Just days after the Duke football program lost running backs coach Chris Foster to the University of Florida, the team has found his replacement in East Carolina running backs coach Rodney Freeman II. Freeman had been the running backs coach for the Pirates for the last two seasons after spending a year at Utah State. He served as the offensive coordinator and play caller for ECU in its 23-17 upset victory over Pitt in the Military Bowl.
Interestingly, Freeman joins the Duke staff from the same lineage that Foster did. Before becoming the Blue Devils' running backs coach, Foster was the running backs coach at Northwestern and coached at East Carolina before that. Now, Freeman joins the Duke staff by way of Greenville, NC, as well.
Sources: East Carolina RB coach Rodney Freeman II has accepted the job as Duke’s running backs coach. He spent the last two years at ECU after working a season at Utah State. He served as the OC/play caller for ECU's 23-17 upset of Pitt in the Military Bowl. pic.twitter.com/d5529eS0Ye
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 29, 2025
Duke football finds running backs coach replacement with East Carolina's Rodney Freeman II
In 2024, his first season with the Pirates, Freeman coached a unit that netted 2,241 yards on the ground to go along with 23 touchdowns. In 2025, the Pirates finished fifth in the American Conference in rushing touchdowns (31), seventh in rushing yards per game (176.3), and eighth in total rushing yards (2,292).
Freeman will be inheriting a run game that Foster completely flipped around in his lone year with the program. In 2024, Duke ranked 16th in the ACC in rushing yards per game (92.5), total rushing yards (1,202), and average yards per carry (3.2), while finishing 15th in rushing touchdowns (13). In 2025, Foster completely skyrocketed those numbers, as the Blue Devils finished 10th in the conference in average rushing yards per game (132.5) and average yards per carry (4.1), while finishing ninth in total rushing yards (1,722). Duke rushed the ball 419 times in 2025 compared to 381 in 2024.
The Houston, TX native will also have a chance to work with Duke workhorse back Nate Sheppard, who came onto the scene as one of the best RBs in the entire ACC after beginning his freshman campaign at the bottom of the depth chart.
In 2025, Sheppard finished second in the ACC in rushing yards (962), fourth in rushing touchdowns (10), sixth in rushing yards per game (74.0), and seventh in average yards per carry (5.4).