Former Duke quarterback Thomas Sirk announced that he will play his sixth and final college season at East Carolina. Sirk suffered torn Achilles in both legs during his time at Duke. His most recent injury occurred just prior to last season and kept him out the entire year. While Sirk was out, freshman Daniel Jones assumed the starting quarterback role and set several team freshman passing records. The NCAA granted Sirk a sixth year of eligibility, due to his injury history and missed time, but coach David Cutcliffe made it clear that Jones would be the starting quarterback heading into the 2017 season. Sirk announced his intention to graduate and transfer, making him eligible to play at a new school immediately, just before Duke’s spring practice. On Friday morning, Sirk announced his new school on Twitter. The quarterback tweeted, “Beyond blessed to have another year to play the game I love. I will spend my final year at East Carolina University #Pirates.” Sirk will be reunited with Scottie Montgomery, who was an assistant at Duke for three of Sirk’s five seasons. Now ECU’s head coach, Montgomery was receivers coach and passing game coordinator at Duke in 2013, when Sirk was recovering from a ruptured right Achilles. Montgomery was promoted and served as offensive coordinator for the Blue Devils in 2014 and 2015. Sirk led the team in rushing touchdowns as backup to starting quarterback Anthony Boone in 2014. The following year, Sirk started and earned Offensive co-MVP honors in Duke’s Pinstripe Bowl victory. Sirk has completed 59.2 percent of his collegiate passes, with 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He’s rushed for 1,047 yards and 16 touchdowns. He will compete with three other newcomers to become starting quarterback for the Pirates: redshirt freshman Reid Herring, true freshman Kingsley Ifedi and JUCO transfer Gardner Minshew.
