Star Thomas named Week 5 ACC Running Back of the Week
By Hugh Straine
Duke football running back Star Thomas has been named the Week 5 ACC Running Back of the Week after a massive performance on Saturday in Duke's 21-20 comeback win against North Carolina.
On thirty carries, Thomas rushed for 166 yards and a touchdown while averaging 5.5 yards per carry. 122 of his rushing yards were earned in the second half. He also added two catches for 45 yards and a receiving touchdown against the Tar Heels to total 211 all-purpose yards. Thomas is just the sixth running back in Duke history to have at least three consecutive hundred-yard-rushing games.
Thomas is averaging 133 rushing yards per game over his last three to go along with three touchdowns on the ground as well. He hadn't gotten too involved in the passing game up until the matchup against UNC, but we saw his ability to take dump-off passes and generate them into positive yardage with his quickness. This just adds another realm to Duke's pass-heavy offense that typically favors the deep ball. Adding another level with screens like we saw with Thomas should really help Duke on third-down situations where its struggled.
Thomas totaled 108 and 112 carries respectively in 2022 and 2023 at New Mexico State, and he's on pace to shatter those numbers, already with 99 carries through five games in 2024.
Thomas took on the lead role after senior running back Jaquez Moore was injured early in the Blue Devils' week two win at Northwestern and hasn't looked back since. Moore is an extremely talented player that was active against UNC for the first time since week two, but it's tough to see a world where Thomas isn't the main guy in the backfield going forward.
Thomas is now second in the ACC in carries, fourth in rushing yards (480), and eighth in rushing touchdowns.
Thomas also had this type of performance against a solid UNC defensive line. Next week, Duke takes on Georgia Tech, which is allowing the third-least rushing yards per game to opponents (90.2).
As we see offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer integrate the run in different ways more each week, there's no doubt Thomas has the ability to be one of the best backs in the ACC for the remainder of the season.