Duke’s offense is going to live on the ground this season, and that makes the running back room the center of the whole operation.
However the quarterback job shakes out between Walker Eget and Dan Mahan, the Blue Devils are clearly leaning into a power-run identity. And at the heart of it all is sophomore Nate Sheppard, the ACC’s second-leading rusher last season.
He’s coming off a freshman year that already put him on the map, then closed with a bang in Duke’s Sun Bowl win over Arizona State, when he ripped off 170 yards. Even with that résumé, he still feels like he’s not getting the national attention you’d expect for a back with that kind of upside.
Sheppard is the headliner, but he won’t be carrying the whole load alone. Duke has real depth behind him, starting with transfers CJ Campbell Jr. from Rutgers and Wilhelm Daal II from Yale. Both are veteran backups who can give Jonathan Brewer’s offense quality snaps and keep the ground game rolling when Sheppard comes off the field.
Freshman CJ Givers is also drawing buzz after a strong camp and could work his way into early touches as well.
That depth showed up again in Sunday’s second scrimmage of fall camp, even though it was closed to the public like the first one. Duke shared some numbers through its athletics page, and they pointed to a productive day for the offensive line and the backs.
Sheppard paced the group with 54 yards on seven carries. Freshman Jayvian Tanelus followed with 38 yards on eight attempts, while Campbell added 35 yards on seven carries. All three backs were right around the five-yards-per-carry mark or better, which is exactly the kind of efficiency Duke wants as the offense takes shape.
The bigger picture is clear: this running game is becoming the identity of the offense, and it’s doing so fast. With the season closing in, Manny Diaz has emphasized that the quarterback battle comes down to which player can protect the football.
Duke can live with a caretaker under center. What it can’t afford is a turnover-filled season, especially without the kind of explosiveness that would let it survive those mistakes.
That puts even more pressure on the backs behind Sheppard to stay ready. Duke needs more than one reliable runner if it wants to avoid wearing him down too early, and it needs that depth to keep him healthy over the course of the season.
With less than two weeks left before the opener against Tulane, Duke looks like a team with several backs ready to handle meaningful work.
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Sophomore Nate Sheppard is expected to be the lead running back, but CJ Campbell, CJ Givers and Jayvian Tanelus have already flashed enough in scrimmages to keep the depth chart from feeling settled. The bigger question may be at wide receiver, where Jared Richardson and Javen Nicholas are the established names and Jaivon Solomon, Jamien Little and Jayden Moore are competing for the third spot, a race that could shape how comfortable Duke feels when the real games begin. [Read more 🡒]