Duke has dismissed two defensive linemen from the football team, coach David Cutcliffe announced on Tuesday. Defensive end Marquis Price, a starter last season, and defensive tackle Brandon Boyce, a backup, were dropped from the roster ” after failing to meet the standards of a member of the program,” Cutcliffe announced in a statement released by the school. Price started all 11 games as a sophomore last year after getting three starts the previous season. His 23 tackles were the second-most among expected returning linemen, and Price added 3.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks and six quarterback pressures, which was second-most on the team.Boyce, also a sophomore last year, battled Edgar Cerenord for second on the depth chart at defensive tackle last season. He was expected to compete to replace A.J. Wolf, a senior last season. Boyce appeared in eight games last season and 21 in his Duke career. In his career, Boyce had 31 tackles, 5.0 tackles
for loss, 2.0 sacks, one caused fumble and one quarterback pressure. With the two departures, Duke has just one returning starter on the defensive line–tackle Mike Ramsey–and eight returning players with any experience, including three linemen who played as true freshmen last year. David Cutcliffe will have to find two starting ends and backups from among former walk-on Danny Doyle and true sophomores Terrell Lucas and James Hornbuckle, all of whom were on the depth chart last season. Chidi Okonye, another true sophomore, is the only other end with experience. Duke does not have any ends in its redshirt freshman class or early-entry true freshmen.
