Season of change in Durham
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Duke enters the 2024 season with new faces across the board. Head Coach Mike Elko left for Texas A&M and in comes former Miami head coach Manny Diaz, who in three seasons at Miami compiled a 21-15 record and 16-9 in conference record.
Offense
The new offensive coordinator for the Blue Devils is Jonathan Brewer. Brewer was previously the offensive coordinator at SMU and comes out of the Gus Malzahn coaching tree, having played at Arkansas and having spent time with Malzahn at Auburn and Rhett Lashlee at SMU.
The biggest lose on offense is quarterback Riley Leonard, who transferred to Notre Dame. This is mitigated slightly by the fact that he only played in seven games last season. The Blue Devils scored a minor coup in the transfer portal, bringing in former Texas QB Maalik Murphy, who was a four star recruit out of high school and played in seven games for the Longhorns last season, his most extended work coming in wins against BYU and Kansas State. Murphy is a big QB, coming in at 6-5 and 238 pounds. He looks to be a great fit for the offense that Duke is expected to run.
The portal was unkind to the Blue Devils in the running back room. Leading rusher Jordan Waters transferred, just to add insult to injury he went down the road to NC State. Duke does return second leading rusher Jaquez Moore, 116 carries for 707 yards and 6 touchdowns.
Duke does return two of their top three receivers, leading receiver Jordan Moore who had 62 catches for 835 yards and 8 touchdowns, and 3rd leading receiver Samir Hagans who had 30 catches for 260 yards. The return of a healthy Eli Pancol should help the Blue Devils as well, he missed all of 2023 after an injury in camp but has 70 catches for 912 yards and five touchdowns over his 4-year career. Duke also picked up Old Dominion wide receiver Javon Harvey in the portal, he played in nine games for the Monarchs ending the season with 29 catches for 391 yards and 4 touchdowns. The top tight end from last season, Nicky Dalmolin has moved on, expect sophomore Jeremiah Halsey to step in and start there.
The Duke offensive line returns two starters from 2023, junior Guard Justin Pickett and sophomore Tackle Brian Parker II. The biggest loss was first round pick Graham Barton, 26th to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Blue Devils hit the portal hard, bringing in eight offensive linemen.
Defense
Diaz brought in longtime Diaz assistant, Jonathan Patke to be the defensive coordinator. Patke spent 2023 as the defensive coordinator at Texas State, having moved from Incarnate Word with head coach GJ Kinne.
The Portal punished the Duke defensive line. Two players tied for the lead in sacks last season, Aeneas Peebles, now at Virginia Tech, and RJ Oben, now at Notre Dame. The Blue Devils also lost defensive tackle DeWayne Carter in the draft, 95th to the Buffalo Bills. Kendy Charles comes over from Liberty, after notching three sacks last season.
The defensive line may have holes, but the Blue Devils return their top three tacklers from last season. The two linebackers, Tre Freeman and Nick Morris Jr, will help the transition on defense.
Duke returns three starters in the secondary, led by 2nd leading tackler safety Jaylen Stinson.
Specialists
Kicker Todd Pelino returns after making 18 of 23 field goals last season. Look for Aussie Kade Reynoldson to take over the punting duties.
Conclusion
Diaz inherits a team in transition. The schedule starts off slow, allowing the Blue Devils to possibly start 4-0 before welcoming the Tar Heels into Wallace Wade Stadium. Trips to Miami and NC State as well as FSU and SMU coming to Durham create a challenging later portion of the season. Duke will have to score a few upsets to repeat their bowl trip from last season.