Duke football coach Harland Bower the ACC’s second-best recruiter for the Class of 2025

Harland Bower, Duke’s defensive ends coach and one of the coaches Manny Diaz retained from Mike Elko’s tenure, has earned three 2025 commitments already.

According to 247Sports Recruiter Rankings, Duke defensive ends coach Harland Bower is one of the best recruiters in the ACC for the Class of 2025.

Bower served as the main recruiter for three of the Blue Devils’ 10 commitments thus far. He courted both Belmont Hill School commitments, edge rusher Sampson Onuoha and defensive lineman Tommy Rupley, and he served as the primary recruiter for defensive lineman Julius Columbus.

The trio of three-star prospects made Bower the second-ranked recruiter in the conference, trailing just Clemson defensive tackles coach Nick Eason. If you account for all conferences, Bower is the 30th-ranked recruiter across every team in the country.

Bower was hired by the Blue Devils in December 2021, within a month of former head coach Mike Elko taking the helm. After the Blue Devils finished with the No. 16 scoring defense in 2023 with 29 sacks as a team, Elko took the Texas A&M job.

Manny Diaz came into the program and retained Bower, however, so the 2024 season will be his third as the Blue Devils’ defensive ends coach.

Bower also reached the upper echelon of the ACC recruiting rankings in 2023, when he was the 14th-ranked recruiter in the conference.