Will Either of the Duke Football Running Backs Emerge?

Jaquez Moore and Star Thomas, two senior running backs on the Duke football roster, saw similar workloads in Duke's 26-3 win over Elon on August 30th as the only two backs with double-digit carries. Moore has spent his entire career with the Blue Devils, yet Thomas just began his first season in Durham. Will we see either of them emerge as a bell-cow back as the season rolls on?

Moore has spent his entire collegiate career with the Blue Devils and knows the system well, despite a new coaching staff this season. To date, Moore has carried the ball 210 times for 1,218 yards and twelve touchdowns. As the veteran in the locker room, fans might expect him to do the heavy lifting for Duke's backfield this season. The only thing is, he's never really experienced an intense volume share. Throughout his career, Moore averages around seven carries per game and he's never had a game with over sixteen carries. Against Elon, he handled the ball ten times for 24 yards and a touchdown. Now, enter in the New Mexico State transfer Thomas.

Star Thomas spent his last two collegiate seasons with the Aggies after spending his first two at Coffeyville Community College. Through his two seasons at NMSU, he carried the ball 210 times for 1,120 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging around seven carries per contest also. He's a similar build to Moore and they complement each other well in the backfield. Thomas was handed off the ball thirteen times for 23 yards against the Phoenix.

Jonathan Brewer, Duke's newly appointed offensive coordinator, joined the staff this winter after spending 2020-21 at the University of Miami under Manny Diaz as a senior offensive quality control coach and spent 2022-23 at Southern Methodist University as the program's quarterback's coach.

Brewer relies on a fast-paced and up-tempo scheme in his play-calling to keep the defense on its toes and push the ball downfield quickly. Per Tyler Walley of dukechronicle.com, "This aggressive style revolves around the play clock. In this offense, plays are often run almost immediately after the clock begins, skipping the huddle and running straight up to the line of scrimmage. Not only does the tempo force a quick defensive response, it also disorients and even exhausts opposing defenses."

Brewer may just stick to a "running back by committee" type of style between Moore and Thomas, but it will be an interesting story to follow as the season goes on if one of the two will stride away as the #1 guy in the Blue Devils' backfield. Against a gritty Northwestern defensive line that just limited Miami (OH) to 40 rushing yards and 1.7 yards per carry in its first game of the season, both backs will be given a prime opportunity to show off their skills.