Duke Football: Offensive line is a work in progress for the Blue Devils

With the start of the Duke football season barely more than a week away, it’s time to take a look at the foundation of any team: the offensive line.

The Duke football team has a redshirt sophomore running back, Brittain Brown, who is looking to break the 1,000-yard mark this season and a junior quarterback, Daniel Jones, hoping to bounce back from a subpar performance last season.

But if that pair hopes to make a habit of punishing ACC defenders, they will need consistent help from their offensive line. Football fans are well aware that even the most talented backfield doesn’t stand a chance without a group of linemen who are capable of warding off tackles, ends, and linebackers.

If this season’s group of linemen are going to be able to accomplish that task with regularity, though, head coach David Cutcliffe and his staff will have to figure out a way to replace three starters from last year’s squad.

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Not only did Duke lose most of its starters on the line, but the team also lost its leader and center, Austin Davis. Redshirt senior Zach Harmon is expected to transition to the center position from right guard (where he started for the Blue Devils the past two seasons).

Harmon is a 6-foot-3, 290-pound native of Toledo, Ohio, who is riding a starting streak that goes back 23 games. That makes him Duke’s most experienced lineman.

And Harmon has made it clear that he is fully qualified to take on a new role after observing from Davis what it takes to be a leader and a center.

“I knew what it looked like to be a good center, and playing at guard gave me a different perspective in terms of making calls and putting the offense on the same page,” Harmon said at the annual “Meet the Blue Devils” day last Saturday, according to Mary Dunleavy of WRAL Sports.

The other returning starter is Julian Santos, a 6-foot-3, 310-pound junior from East Lake, Fla., who in 2016 became the first lineman since Cutcliffe came to Durham to see action as a true freshman. In 2017, he started all 13 games for the Blue Devils.

Rakavius Chambers, another 6-foot-3, 310-pounder, is penciled in as the starter at right guard. Although Chambers is just a true sophomore, he followed in the footsteps of Santos by becoming just the second lineman under Cutcliffe’s watch to gain game experience as a true freshman; he played in all 13 games last season.

As for the tackles, Duke is expected to give the starting nod to redshirt senior Christian Harris (6-foot-6, 310 pounds) on the left side and redshirt sophomore Robert Kraeling (6-foot-7, 310 pounds) on the right. The duo has combined for 538 snaps during their time in Durham.

So far in practice this month, Jones said he has noticed the entire group of linemen putting in the required effort to avoid being the weak link of an otherwise-experienced offense.

“There are three new guys there that have learned how to play well together,” Jones told Dunleavy. “I think that’s the biggest thing with the offensive line, learning to play well together.”

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If that togetherness can build and last throughout the season — and the group stays healthy — Jones and Brown should have no issues reaching their individual goals and helping the team improve on a 7-6 record from last year. The Duke Blue Devils open the season at home against Army on Aug. 31.

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