Duke is less than two weeks from opening the season, and the first test comes right away with Tulane visiting Durham in eight days. After an ACC Championship run last fall and a roster hit by the NFL Draft and the transfer portal, the Blue Devils enter the year with plenty of mixed expectations.
That’s where Manny Diaz and his staff come in. If Duke is going to make another push, the blueprint has to look different on both sides of the ball. The program’s path to another strong season in 2026 appears to hinge on a more balanced identity, one that leans harder into defense and tries to get back closer to the 2024 version of the team.
The offense still has a familiar foundation. Jonathan Brewer is expected to keep running the same system he has used over the last couple of seasons, and the run game should once again sit at the center of everything.
Nate Sheppard’s rise as one of the ACC’s top running backs has him positioned to be the featured option, with CJ Campbell and a deep group of tailbacks cycling in behind him. That kind of ground game can force defenses to commit extra bodies and, in turn, create room for play action and the vertical passing game.
Duke also has enough at receiver to make that work. Javen Nicholas, Jaivon Solomon, and Jared Richardson give Walker Eget real options on the outside after he won the quarterback battle in fall camp.
For Eget, the assignment is straightforward: protect the ball and keep the offense on schedule. If he gives them more than that, it’s a bonus.
The other side of the ball is where Duke believes it can really change the conversation. The linebacker group, led by Luke Mergott and Nick Morris, gives the defense a solid spine. The secondary is deeper and, the Blue Devils hope, more disciplined than it was a year ago, when the unit finished in the bottom five in the ACC in passing yards allowed per game.
Bryce Davis could be the swing piece. If the edge rusher delivers on the hype that came with his recruitment, he has the chance to become the defense’s biggest difference-maker.
So the question is simple: can Duke build another solid season around this version of itself? The answer, at least on paper, is yes.
The formula is old-school in concept but modern in execution - run the ball, create balance, let the defense attack with a lead. If that all comes together, the Blue Devils could end up surprising plenty of people in Durham, around the ACC, and beyond.
In Other News...
Nick Morris Gives Duke A Comeback Story Fans Will Be Watching
Nick Morris has already built a reputation at Duke as more than just a linebacker. He arrived with a profile that matched production with polish, earning attention for both his athleticism and his academic work, and his path has kept him in the conversation as one of the programs more compelling defenders. The middle linebacker spot has long carried a certain weight in football, and Duke has had its share of notable names there over the years, which only adds to the interest surrounding Morris as he works back into the picture.
What makes his story stand out now is the way he has kept showing up after a pair of major setbacks across the last two seasons. Morris is back on the field and back in the mix as a veteran presence, balancing football with his studies at Fuqua while drawing league-wide notice on the Comeback Player of the Year Award Watch List. For Duke, that makes him more than a depth chart note. It makes him a storyline worth following every time he steps on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Nick Morris Could Give Duke A Comeback Story It Desperately Needs
Nick Morris has already lived through the kind of setbacks that can end a players college career, and instead he keeps finding his way back onto the field. The Duke linebacker has battled through major knee injuries in consecutive seasons, yet he has returned to play and remains part of a Blue Devils defense that can use every bit of toughness it can get.
Now a sixth-year player enrolled in Dukes Fuqua School of Business, Morris has found himself on the Comeback Player of the Year Award Watch List, a fitting bit of recognition for someone whose path has been anything but straightforward. For Duke, his presence is about more than just depth at linebacker. It is a reminder that there is still room for a late-surging redemption story in a season that could use one. [Read more 🡒]
Dukes Title Defense Starts With One Big Offensive Concern
Duke is heading into Manny Diazs third season with a familiar kind of pressure: a conference title defense built on a defense that looks capable of carrying its share, and an offense still trying to show it can hold up. The Blue Devils have settled on San Jose State transfer Walker Eget as their starting quarterback, giving the unit a clear direction at the games most important position even as questions linger about how quickly he can adjust to ACC speed and timing.
The bigger concern may be what Eget is working with around him. Duke lost its top receivers from last season, leaving a wideout room that has to prove itself almost from scratch, and the early picture suggests the Blue Devils are still sorting out the pecking order behind the top options. For a team trying to stay in the title mix, the offense does not need to be spectacular right away, but it does need to be reliable enough to avoid putting too much weight on the defense. [Read more 🡒]