Tag: duke football recruiting

2025 defensive line target for Duke football shares photo in a Blue Devils uniform

One Duke football target for the 2025 recruiting class shared a photo of himself in Blue Devils gear on social media with an encouraging caption.

Duke football fans couldn’t wish for a better month on the recruiting trail than the team had in June.

In his first full recruiting cycle as the team’s head coach, [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] has worked the Blue Devils inside the top 20 of national rankings with more than 20 commitments thus far.

The hot streak might continue, too. On Monday afternoon, three-star defensive lineman Carmello Brooks shared a photo of himself in Duke gear on X (the social media platform formerly known on Twitter).

“#bleedblue,” Brooks captioned the post.

Brooks took a visit with the program over the first weekend of June and shared a positive social media post about the experience. The 88th-ranked defensive lineman in the 2025 247Sports Ranking has no Crystal Ball Predictions for any program as of Monday night, but 247Sports says his recruiting race seems to be down to Duke, Houston, and the Texas Longhorns.

The Texas native stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 275 pounds according to his player profile.

The Blue Devils already have an edge rusher and two defensive linemen among their 2025 commitments.

Future Duke quarterback Dan Mahan sounds excited about all of his future teammates

Every college football program wants its young quarterbacks to become vocal leaders, and 2025 Duke commit Dan Mahan is well on his way.

The Blue Devils have racked up 2025 commitments on the recruiting trail this month, and no one seems more excited than three-star quarterback Dan Mahan.

11 of Duke’s 21 commitments for the 2025 cycle have announced their decision since the start of the month as head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] started hosting official visits, and Mahan’s been vocal about all of them on social media.

One of the earliest commitments for the 2025 class, Mahan aligned himself with the Blue Devils back on April 13. The three-star prospect from Burlington, North Carolina, plays for Walter M. Williams High School, and he compiled 1,776 passing yards, 323 rushing yards, and 25 total touchdowns as a junior last season.

The future passer started his recent social media content by teasing that there was “some great news on the way” for the Blue Devils after his official visit on June 9.

Here’s a look at some of Mahan’s tweets about the program over the last few weeks.

Mahan picked up another future teammate on Sunday, a Georgia wide receiver named Jaivon Solomon as Diaz continues his dominance in the Peach State.

Duke football is stacking 2025 commits from one state, and it isn’t North Carolina

The Blue Devils, in Manny Diaz’s first full recruiting cycle, have 21 commitments for the 2025 class so far, and one state keeps showing up.

The Duke football program keeps succeeding in one state on the 2025 recruiting trail, and it’s not North Carolina.

The Blue Devils aren’t doing poorly in their home state by any means, they have a three-star quarterback from Burlington. However, if fans look at Duke’s 21 commitments for the cycle as of Sunday afternoon, a third of them come from Georgia.

The Duke football team has seven commitments from the Peach State, including wide receiver Jaimon Solomon, who committed on Sunday morning. Gerritt Kemp, the Blue Devils’ other receiver in the class and the team’s highest-rated offensive commit, also comes from Georgia.

[autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag], the first-year head coach in his first full recruiting cycle, also snagged two defensive backs, a defensive lineman, an offensive tackle, and a running back from Georgia.

All seven of the future Blue Devils come from different schools and cities, too. Solomon plays for Jones County High School in the city of Gray, while Kemp plays for Hebron Christian Academy in Dacula. Ma’Khi Jones, one of the defensive backs, comes from Alpharetta while the other defensive back, Kaleb Lanier, hails from Decatur.

Defensive lineman Julius Columbus calls Gainesville home, and running back Javin Gordon is from Toccoa. Offensive tackle Evan Scott, one of five offensive linemen in Diaz’s class, comes from Evans (a funny coincidence) to round out the state.

Georgia routinely produces some of the best college football talent in every recruiting class, a stat that makes sense when you consider that the state school won two of the last three national championships. There’s immense promise for the future if Diaz, whose major connections lie in Pennsylvania and Florida to this point, can expand his reach around the South.

