Duke football expected to hire East Carolina RB coach Rodney Freeman II | Reports

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Duke football has found its new running backs coach per multiple reports.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on Monday, Dec. 29, that former East Carolina University running backs coach Rodney Freeman II has accepted the job as the Blue Devils’ running backs coach.

A Houston, Texas, native, Freeman II played collegiately at both Abilene Christian (2007-08) and Stephen F. Austin (2005-06). He spent the last two seasons at East Carolina with previous stops at Utah State, Michigan State and Colorado Mesa. He helped ECU reach 2,241 yards on the ground in 2024 and 2,292 in 2025. He also served as the offensive coordinator/play caller in East Carolina’s 23-17 upset over Pitt in the Military Bowl on Dec. 27, a game in which the Pirates outscored the Panthers 20-10 in the second half to pull off the upset.

Freeman II will be the third running backs coach at Duke in three years. Willie Simmons held the position in 2024 before leaving for Florida International University while Chris Foster held the position in 2025, leaving Durham after one year to join new-Florida coach Jon Sumrall’s staff.

Offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer said on Dec. 29 that senior offensive analyst Cam Clark will be coaching running backs in Duke’s Sun Bowl game against Arizona State on Wednesday, Dec. 31.

Anna Snyder covers Duke for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at asnyder@usatodayco.com or follow her @annaesnydr on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Duke football expected to hire East Carolina RB coach Rodney Freeman II

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