The Duke football program didn't lose many key contributors to the transfer portal after the 2024 season, which is a feat that most other power conference programs around the nation can't relate to. However, in today's landscape of college sports, the portal is always busy with new names each offseason. With Duke making some splashes in the portal this past cycle and adding some talented names, the program won't be able to run forever from the portal plague.
Here are four Blue Devils who are already on transfer portal watch before the 2025 college football season even kicks off.
1. Henry Belin IV, QB
Henry Belin IV is entering his redshirt junior season with Duke and hasn't really gotten any opportunities to see the field throughout his career in Durham. Appearing in eight games since 2022, Belin has completed 44 of his 77 pass attempts (57.1%) for 518 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions. In 2024, he got the start in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl against No. 14 Ole Miss after Maalik Murphy, Duke's starter, announced his plans to hit the portal. In a 52-20 loss against the Rebels, Belin completed 25 of his 44 passes (56.8%) for 236 yards in the air, two touchdowns, and a pick. Now, after the Blue Devils signed Darian Mensah this offseason, one of the top QBs in the portal, it's become clear Belin will likely never be a starter in a Blue Devil uniform. Duke signed Mensah to a two-year, $8 million deal, and Belin has two years of eligibility remaining. With head coach Manny Diaz knowing who his starter will be through 2026, Belin will likely have to move elsewhere for any chance to be a full-time QB1.
2. Nate Sheppard, RB
Nate Sheppard is a rising freshman as part of Duke's 2025 recruiting class. The three-star running back is entering a crowded backfield that will limit his opportunities as a freshman, as there will likely be three backs ahead of him on the depth chart. Jaquez Moore, Duke's lead back who missed most of the 2024 season due to injury, is back, as well as Peyton Jones, a rising junior who showed flashes of greatness in an RB2 role a season ago in Moore's absence. The Blue Devils also brought in running back Anderson Castle from Appalachian State, who rushed for 1,036 yards across his five seasons as a Mountaineer. Moore and Castle will both be out of collegiate eligibility after this season, but Jones would be a rising senior poised to take on a workhorse RB1 load. With Sheppard's touches likely being very limited as a freshman, there's a chance he could look to take his talents elsewhere with Jones potentially coming back as the leader in 2026.
3. Jayden Moore, WR
Jayden Moore is entering his redshirt freshman season with the Blue Devils after not seeing any game action in 2024. The former three-star recruit wasn't able to find the field as a rookie, and it might be a similar season for Moore in 2025 with a crowded wide receiver group in Durham. Despite the program losing its top two receivers from a season ago, Eli Pancol and Jordan Moore, Diaz and his staff reloaded with two talented portal receivers in Andrel Anthony and Cooper Barkate. Additionally, rising sophomore Que'Sean Brown and rising senior Sahmir Hagans will both be ahead of Moore on the depth chart, making the redshirt freshman the WR5 at best. With the Blue Devils also bringing in a plethora of freshman wideouts, there's a high likelihood Moore hardly sees the field once again, which could eventually push the former three-star recruit out of Durham.
4. Tyshon Reed, DE
As a freshman in 2024, Reed logged just five tackles and a sack on the season. It could be a similar level of production for the rising sophomore as Reed will be sitting behind senior Vincent Anthony Jr., who should be one of the Blue Devils' most productive front-seven guys in 2025. However, despite Anthony Jr. entering his senior season with the Blue Devils, he's not the only edge rusher Reed has to worry about taking time away from him. One of the members of Duke's 2025 recruiting class is four-star edge Bryce Davis, the highest-rated recruit in the history of the Duke football program. He'll be seeing significant time right away, but it will still be difficult for Reed to find consistent minutes after the 2025 season, assuming that Davis will still be there. Maybe Reed just got put in a tough spot, but he could depart the program if he struggles to find time with Davis.