Fall camp is underway for your defending ACC Champion Duke Blue Devils. Armed with a contract extension, Manny Diaz enters year three looking to build off last season's stunning conference title breakthrough.
It won't be easy after a tumultuous offseason highlighted by the transfer of star QB Darian Mensah, but this program won before Mensah and will continue to win after, even if that might include a small step backward in 2026.
There's still plenty of talent in the cupboards for Diaz. He's recruited well and taken advantage of the Transfer Portal by finding some under-the-radar gems that have consistently panned out.
With the season just a month away from kicking off, let's take a look at the projected two-deep for the Blue Devils in 2026.
Duke football's projected two-deep depth chart for the 2026 season
QB:
Starter: Walker Eget
Backup: Dan Mahan
This is more of a competition than most onlookers want to believe. Sophomore Dan Mahan has a lot of supporters in the building, and he handled first-team QB duties during the spring while Walker Eget was recovering from an injury.
It still remains likely, however, that it's Eget's job to lose. The San Jose State transfer has a significant edge in experience that will likely lead him to the starting gig.
RB:
Starter: Nate Sheppard
Backup: CJ Campbell or Wilhelm Daal II
There's no question that Nate Sheppard is RB1 for the Blue Devils. He's not just the best back in Durham; he's among the best running backs in the entire country. He had a revelatory freshman season as an under-the-radar recruit, and now enters the 2026 season as the unquestioned focal point of the Duke offense.
Diaz went to the portal to add depth to the backfield, and Rutgers' CJ Campbell and Yale's Wilhelm Daal II should be capable backups to Sheppard.
WR:
Starters: Jared Richardson, Javen Nicholas, Jaivon Solomon
Backups: Brody Keefe, Jayden Moore, Jamien Little
One of the underrated losses of the offseason was WR Cooper Barkate joining Mensah at Miami. Barkate put up 1100 yards and seven touchdowns for the Blue Devils last season.
To replace Barkate, Diaz is hoping to strike gold with another Ivy League transfer. Penn's Jared Richardson put up over 1000 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Quakers last season. He and Charlotte transfer Javen Nicholas (60-740-5) will lead the Blue Devils at WR this season.
There's competition at WR3. Jaivon Solomon is the favorite coming into fall camp, but don't sleep on freshman Brody Keefe, who opened a lot of eyes during the spring.
TE:
Starter: Jeremiah Halsey
Backup: Nate Kurisky
Duke's base will be 11 personnel, which will be one TE. When that's the case, more often than not it'll be Jeremiah Halsey, who is one of the best returning TEs in the ACC. When Duke moves into 12 personnel looks, Louisville transfer Nate Kurisky should be the first guy off the bench.
Offensive Line:
Starters (L-R): Nick Del Grande, Jordan Larsen, Matt Craycraft, Bradley Smith, Braden Smith
Backups: Caleb Dorris, Micah Sahakian, Ryan Daly, Gemyel Allen, Cole Allen
Duke has a lot of new faces up front, but there's a chance this offensive line is a real strength of this team. To combat some losses to graduation, Diaz went into the portal and landed three players: Coastal Carolina's Nick Del Grande, South Dakota's Jrodan Larsen, and Cal's Braden Miller.
Del Grande and Miller are strong bookends, and overall, this is a veteran-heavy group. Four of Duke's projected starting five are either seniors or graduates. Junior Bradley Smith is the only projected starter who isn't.
Defensive Line:
Starters: Bryce Davis, Owen Wafle, Preston Watson, Tyshon Reed
Backups: Kevin O'Connor, Dakota Quinonez, David Anderson, Semaj Turner
This will be a key position group as Duke took some heavy losses up front, particularly at DE with both Wesley Williams and Vincent Anthony Jr. moving on. Diaz will rely on rising sophomore Bryce Davis, the highest-ranked recruit in program history, and junior Tyson Reed to get after it off the edge.
On the interior, Duke will need Penn State transfer Owen Wafle to live up to his significant recruiting promise. Dartmouth transfer Dakota Quinonez could be a sleeper on the DL.
Linebacker:
Starters: Nick Morris Jr., Luke Mergott
Backups: Kendall Johnson, Bradley Gompers
Duke's off-ball LB room will be led by Nick Morris Jr., who has 10 career starts under his belt. He began last season as a starter before suffering a season-ending injury after just four games. He'll start alongside Luke Mergott, who stepped into a starting spot last season for the final 10 games after the injury to Morris.
Kendall Johnson has some experience too and should be the first LB off the bench. He made a pair of starts last season and could ultimately push for one of the starting spots. Rising sophomore Bradley Gompers will look to take a step forward after special teams work as a freshman.
Defensive Backs:
CB:
Starters: Kimari Robinson, Landan Callahan, Che Ojarikre
Backups: Dylan Flowers, Kyon Loud, Kaleb Lanier
S:
Starters: DaShawn Stone, Patrick Smith-Young
Backups: Andrew Pellicciotta, Leon Griffin III
There won't be a more scrutinized group defensively for Duke this season than the secondary. Duke had one of the nation's worst pass defenses last season, ranking 135th in the country in EPA against the pass, per Game on Paper.
Kimari Robinson and Landan Callahan are returning starters, but they'll need to be better in 2026. Western Kentucky transfer Dylan Flowers could emerge and take one of those spots. At nickel, Stanford transfer Che Ojarikre will have to fill the big shoes left behind by Chandler Rivers, who was selected in the 5th round by the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL Draft.
DaShawn Stone is a returning starter at safety, and the spot opposite him will likely be a battle between veteran Patrick Smith-Young, who has 25 career starts under his belt during stints at North Texas and Old Dominion, and sophomore Andrew Pellicciotta, who played a significant role for the Blue Devils as a true freshman last year.
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