Gaffney quarterback Grayson Loftis: Why I committed to Duke football

Grayson Loftis had a plan all along to finish his recruiting process as early as possible. When the right offer came and he knew he'd found his next home, he wouldn't hesitate to make a commitment.

The state championship-winning Gaffney quarterback — last year was his first with the Indians after transferring from Blue Ridge — ended a very brief courtship with Duke when during a campus visit he informed the new Blue Devils staff on Saturday they were his choice.

Loftis, who doesn't yet have a ranking in the 247Sports Composite for his 2023 class, announced the news Monday via Twitter. His other offers include Kentucky, West Virginia, Marshall, Charlotte and Appalachian State. His first offer came from Georgia from the previous offensive staff although he hasn't had any recent contact with the Bulldogs.

Loftis helped Gaffney to a 15-0 season capped by a 22-19 Class AAAAA state championship victory against Dutch Fork, breaking a 62-game winning streak and a run of five consecutive state titles. It was Gaffney's first state championship in nine years.

He had received some interest from former Duke coach David Cutcliffe and his staff and attended a game and a camp under the prior regime. That interest dwindled before the university hired former Texas A&M defensive coordinator Mike Elko as head coach on Dec. 10. After offensive coordinator Kevin Johns was hired on Jan. 7 following three seasons in the same role at Memphis, he was barely a week into his new gig when he renewed interest in Loftis after a holdover grad assistant alerted him to players he should consider recruiting.

Loftis and his parents visited Duke for around eight hours Saturday; about five hours in, Elko extended the offer in his office.

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Here is Loftis answering a variety of questions during a phone interview after making his commitment.

On being happy with getting such a major life decision out of the way so he can focus on his life without extra distractions from recruiting:

 "It's why we wanted to get it done so early. Our whole idea through the process was when we find out what's right for us, we're going to jump on it. We were fortunate enough to have a great staff come in, reach out and we've built that relationship over two weeks. When we went up there, I just kind of looked at my parents and said, 'Guys, I think it's the place for me.' We had some further discussions and all agreed on it and there was nothing holding us back.

"We found special people at Duke and not only a chance to play football, but a chance to go earn the greatest education the Southeast can offer and maybe even the country with the exception of the Ivy League. We wanted to get it over with and we found a home and there was no point in drawing it out. Duke is a special opportunity and a special place to go be a part of something great that's in the process of being built. It's not great right now; obviously the history has been a little bleak, but I think the future is really bright."

On what the coaches sold him on as far as their plan for the program:

"Offensively the vision is just to be on the attack all the time. We will set the tone and the pace and then go score a whole bunch of points. The plan for the program is we don't want to be the team that's OK with winning six games every year and maybe get into a bowl game. We're not going to accept being average or mediocre."

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Duke signed 16 players during the early signing period just five days after Elko was announced as coach, but Loftis became the first to pledge to him with the Blue Devils:

"I think it's a special bond me and Coach Elko will have forever. Being his first guy to put my full trust in him as a head coach and for him to put his trust in me as the first he takes a commitment from. I think it means a lot to the both of us, and I value and appreciate that and can't wait to continue to build that relationship and be a part of this university forever."

On whether he had a feeling Duke might offer him during Saturday's visit or did he think it would likely take more time:

"I think it was a chemistry thing. We felt good about what we'd built with Coach Johns and Coach Elko, so that day was kind of the last standing straw before they offered us and it ultimately led to a commitment. They did a good job of giving the full idea of what the future of Duke looks like and what their plan is. We thought I fit really well into that plan and that's why I hopped on it and committed."

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On deciding to commit so early in the process despite understanding he's likely to receive many more offers before and during his senior season:

"There's no better education you can get than Duke. It offers a unique opportunity not only on the football end, but on the education end. To be able to be set for life after leaving, having that education in hand. The Duke education lasts forever while the football stops for everybody at some point. So being able to have that unique opportunity off the field was important and now I'll be a part of the Duke family and alumni forever.

"No matter who comes or who calls, Duke is home and I'm fully bought in and invested." 

On becoming part of the foundation of helping to try to build Duke into a consistent winner under a new staff. The program had 18 consecutive losing seasons (1995-2012) before Cutcliffe produced five winning years (2013-2018), including at least eight wins four times. The Blue Devils went just 10-25 the past three seasons:

"My message to guys who are looking into committing to Duke is 'Why not Duke?' It's easy to go be a part of the team that wins 10 games every year and is an established program already, but if you come to Duke you're getting to commit to a national brand that everybody knows we can build to be something great. So I think it's fun to be a part of the ground work and the process of building.

"Me and Coach Johns talk about how you see the atmosphere and the pride the school brings with basketball and there's no reason that can't happen with football. No reason we can't get the students, alumni and fans so jacked up to be at a football game because it's happened in the past and we have to get it back to that and exceed expectations. You go there having a chip on your shoulder because no one expects you to be great."