Spotlight #1: Virginia CB Chase Minnifield
Spotlight #2: Duke S Matt Daniels
1st quarter
11:36: Minnifield good use of hands in press, strong.
11:26: Matt Daniels with a tackle, but also unnecessary roughness, good effort to play through whistley, but needs to be smarter about things like this.
10:44: Daniels helps bring a guy down after a sizeable again.
8:54: Minnifield with a good open field tackle after the ball carrier breaks a couple closer to the line.
5:36: Minnifield gives up inside position on a slant on the goal line, catchable ball, could have been a touchdown but physical play by Minnifield helps contribute to eventual drop.
3:00: Daniels misses a tackle, tough play, good explosive to even take a shot at it.
1:58: Daniels overpursues to the inside on a run play, good instincts to come and play ball, but poor angle.
2nd quarter
14:05: Donovan Varner breaks a 64 yard touchdown on a crossing route over the middle.
9:22: Minnifield thrown on in the end zone with a fade route, incomplete, could have been ruled holding or pass interference.
9:12: Minnifield stays away from sticking his nose in on a goal line run, Cam Johnson with the clutch tackle.
8:25: Daniels shoots up and makes a great open field tackle, doesn’t get juked out.
3:38: Daniels has one on one coverage deep, thrown on, not the best coverage, but overthrown and incomplete.
3:34: Daniels makes a nice play to take the ball carrier down for a gain of a yard or two.
2:25: Daniels blown past downfield, could have been a long downfield, but overthrown.
1:36: Cam Johnson with a sack.
3rd quarter
14:40: Cam Johnson deflects a short one, still complete, good motor to go back and get in on the tackle after a gain of a few.
13:56: Minnifield with the tackle on an end around by Varner for a few.
13:06: Cam Johnson hits the quarterback as he throws, faces an ill advised throw, Minnifield jumps it, pick six.
11:54: Connor Vernon beats Chase Minnifield for a big gain, tackle by Minnifield from behind to prevent touchdown, 51 yards.
11:29: Minnifield soft on a goal line run.
8:49: Matt Daniels makes a stop short of the sticks on a run, fundamental open field tackle on 2nd down.
5:37: Minnifield blocked well on a screen for a first, can’t disengage.
1:05: Cam Johnson with a tackle for loss.
4th quarter
11:57: Minnifield gets another interception, nullified by pass interference.
11:46: Minnifield in on a tackle after another man allows a short catch.
11:15: Varner just overthrown over the middle for a long gain that could have gone for a touchdown, just can’t quite make the tough catch in stride.
8:46: Virginia goes deep on Daniels again, should have been caught, very catchable ball, dropped.
7:54: Varner just drops one over the middle, this time actually in the end zone. Tough catch, but catchable.
7:48: Minnifield allows a reception on a slant over the middle short to convert, Minnifield had his hands on it, Vernon just rips it out of his hands.
5:54: Johnson hits the quarterback as he throws, having a dominant half since Duke’s left tackle got hurt. Varner drops another tough catch, but catchable ball on this one.
4:01: Minnifield one of two in the area on a short throw, leads with his helmet forcing the drop, not called, incomplete. Pro scouts won’t like to see that.
2:31: Daniels blocked off the play in a 9 man box on a run play.
1:02: Daniels on a 3rd down tackle right after the sticks, game over.
0:00: Duke has two talented wide receivers, junior Conner Vernon and Donovan Varner. Virginia has a talented potential first round pick at cornerback and chose to put him on Vernon rather than Varner, which makes sense as Vernon is Duke’s leading receiver and Varner normally lines up in the slot. Vernon missed a few snaps with injury, but for the most part he played most of the game and Minnifield was on him all game. Vernon had just 3 catches for 64 yards.
One catch he beat Minnifield over the middle for 51 yards one on one. He got separation and Minnifield needed to tackle him from behind to prevent the touchdown. His 2nd catch was wide open in space on a screen, but Minnifield couldn’t get off a block to make the tackle, which someone else had to do after a gain of few. His 3rd catch could have been an interception, but Vernon simply outmuscled him and ripped the ball out of his hands for a completion on a slant.
Other than that though, Minnifield limited a talented receiver well. The athletic 6-1 195 pounder is a physical player who plays with great technique and is a student of the game. He sends his game tape every week to his dad Frank Minnifield, a former Pro Bowl cornerback, and goes over it with him. He’s had a bit of an inconsistent senior year, but solid stats, 50 tackles, 7 for loss, 8 deflections, 1.5 tackles for loss, and 3 interceptions, including one in this game which was his first pick six of his career and his 13th interception of his career, including 6 in a fantastic junior year.
He hasn’t great lived up to his junior season this year, but still figures to get drafted in either the 2nd round or even the late 1st round. He could have had a couple more interceptions in this game, but he had one ripped out of his hands, and another one nullified by pass interference. There was also another play in the end zone which should have been pass interference. He also should have been whistled for leading with his helmet. He was generally solid against the run, but struggled to get off a couple blocks and missed a tackle, finishing with, 5 tackles in the game. He’s a long, lanky player who needs to get stronger and become more physical against the run. He’s already physical in pass coverage and would be best in a man press scheme. In my book, he’s a 2nd rounder.
With Vernon kept in check for most of the game by Minnifield, Duke threw to Varner instead. Varner was a frequent target and caught 7 passes for 132 yards and a score, but could have had more. He dropped 3 tough, but catchable balls, including two which could have been touchdowns. They were all tough, but I would have liked to have seen him catch at least 1 or two. He still did have a good game and showed himself again to be a good route runner and possession receiver at 5-9 175. His stats aren’t great with 61 catches for 713 yards and 3 scores on the season, but he’s had a good career and he has a talented Vernon takes catches away from him on already an average at best passing offense. He could still end up as a depth receiver at the next level, but it’ll probably have to be as an undrafted free agent.
Another talented defensive player on the Virginia side is defensive end Cam Johnson. He had a huge game with 2 tackles for loss, a sack, a deflection, a couple of quarterback hits and generally consistent pressure. One of those quarterback hits occurred on the Minnifield interception and the hit definitely forced the bad throw that was jumped by Minnifield. I’m torn on where to stand on him.
I’ve seen a couple of Virginia games, this one and one against Miami, and he’s been awesome in each, but generally his numbers haven’t been that great this season as he has just 30 tackles, 11 for loss, and 4 sacks, but 4 of those tackles for loss and 2 sacks have been in games I’ve seen him. The 6-4 275 pound defensive end is generally regarded as a mid rounder, but the tape I’ve seen on him suggests a 2nd round or even a 1st rounder. It’s worth noting that Virginia had the most success in this game against Duke’s backup left tackle.
Duke’s best defensive player is safety Matt Daniels. The safety has 126 tackles on the season and is a 3 year starter, but needed to prove he was more than a box safety because at 6-1 210 he’s a little small to be just a box safety at the next level. He didn’t do that and really struggled in coverage. He was consistent beat deep and looked really stiff in coverage, but luckily for him Virginia’s quarterback was inaccurate on all 3 plays he was beaten deep on because he could have surrendered 3 huge gains. He had another solid game in run support with 9 tackles. He’s a fundamentally sound player who has a nose for the ball and takes good routes to the ball, though he tends to be a little overly aggressive. He looks like a mid to late day 3 prospect.
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