The Duke football program has a chance to land a highly coveted prospect in the class of 2026, as 4-star ATH Nasir Rankin is set to announce his college commitment today live on the 247Sports YouTube channel at 5:30 pm EST. Rankin will be deciding between Duke, Illinois, Nebraska, North Carolina, and USC.
The Chicago native is the #192 overall prospect and the #11 ATH per the 247Sports Composite Rankings for the class of 2026.
Illinois is seen as the clear frontrunner for his services, as four crystal ball predictions have been placed for the Illini to land Rankin.
The ATH is primarily a wide receiver, but also plays on the defensive side of the ball as well.
Rankin is also a standout basketball player in Illinois, holding several offers at the Division I level, including Illinois, Northern Illinois, Grambling State, Eastern Illinois, and Green Bay.
Through his junior year in basketball, Rankin averaged 23.2 points an 2.6 steals a game.
"The 6-foot, 180-pound junior earned Chicago Sun-Times All-Public League honors last fall after totaling 40 receptions for 991 yards and 12 touchdowns. Rankin is also a standout basketball player with multiple Division-I offers on the hardwood, including Illinois," Illini Inquirer's Jeremy Werner said about the prospect.
Though the Blue Devils seem to be behind in the pack from other Big 10 programs looking for Rankin's services, he'd be a great addition to the 2026 wide receiver room.
Duke football went big in the transfer portal on wide receivers after the program lost its top two wideouts, Eli Pancol and Jordan Moore, after this past season. The Blue Devils are adding Andrel Anthony from Oklahoma and Cooper Barkate from Harvard, two guys with the ability to make big-time plays.
The Blue Devils also added one of the top quarterbacks in the portal in former Tulane signal caller Darian Mensah, who is viewed as one of the best quarterbacks in the ACC headed into the 2025 season.
Duke is looking to build on a highly successful year one under Manny Diaz, in which the Blue Devils won nine games for just the second time since joining the ACC and earned a bid to the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.