The Duke football program is heading into the 2025 season looking to exceed its current expectations of being a middle-of-the-pack team in the Atlantic Coast Conference and on a national scale. The Blue Devils received votes to be included in the Preseason AP Top 25, but there hasn't been anywhere near enough attention towards Duke that's deserved.
Duke had some of the fewest transfer portal exits of any FBS program, but are bringing in some key talent via the portal mixed with talented returners. There are several guys on the roster who aren't garnering too much attention, but could break out onto the scene.
Let's take a look at the top five sleepers on Duke's 2025 football roster that fans need to know about.
5. Landen King, TE
Landen King transferred to Duke this offseason after spending the past two seasons at Utah. The former three-star high school prospect began his collegiate career at Auburn and is now entering his fifth season of college football. The 6'5 tight end is a versatile receiver who caught 65 passes for 975 yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior at Atascosita High School (TX). After catching five passes in three games as a freshman at Auburn in 2021, King redshirted the 2022 season in hopes of becoming a contributor in the passing game in the future. After transferring to Utah ahead of the 2023 season, King still struggled to be a consistent part of the offense as a Ute. In two seasons, the graduate transfer caught 17 receptions for 220 yards and four touchdowns. Now that Duke lost top tight end Nicky Dalmolin after the 2024 season, King is in line for a heavy role with the Blue Devils. He's already making crazy plays in camp and could be a massive breakout candidate in the ACC this season.
4. Vincent Anthony Jr., DE
Vincent Anthony Jr. is entering his senior season, all with the Blue Devils, and is poised to be one of the top members of the Duke front seven in 2025. Manny Diaz produced one of the best defenses the nation had to offer in 2024, and Anthony Jr. will be a big reason that repeats as Duke looks to lean on its defense for success once again. The 6'6, 250-pound edge has never had more than 28 tackles in a season, but finished second on the team in sacks (5) last season despite finishing 14th on the squad in total tackles (25). Duke lost its top two linebackers in Cameron Bergeron and Ozzie Nicholas, along with two of its top three defensive frontline guys in Michael Reese and Kendy Charles. Anthony Jr. is set up for major success as a senior in Durham.
3. Que'Sean Brown, WR
Que'Sean Brown established himself as the WR3 for the Blue Devils last year behind the team's two lead wideouts, Eli Pancol and Jordan Moore. The duo of Pancol and Moore caught 41% of the total passes and made up 52% of the team's total receiving yards in 2024, and both are now gone. Brown was the team's third-leading receiver as a freshman and is set up to potentially be Duke's WR1 as a sophomore. The speedy receiver is a fast-twitch cutter and a major deep threat, despite not getting a ton of deep opportunities last season. Diaz and his staff have brought in a couple of new receivers via the portal, but Brown can show through camp that he deserves to be the Blue Devils' lead man for Darian Mensah.
2. Andrel Anthony, WR
The next name is one of the aforementioned receivers that Diaz and his staff landed this offseason in Andrel Anthony. Entering his fifth season of college football, Anthony began his career at Michigan, where he spent two seasons, and followed that with two seasons at Oklahoma. While on the field, Anthony has shown extreme talent. The issue is he hasn't been able to stay on the field over the last two seasons, really at all. After heading to Oklahoma looking to become a true WR1, Anthony tore his ACL six games into the 2023 season, which sidelined him for the remainder of the campaign. He then missed all of the 2024 season after not fully recovering from that injury. However, Anthony showed promise in his small sample size with the Sooners. In his six games of action in 2023, Anthony had already hauled in 27 catches for 429 yards and a touchdown, averaging 4.5 receptions for 71.5 yards a game. Now in the ACC and fully healthy, he also has a legitimate shot to take on the WR1 role in Durham.
1. Caleb Weaver, S
Caleb Weaver lands in Durham via the portal after spending four seasons at Sam Houston State. After beginning his career as a walk-on and redshirting the 2021 campaign, Weaver developed into an elite Conference USA secondary piece, earning First Team All-Conference USA honors in 2024. Weaver led the Bearkats in tackles (97) and interceptions (4) in 2024, to go along with six pass deflections. He'll be an even more critical piece of the roster as star Duke safety Terry Moore will miss a large portion of this season after suffering a torn ACL in Duke's TaxSlayer Gator Bowl contest against No. 14 Ole Miss last year. With the injury to Moore, Weaver will line up with cornerback Chandler Rivers, who's one of the best secondary pieces in the nation heading into 2025. As fans await the return of Moore, Weaver is set up to be a massive piece to this Duke defense that looks to repeat its elite production.