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Gattis commits to Duke
Jason Pughe
Updated June 24, 2008...
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The 6-0 168 pound athlete from North Carolina’s Durham Hillside visited Duke last week and received an offer that he couldn’t pass up. Corey Gattis is being recruited both as a quarterback and a wide receiver and he is the latest addition to Blue Devils 2009 recruiting class.
“Last Tuesday I went to Duke to work out with one of my team mates,” Gattis said. “He was just going to work out because I was going to camp there. I couldn’t just sit there and watch, so I decided to work out anyway. Coach (David) Cutlcliffe was there and he was really impressed. I think he just wanted to see me play in person. He started talking like he was going to offer me, so I knew it was coming. They offered me at a dinner and I was there with my mom and girlfriend. I discussed it with my mom and my coaches to see what I would do if they offered. We all came to the conclusion that I should go ahead and commit and I didn’t want to pass that opportunity up.”
Despite his commitment to Duke, Gattis still plans on taking a couple of visits, one of which includes a trip to Wake Forest’s camp next month.
“I chose Duke over Wake Forest, ECU, Vanderbilt, and Clemson,” he said. “I was planning on taking trips to Rutgers and West Virginia to see what they were about, but I didn’t take those. I’m not going to take too many visits. Of course I always want to see other schools to make sure that I am making the right decision. I’m not going to say that I am not going to take a few visits, but I’ll probably take a few visits. However, it won’t be too many. I am going to go to Wake Forest’s camp on July 13th.”
Gattis was being recruited as an athlete by a number of schools. He’s always stated that he wants to play on the offensive side of the ball and Duke is going to give him that opportunity.
“They are looking at me as a quarterback but they are giving me the option to play wide receiver also,” he said. “I told them that I wanted to play on the offensive side of the ball and not play DB or anything. Basically it’s quarterback first and wide receiver second.”
In the end Duke is the place that felt the most like home for Gattis. Not only was he impressed with the direction of the Blue Devil program and where it is headed but he was extremely impressed with the Duke coaching staff.
“I love their coaching staff and they are on the right path as far as turning the program around,” Gattis said. “They are a great bunch of guys and they make you feel like it is a family rather than a football team. They don’t just treat you as a recruit; they treat you like a family member. Duke is about ten minutes from my house. They are recruiting my team mate Nick Stone and he’s actually the one who I went to Duke with to work out. I think they are going to offer him eventually and Coach (David) Cutlcliffe was really impressed with him. I’m definitely trying to get him to come to Duke with me.”