Durham, N.C. - Preparing to enter his fifth season as a member of the Duke football coaching staff, running back coach Re'quan Boyette recently sat down with GoDuke.com to answer a series of questions. The two-time Blue Devil captain talked about his stable of running backs, recruiting potential student-athletes and having such a strong bond with the university. 

GoDuke.com: You recently returned from the recruiting circuit. What's the best part of that time on the road?

RB: Meeting the coaches and seeing the guys who you have developed relationships with throughout the time in which you have been recruiting them.  But also, this is great time for us to evaluate, so we are actually getting to watch kids and see them move and see them actually do athletic things.  That is my favorite part is the relationships and seeing those guys.  But then being able to truly evaluate a kid, to put my eyes on him and say yes or no, that is what drives me because you get to do that. 

GoDuke.com: You've played at Duke and now coach at Duke. What does it mean to have such a strong connection to one university?

RB: Oh it means a lot.  This is what I tell a lot of people and even use it in recruiting – this place is home.  This place is home to whoever comes here. That is why the tie, for me, is so tight and so strong, because I love the people who are here.  That is why the relationships that you make all the way around are so solid.  I met [Assistant Director of Athletics/External Affairs] Art [Chase] when I was a 16, 17-year old junior in high school. I met [Assistant Director of Athletics/Student-Athlete External Affairs] Tony Sales and those guys when I was 16 or 17 years old.  I'm 29 years old now.  So these people have known me, basically, you could say for half of my life.  That is what keeps the tie strong, the people around here makes Duke what it is.  And that is why I love it.  I never have to leave if I don't want to.  

GoDuke.com: This spring, senior Zach Boden was put on scholarship. What does that mean to you to have one of your guys receive that honor? What's the biggest thing Zach has brought to your running back room?

RB: That means a lot for him to be able to have that honor.  For me, to have a guy who the team believes in who is also was a walk on and has the respect he has with his teammates, you can't even fathom how that makes me feel.  Sometimes you wonder if a guy, coming in as a walk-on who transferred from another place, if he going to fit in.  Zach came and jumped right in.  And these guys love him.  He is a leader and molds everybody. 

In our room there are guys, like Jela [Duncan] who are a little bit more prominent, but Zach is, to me, right up there along when it comes to leading.  Zach understands that for him to have that opportunity to be on scholarship is a testament to his work.  He is a complete football player.  When you talk about just playing straight football, he is one of the best, just plain football players I have ever seen. He knows the game, plays the game well, understands it and is natural runner of the ball when he gets it in his hands.  But his work ethic and who he is, is the reason he got that scholarship.  Everything he put into it, he put his all into it.  And he was amazing, has been amazing, and I love him, I love him to death.     

GoDuke.com: Your running back group is frequently referred to as the stable. Where did that name come from and what does it mean to be a member of the stable?

RB: First off let me say this – the nickname stable came way before the [defensive groups of] coalition and cheetahs.  I feel like people don't understand that!  The stable came when I was a player, that's how far back it goes, and I don't know if I'm old enough to say far back. 

We started calling ourselves the stable, I think maybe in our sophomore or junior year.  When I came back for coaching, I realized they were still calling themselves the stable.  I thought that's cool, you know, it was something I kind of originated and developed, me and Justin Boyle.  Now they are still using it.  So I just took it and ran with it again because it was what I kind of came up with. 

To me, it is just saying that we want to build a bunch of thoroughbreds.  Thoroughbreds are the bigtime horses.  The ones that get out there, train like no other, prepare like no other, and when they race, they play and they race, and they do their work like no other.  That is what we want to be.  We want to be thoroughbreds.  We want to be detailed in our work.  Horse racing to me is about your details – making sure everything is locked in and where it needs to be from a preparation standpoint. 

But the stable mentality is just being out there, going out and dominating every rep that you have, as a football player, not as a running back, but as a football player.  And going out and just being able to contribute to the team is key.  It is a thing because as running backs, there is only one, and then one ball.  So you have to kind of create something that adds cohesiveness to the group.  That is what I think the stable does.  It holds these guys together.  They know that I am in the stable and I am accountable for my stable mate.  I am accountable for him and he is accountable for me.  It is a band of brothers; it is just an extension right off of #DukeGang.  It's a band of brothers trying to do everything right for their brother.  There is no selfishness involved in it. 

GoDuke.com: Three words to describe Jela Duncan and three words to describe Shaun Wilson.

RB: First thing that I am going to say for both of them, it has nothing to do with football, but great kids.  Jela is powerful.  For Shaun I know I'm going to say great kid, explosive, home run hitter. 

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