4. Duke College Football Preview 2021: Defense
– The defense didn’t get any help from the offense, but it didn’t do enough on its own, either. The Blue Devils gave up 445 yards and 38 points per game, was awful against the run and struggled to get off the field. The pass rush was strong and there were enough takeaways to matter, but the whole thing should’ve been better – there was too much talent in place to be so mediocre.
– The linebacking corps went really, really young last season, and now comes the payoff. 6-4, 220-pound Shaka Heyward is a keeper – he led the team with 80 stops – as the main man along with Dorian Mausi, a safety-sized potential pass rusher in the 4-2-5.
– The problem, though, is up front where three of the four starters are gone and a whole lot of help is needed on the ends. The tackles have options, but the bulk has to emerge around 255-pound Ben Frye – who’ll likely move to end. Finding pressure is a must with Heyward the only one returning among the top six playmakers behind the line.
– Duke generally has an undersized front six, but the secondary makes up for it with large safeties and decent, physical tacklers at all five spots. Safeties Marquis Waters and Michael Carter are gone – losing Waters to Temple hurts – but J’Marick Woods is a promising 6-3, 215-pound grad student at one safety job, and the corner tandem of Jeremiah Lewis and Leonard Johnson – both go about 6-1 and 190 – are back.