Duke football wasn’t held in high esteem by the courts last week, but the Blue Devils were no joke in the recruiting trail.

First-year head coach David Cutcliffe has landed four oral commitments over the last eight days, including three from prominent prospects over the weekend.

Perhaps the biggest coup for Cutcliffe and the Blue Devils came last Friday when one of the nation’s top defensive tackle prospects, John Drew from Columbus, Ga., decided to make a pledge.

Rivals.com rates Drew the 19th-best defensive tackle prospect in the nation, while Scout.com has him at No. 34.

The 6-foot-1, 303-pounder had previously committed to Georgia Tech, but began to have second thoughts about attending school in a major metropolitan area like Atlanta.

So Drew announced a change of heart last Wednesday and re-opened his recruitment. Duke, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt were the other schools to offer Drew, so he made an unofficial visit to Durham to attend a one-day football camp.

Drew was so impressed with Duke and its proximity to nearby N.C. Central, where his brother Chris will play next fall, that he decided to commit.

“John and his brother are real close,’’ said Drew’s coach at Northside High, Paul Cates. “He wanted to be around his brother.

“He just said, ‘Coach, Duke is where I want to go to college.’’’

Drew is such an athletic lineman that Cates plans to use him at defensive end, offensive line and even tailback next season.

“He’s one of our more athletic people,’’ he said. “He’ll move around defensively. We’ll play him inside or outside. He’ll be a lead blocker on offense, too.’’

Also joining Drew in the Duke class are Dana Point, Calif., quarterback Sean Schroeder, Atlanta tight end Jack Farrell and Durham Hillside athlete Corey Gattis.

Schroeder had narrowed his list of possibilities to Duke, Oregon State, San Diego State and Stanford. The Blue Devils were the first to offer last Saturday and the 6-3, 185-pounder committed the next day.

Rated the nation’s No. 55 quarterback prospect by Scout.com, Schroeder completed 130 of 195 passes for 1,136 yards and six touchdowns as a junior. He was the most accurate passer in Orange County, according to Dana Hills High’s first-year head coach Brent Melbon.

“He’s very accurate throwing the football,’’ Melbon said. “He’s got a real strong arm and a very quick release. All the coaches who have seen him throw in person, their first comment is ‘It sure doesn’t take long to get the ball out of his hands.’’’

Schroeder is the second prominent quarterback snagged by Cutcliffe since he became Duke head coach last December. He signed highly touted Arizona quarterback Sean Renfree in February. Renfree was a 2008 Parade All-American.

Athletic Gattis to play WR
The Blue Devils also grabbed a stellar high school quarterback in Gattis, a 6-foot, 165-pounder who threw for 3,003 yards and 28 touchdowns as a junior at Hillside.

Gattis had also received scholarship offers from East Carolina and Ohio, according to Hillside coach Ray Harrison. Harrison said Gattis chose Duke because the Blue Devils wanted to keep him on offense.

“His position will most likely be receiver,’’ Harrison said. “East Carolina wanted to keep him on the defensive side of the ball, and that was one thing he objected to.

“But Coach Cutcliffe is recruiting some really good athletes at Duke with good grades, and I think that’s what they saw in Corey.’’

The 6-2, 225-pound Farrell plays at Holy Innocents Episcopal School in Atlanta. He caught 24 passes for 324 yards and three touchdowns as a junior. Farrell also averaged 41 yards per punt.

The pledges came in the wake of last week’s court victory for Duke in a breach of contract lawsuit filed by the University of Louisville.

Louisville has sued Duke for backing out of a four-year football contract with the Cardinals with three years left on the agreement. The contract called for a penalty of $150,000 per game if a date with a team “of a similar stature’’ couldn’t be found.

Duke’s lawyers argued, and the judge agreed, that the 6-45 record by the Blue Devils has been so bad over the past five years that any team would be a suitable replacement.

QB chooses Pirates
East Carolina has received a key oral commitment from Tyrone, Ga., quarterback Rio Johnson.

Johnson, a 6-3, 185-pounder, passed for 1,800 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior. He completed 56 percent of his passes for a 7-5 Sandy Creek High School team.

“I’ve seen a bunch of quarterbacks in the state of Georgia this year, and I’m biased because he’s mine, but he’s as good as any in the state,’’ Sandy Creek coach Chip Walker said. “I really think East Carolina is getting a good one.’’

Johnson helps fulfill one of the needs in ECU’s class this year. He is the fourth known prospect to choose the Pirates.

Fayetteville Observer reporter Sammy Batten can be reached at battens@fayobserver.com or 486-3534.