Blue Devils Added to NCAA Watch Lists for Top Defender, Tight End

Duke football players are gaining a lot national recognition this preseason as college football approaches, and recently three more Blue Devils were added to preseason watch lists to win awards as the best players at their positions. On offense, Braxton Deaver was added to the Mackey Award watch list for the top tight end in the NCAA while defenders Jeremy Cash and Kelby Brown were named to the Bednarik Award watch list for the nation’s top defensive player.

Unfortunately, we recently learned that redshirt senior linebacker Kelby Brown will be unable to compete with the Blue Devils after tearing his ACL for the 4th time and has officially completed his football career at Duke. The All-ACC performer had also received several other preseason All-ACC and All-America honors, and it’s sad to see his time on the field for Duke come to an end before seeing what he would have been able to do in his final year of eligibility.

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Redshirt senior safety Jeremy Cash has earned a ton of conference and national recognition for this season, most recently being named the preseason favorite for ACC Defensive Player of the Year. He enters the season as one of the top safeties in the nation and will be expected to be an impact player on defense, especially now that Brown is out for the season.

Braxton Deaver, similar to Brown, is a redshirt senior who missed last season due to a knee injury and was granted an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA to play this season. In his last appearance with the Blue Devils, he earned Third Team All-ACC honors in 2013 and was second on the team in receiving yards- including a career-high 116 yard performance in the Chick-fil-a Bowl vs. Texas A&M.

Deaver should put up decent numbers and have a huge impact in the offense this season. He will be able to be a reliable option in the passing game for new starting quarterback Thomas Sirk and will have a larger role with the graduation of last year’s top two wide receivers Issac Blakeney and the school’s all-time leading receiver Jamison Crowder.

Brown, Cash, and Deaver will join several other Blue Devils on preseason watch lists to win awards as the best player at their position: Matt Skura will be competing for the Rimington Trophy given to the best center, safety and kick returner DeVon Edwards is in the running for the Hornung Award as the most versatile player, and Brown and Cash are also on the watch list for the Lott IMPACT Trophy given to the top defender who shows great character off the field. The preseason honors for Blue Devils this season should make it an interesting season for Duke Football as they look to make their 4th consecutive bowl game appearance.