Fall camp for the Duke football program is officially underway, which means Manny Diaz and his staff will spend the next month evaluating the roster and all its players. One of the biggest advantages the Duke program boasts this season, compared to most other power conference programs, is the lack of departures to the transfer portal it has had to deal with. However, there are still plenty of new faces here looking to make an impact.
Here are the four biggest unknowns facing Manny Diaz as fall camp gets rolling, in no particular order.
#1. the RB room
Although the Blue Devils had one of the fewest portal departures of any power conference program, they did lose running back Star Thomas to Tennessee, who was the program's leading rusher by a long shot in 2024. Most of that had to do with veteran Jaquez Moore sustaining an injury in week two against Northwestern and never being able to make it back to full strength, but Moore's health is a big question heading into his final season. Through the 2022 and 2023 seasons, Moore rushed for 1,182 yards and 11 touchdowns on 195 carries. The Blue Devils' run game was one of the weakest in the ACC in 2024, ranking 16th in the conference in rushing yards per game (92.5). Rising junior Peyton Jones also showed some flashes in the backfield with Moore out with injury, but consistent production from Moore needs to be a huge piece of this offense for Duke to have success consistently.
#2. Who is the WR1?
Duke lost both of its top wideouts, Eli Pancol and Jordan Moore, after the 2024 season, leaving the Blue Devils with a major hole to fill. Diaz was able to bring in two talented receivers through the portal along with returning a few guys from the program, but who will emerge as the top wideout on this team is still a major question. Andrel Anthony has been getting tons of buzz with his pure talent, but health has hindered his entire collegiate career. He spent the first two seasons of his collegiate career at Michigan before transferring to Oklahoma in 2023. When he's on the field, he's extremely productive, but he hasn't been on the field in two years. Anthony only played six games in 2023 before missing the rest of the season with a torn ACL, then played one game in 2024 before being sidelined as the original ACL injury wasn't fully healed. Then, there's Cooper Barkate, a 2024 FCS All-American who comes to Durham by way of Harvard. The senior caught 63 passes for 1,084 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2024, leading the Crimson in all of those categories. However, there's a player who was in the Duke program last year who has a real shot to be the team's WR1, and that's rising sophomore Que'Sean Brown. As a freshman, Brown established his prowess as a deep ball threat and fantastic cutter. In total, he caught 41 passes for 445 yards and two touchdowns as the Blue Devils' third receiving threat. With Moore and Pancol gone, don't be surprised if Brown becomes the best receiver on this team.
#3. Bryce Davis
Bryce Davis, an incoming freshman, is Duke's highest-rated recruit in the history of the program. The four-star defensive end thrives off the end, and it will be interesting to see how quickly Diaz puts him in as a regular part of the starting defensive unit. Duke's two veteran defensive end starters from last season, Wesley Williams and Vincent Anthony Jr., are both back in the program and were productive a season ago. The Blue Devils boasted one of the best front sevens in all of college football last season, finishing second in the nation in tackles for loss (116), fourth in the nation in sacks (43), and 26th nationally in third-down conversion percentage (33.8). Davis, the No. 5 edge in his class per the 247Sports Composite Rankings, will add to the threat Duke poses of getting to the quarterback with his speed off the corner, but mixing him in with the veterans might be a bit complicated early on for Diaz.