Duke Football Starter Profile: Brittain Brown to be leader in backfield

As the feature back for the Duke football team, Brittain Brown will try to build on what he achieved as a redshirt freshman last year.

Speed. Check. Power. Check. Agility. Check. The 2018 version of Duke football includes a running back who can check every box on the list of what it takes to be a highlight stuffer at the college level.

Add to the equation Brittain Brown’s expected increase in use, and it is easy to see why he is a popular pick to have a breakout season for the Blue Devils. Last season, Brown shared snaps with Shaun Wilson and finished as the team’s second-leading rusher.

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Now that Wilson has graduated, though, the leadership role in the backfield has been passed down to Brown. The former four-star prospect out of high school is looking to build on his freshman campaign in which he amassed 701 yards on just 130 carries. He also caught 14 passes for a total of 161 yards.

If the 6-foot-1, 205-pound redshirt sophomore is able to average more than five yards per attempt as he did last season, he could have a chance to be the first Blue Devil to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season since Chris Douglas accomplished the feat in 2003.

Although head coach David Cutcliffe has often chosen to rotate two primary rushers during his 10 seasons in Durham, that could change in 2018. No other returning back has amassed more than 100 career yards.

History should teach Duke’s coaching staff not to neglect Brown. The Blue Devils lost all four contests in which the Canton, GA, native had less than 10 carries last season. Barring an injury, though, Brown should expect to easily have double-digit attempts in every game this year.

The 20-year-old is also likely to serve as the Duke football team’s primary kick returner, a role that was mostly reserved for Wilson last year. Brown had just one kick return for 38 yards.