The conversation on Duke losses this offseason has centered around QB Darian Mensah, but who the former Blue Devils QB took with him to Coral Gables was significant, too.
On his way out the door, Mensah snagged star WR Cooper Barkate to join him at Miami. Barkate was Duke's leading WR last season, putting up 1106 yards and seven touchdowns in his first season in Durham after transferring from Harvard.
Barkate was an instant star for the Blue Devils and won't be easily replaced.
Duke also lost Que'Sean Brown (64-846-5) to ACC rival Virgnia Tech in the portal, along with Sahmir Hagans (43-508-6) and Andrel Anthony (26-246-5) to graduation.
Duke added Charlotte's Javen Nicholas and Penn's Jared Richardson in the Transfer Portal, but will be relying on organic growth from a young core of receivers to take the next step this fall. Manny Diaz was encouraged by the progress this spring, and specifically shouted out three of them during his post-scrimmage press conference on Saturday.
"I think a major storyline was the plays that our young wide receivers made, which was consistent with what we had seen throughout the spring," Diaz said. "(Javion) Solomon, (Jamien) Little, (Brody) Keefe had a really nice catch for the touchdown there.
"That's going to be a big part of our offense this year."
Manny Diaz shouts out Javion Solomon, Jamien Little, and Brody Keefe as spring standouts
Solomon and Little both took redshirts last year for Duke and are former 3-star recruits who will look to crack the starting lineup this year for the Blue Devils. Both should see consistent playing time regardless.
Keefe is a true freshman early enrollee in his first spring practice with Duke, who is already making waves. He was a 3-star recruit, too, but may have the highest upside of the talented trio of youngsters Diaz mentioned. His 6-foot-3 frame and excellent ball skills could get him on the field early.
Duke will be a run-first offense led by Nate Sheppard in the backfield. But the Blue Devils will have to find balance with the passing game, whether that's with San Jose State transfer Walker Eget at QB or redshirt freshman Dan Mahan.
Whoever win the starting job will need Duke's young receivers to grow up quickly this fall for the offense to reach its potential.
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