Duke Football Season Preview: Part 1 – The Offense

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When a new season approaches, it is better to focus on what you have rather than lament what you don’t have. This is especially true for Duke football fans in 2026. It is time to move forward.

The first thing Duke has is coaching-staff stability. Head Coach Manny Diaz returns for his third season at the helm, with Offensive Coordinator Jonathan Brewer, Defensive Coordinator Jonathan Patke and Special Teams Coordinator Gabe Infante at his side. In today’s college football landscape, maintaining all your coordinators is not a given.

Strength and Conditioning Coach David Feeley is back for his fifth season at Duke. He is considered one of the best in the business, and his continued presence is a boon for the program.  Feeley previously worked with Coach Diaz at Miami.   

There has been movement with some of the position coaches, so Duke has a new Defensive Ends Coach (Trent Harris), and a new Running Backs Coach (Rodney Freeman II), but overall the staff is remarkably stable. Coaching staff stability is a big plus for a program.

Trent Harris comes to Duke from Illinois, where he coached outside linebackers the past two years. Harris played defensive end at Miami under Manny Diaz.

Rodney Freeman II was the running backs coach at East Carolina University the past two seasons.

Let’s take a look at the offense, which leads to the second thing Duke has, which is talent on the offensive side of the ball. That talent is in the form of both returning players, and additions via the transfer portal, plus incoming true freshmen (more on the freshmen below).

A look at the offense has to commence with Second Team All-ACC running back Nate Sheppard. Sheppard rushed for 1,132 and 11 TDs, while catching 37 passes for 286 yards and one TD. The 2026 offense will definitely look to feature Sheppard from Day One. He is fast and elusive, but simultaneously runs with power. He is a star looking to become a superstar. That is not an overstatement.

The running back room added graduate transfer C.J. Campbell Jr. via the portal. Campbell has played in 31 games (12 starts), rushing for 1,144 yards and 14 TDs, plus 41 receptions for 469 yards and three TDs. Campbell previously played at Rutgers, Florida Atlantic and Florida State. The ability to catch the ball out of the backfield is a key skill set that will really help Duke’s offense.

Tight end Jeremiah Hasley is another returning talent. Hasley was Honorable Mention All-ACC in 2025, with 40 receptions for 454 yards and six TDs. The tight end position is bolstered by graduate transfer Nate Kurisky. In 38 games (16 starts) at Louisville, Kurisky recorded 50 receptions for 410 yards and seven touchdowns.

The offensive line returns two starters in center Matt Craycroft and left guard Jordan Larsen. These two will be the offensive line core pieces, joined by graduate transfer tackles Nick Del Grande and Braden Miller, who are the presumptive starters on the outside. Del Grande was a two-time All-Sun Belt selection at Coastal Carolina, where he started 35 games. Braden Miller played in 22 games (seven starts) for California and Michigan State.

Moreover, Duke has multiple returning offensive linemen who have played a significant number of snaps for the Blue Devils. Bradley Smith has appeared in 15 games, including one start. He started at right guard in the 2025 Sun Bowl, and has played 402 snaps. Micah Sahakian has struggled to stay healthy since transferring to Duke. He did not see game action in 2025, but  played in four games (two starts) for the Blue Devils in 2024. Sahakian was twice selected All-Ivy League at Cornell, and has played 1,849 snaps in his college career. 

But there are question marks. That’s the third thing Duke has.

The biggest question is quarterback. Graduate transfer Walker Eget joined the Blue Devils via the portal after spending five seasons at San Jose State, where he started 18 games and played in 27. Eget passed for 5,563 yards with 30 TDs and 19 interceptions. Highlight videos show a strong arm and give the impression Eget is a bit of a gunslinger who tends to force the ball at times. 

Redshirt freshman Dan Mahan has a year in the program, but has zero game action. Mahan threw two touchdown passes in this year’s Spring Game, and is reputed to be a strong runner.

Ari Patu (North Alabama / Stanford) and Blaine Hipa (Princeton) are two additional quarterback graduate transfers. One can never have too many quarterbacks.

Wide receiver is another big question. Jayden Moore returns, and he recorded seven receptions for 42 yards in 2025. So Duke hit the portal hard, and brought in several transfers.

Jared Richardson led the Ivy League in receptions and touchdown receptions in 2025 for Penn. He is a big receiver at 6’2” 220, who has 193 receptions for 2,505 yards and 27 TDs in 33 games (29 starts). He is the odds-on favorite to be Duke’s number one receiver in 2026.

Javon Nicholas played at Charlotte in 2025 after spending three seasons with LSU. He has played in 38 games (11 starts), totaling 64 receptions for 766 yards and five TDs. He also returned eight punts for 99 yards. Nicholas should compete for a starting position.

Jonah Burton arrives from Idaho State after spending four seasons at Baylor. In 18 games (three starts) he has 31 receptions for 373 yards.

Finally, there are the incoming true freshmen. One never knows what you’re getting with freshmen. Will someone step up and be a star like Nate Sheppard was in 2025? That would be nice but certainly not expected.

Interior offensive lineman Sean Stover is from Prosper, TX, and a 4-star ESPN300 recruit ranked as the 199th best player in his class. He is certain to be in the mix competing for a starting spot at RG.

There are two freshman WRs who will look to compete for snaps. Kavon Conciauro from Warner Robins, GA, and Brody Keefe from Charlotte, NC. Both have nice size at 6’4”, 200, and 6’3”, 190, respectively.

Tight end Ben Moseley, from Centre, AL, is another freshman who could make an impact.

Running backs C.J. Givers from Roswell, GA, and Jayvian Tanelus from Naples, FL, will compete for minutes as the backup running back when Nate Sheppard needs a breather. 

Last, but not least, dual threat quarterback Terry Walker III, from Indianapolis, IN, is the second-highest rated recruit in the class after Sean Stover. Walker suffered a torn ACL in fall of 2025 so it is doubtful, in my opinion, he will see action in 2026.

I’ll be back in a few days with a look at the defense and special teams, so stay tuned.

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