Patrick comfortable in role with Blue Devils

DURHAM, N.C. - Ben Patrick came to Duke unsure of what position he was going to play.<br> <br> Would it be defensive end, or maybe linebacker? He played both in high school, along with quarterback and punter.<br> <br> ``It didn&#39;t matter to me,&#39;&#39; Patrick said. ``Wherever the coaches felt I could help the most, that&#39;s where I wanted to play.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> He ended up at tight end, even though he never played there in high school. Still, that&#39;s where most recruiting analysts projected him, and so far, Patrick hasn&#39;t disappointed.<br> <br> Last season, his first with the Blue Devils, he finished with 17 catches and one touchdown in 10 games, mostly as a reserve. He&#39;s the leading returning receiver and won a starting spot in practice leading up to Saturday&#39;s opener at Navy.<br> <br> ``He&#39;s definitely a go-to guy,&#39;&#39; backup quarterback Chris Dapolito said. ``He&#39;s just a great athlete for somebody that size. And he&#39;s shown a tremendous amount of work ethic. I think he helps us all out.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Patrick was particularly adept at that in the offseason, attending most team meetings and workouts. He was named most improved tight end after spring practice, and his efforts gained him a much higher honor team captain.<br> <br> The other players voted on that honor, which was pretty unusual for a third-year sophomore.<br> <br> ``I haven&#39;t been around that too much,&#39;&#39; coach Ted Roof said. ``It&#39;s not hard to see how his teammates feel about him.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Patrick couldn&#39;t quite believe it when he found out he was going to be a captain. Now, he feels the extra burden of trying to play up to the title.<br> <br> ``I have to step up each and every week and play hard,&#39;&#39; he said. ``It is a tremendous honor, and I really appreciate it. I was very surprised, being as young as I am and being viewed by teammates as a captain of a football team.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> With Patrick getting better, Roof was able to move Andy Roland the starting tight end from last season to fullback, where Duke had a lack of depth.<br> <br> Still, Patrick plans to learn as much as he can from Roland, who was named to the preseason watch list for the John Mackey Award, given to the nation&#39;s top tight end. The lessons started when Patrick first joined the program.<br> <br> ``Coming in as a true freshman, I had to learn how to block,&#39;&#39; Patrick said. ``That was the hardest thing for me. Andy Roland is a great blocker, and I worked with him, met with him outside of football to talk about different techniques and what to practice.<br> <br> ``He&#39;s done a good job of pushing me in the process.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The Blue Devils had a bit of a revival last season when Roof took over for the fired Carl Franks, winning two of its final five games. That included a victory over Georgia Tech to snap a 30-game losing streak in the Atlantic Coast Conference.<br> <br> Continuing this upswing is why Patrick came to Duke well, one of the reasons.<br> <br> ``I came to Duke, first and foremost, for the education,&#39;&#39; he said. ``You can&#39;t play football forever. But I was looking forward to the challenge. I wanted to be a part of the turnaround.<br> <br> ``A lot of people told us it couldn&#39;t be done. They saw at the end of last year that we could. And we&#39;re going to do it again this year.&#39;&#39;