education is always a factor.
"Academics are such a huge factor for me," Patrick said. "You can go to the NFL, but that won't last long. Coming out with a degree from Duke, that's worth more than any paycheck you can get."
By committing early, Patrick limited his prominence in recruiting circles. He already had offers from Arkansas, Kansas, Western Kentucky and Memphis, but likely would have picked up others had he not made his announcement so early.
Auburn, Louisville, Cincinnati and Vanderbilt also were recruiting Patrick.
"I knew there were a number of colleges that would have offered later on; they told me," Patrick said. "But I knew I wanted to go to Duke.
"I wasn't planning on making an early decision, but once I knew, there was no point in making other coaches spend their time and money recruiting me when I knew I was going to Duke. So I just went ahead and made it official."
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Tennessee defeats Georgia 3-2 in…
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Comments » 10
thevoice writes:
As smart as this kid is, I think he has his math mixed up, forgot a decimal. And the only ACC Championship Duke will ever get is in BB (see Vanderbilt). Besides that, he'll likely do well with his life.
CroKev writes:
Okay, before you guys accuse me of being a "star-watcher" again, I want to reiterate what I said before. I only wish KNS and Dave Hooker would provide this info. [NO, I DON'T BELIEVE RIVALS AND SCOUT KNOW MORE THAN OUR COACHES!!!! IT'S ONLY SOMETHING INTERESTING TO LOOK AT AND, YES, USE FOR COMPARATIVE REASONS!] Now that I've gotten that out of my system... Scout and Rivals give this guy 3 stars and it looks like he is going to be HUGE by the time he finally stops growing. Also, the following film shows he has really good technique with his hands and is excellent at sliding with his feet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unB1wB...
Too bad we lost this one.
OK, bring on the "5-star busts" and "2-star overachiever" comments... ;-)
PMC2726 writes:
We all know that there is very little in-state talent compared to other big recruiting states like CA, FL, TX, so it is VITAL that we grab as much of that talent as possible. We will know when Dooley gets things turned around when 75%+ of these kids WANT to stay in-state to play, especially the kids out of Memphis.
easleychuck writes:
I wonder what a serious offer from a bammer or UT would do to the kid's love affair with what has been, historically, one of the worst ACC football programs -- Duke.
BigVolFaninSC writes:
There are many factors that play into whether the analysts are correct in their assessments about the players or not. Some of those factors are out of their control and will make a player not as high as maybe they would have turned out to be. For example, we did not get very good QB play two years ago (let's set aside the argument for why) from either Crompton or Stephens. How much did that one position affect the WHOLE outlook for the rest of the team?... and for the entire season?...it snow-balled into the firing of a coaching staff. Personally, I don't think that the whole team suddenly forgot how to win and were coached bad! The QB did not have enough success to have the confidence to make plays! The reverse is true, also. How many times do you see the teams in the NFL that make the playoffs have LOTS of players in the Pro Bowl? A couple of years ago Dallas had 13! Now, I'm a Cowboy fan of 40+ years and even I know that we didn't have 13 of the best at their position that year, but the facts are that Romo had a great year and it made the whole team elevate. Good and great players can make others around them elevate their games! And I think that is why Dooley will succeed, because he is getting good character players that have heart even if they don't have as many stars. He picked up tips along the way from several different coaching staffs and styles and I like what I'm hearing about the foundation he is laying! We might not win very many THIS year, but if we are patient then soon we will be back in the mix for conference and national titles! To sum up (IMO): the recruiting gurus are good, but what the coaching staff does or fails to do matters much more along with the rest of the TEAM!
murrayvol writes:
Would take exception to only one thing Rich. Boise St. has a roster "full of 2-3 stars" and they've made out okay in recent years.
Good corchin' really does make a difference.
murrayvol writes:
This kid's long term goal is a board room, not a weight room. A Duke degree will help in that quest.
licknpromise777#651578 writes:
Rarely does VA Tech have a class ranked in the top #20 but they field a top#20 team or better every year..Beamer and his staff are great developers of players..Whatever their secret is; IT WORKS
SEC1 writes:
If Boise St was a member of the SEC they would finish 4th or 5th in the east or west. VA Tech got slapped around by Bama last year, corchin is a must but 4 and 5* players is also a must, if you look at bama or gators current commitment list it's mostly 4* players , saban and meyers are great coaches BUT DEALING WITH THE MONSTER SEC you can't survive with 2 or 3 * players you're now playing on kentucky and vandy level.
jhayes0926#638474 writes:
If you have NFL talent and aspirations, go to UT. If you are a good college player but have enough sense to know you won't make it in the NFL, Duke is the no brainer. Good choice, you made a wise career decision. With a Duke degree, you get a job just about anywhere.
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