Duke football extends an offer to 2025 quarterback prospect…with a twist

Kavon Simmons, a 2025 quarterback prospect, announced an offer from Duke on Sunday, but one report says the Blue Devils want him at wideout.

2025 quarterback prospect Kavon Simmons announced through social media on Sunday that he received an offer from the Duke football team.

Blue Devils fans who have kept track of the recruiting trail might be a little confused by that first sentence. After all, three-star prospect Dan Mahan from Burlington, North Carolina, already committed to the school earlier this spring.

Well, according to 247Sports’ Adam Rowe, Duke football coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] wants Simmons as a wide receiver.

Simmons, who plays for Wake Forest High School within the state of North Carolina, also plays as a point guard for the school basketball team. The 6-foot-2 prospect threw for 1,999 yards, rushed for 711 more, and stacked 34 total touchdowns for the Cougars on the football field last season.

On the basketball court last season, Simmons averaged 9.7 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, second on the team in both categories, and paced the Cougars with 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals.

Should Diaz lure Simmons as a wideout, he’d join Gerritt Kemp and Jaivon Solomon as Duke wide receiver commits for the 2025 class, the latter of whom committed on Sunday.

Duke football lands commitment from another offensive prospect from Georgia

After he took an official visit to Durham this weekend, wideout Jaivon Solomon announced his commitment to the Blue Devils on Sunday.

Duke football remained hot on the 2025 recruiting trail on Sunday.

Jaivon Solomon, a wideout from Georgia, announced his commitment through social media after he took an official visit over the weekend.

“1000% COMMITTED.” Solomon wrote on X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter), along with a photo of himself in a Duke uniform and a short hype video.

Solomon, who stands more than 6 feet tall and weighs 170 pounds, becomes the 21st member of Duke’s 2025 class. 11 of those commitments have come since June began, including five offensive linemen.

Solomon becomes the second wide receiver in Duke’s 2025 class, joining three-star prospect Gerritt Kemp. As a junior at Jones County High School last season, Solomon finished with 671 yards and seven touchdowns in 12 games.

He knows how to survive in a crowded wide receiver room, as well. He split the Greyhounds’ production with seniors Tyler Stewart, a three-star Temple commit, and Zion Ragins, who will play for Oklahoma.

Solomon will have a few fellow Georgians as his future teammates, too. Kemp, Duke’s highest-rated offensive commit for the cycle, hails from Hebron Christian Academy in Dacula, Georgia.

Four other 2025 Blue Devils commits call different Georgia cities home, too. Running back Javin Gordon comes from Toccoa, defensive lineman Julius Columbus is from Gainesville, and defensive backs Ma’Khi Jones and Kaleb Lanier are from Alpharetta and Decatur, respectively.

Three-star 2025 running back set to choose between Duke and NC State next weekend

RJ Boyd, a three-star back from Georgia who visited Durham in early June, will choose between the Blue Devils and the Wolfpack next weekend.

The Duke football hot streak on the recruiting trail might continue next weekend.

RJ Boyd, a three-star running back from Georgia, told 247Sports’ Anna Adams on Tuesday that he would reveal his commitment decision on June 29. He’s apparently down to Duke and in-state ACC rival NC State.

Boyd visited Duke on June 7 and laid out his positives for both schools in Adams’ article.

“I would say the hospitality and the development plan they have for me if I went there,” Boyd said when discussing what appealed to him about the Blue Devils. “The academic presentation was great as well. Plus, I like the city because it reminds me of home. Overall, I like the atmosphere and the ability to help them keep the momentum of last year. The coaches are real and don’t sugarcoat anything. Plus the degree I would receive from them is second to none!!

The Blue Devils picked up a half-dozen commitments on Sunday and Monday, mostly along the offensive line. Manny Diaz, in his first full recruiting cycle as Duke’s head coach, snagged three offensive linemen on Sunday and Roman Fina, the younger brother of UCLA transfer Bruno Fina, on Monday, among a handful of other 2025 talents.

The Blue Devils already landed a 2025 running back commitment from three-star recruit Javin Gordon, another Georgia native.

Duke football becomes a family affair for the Fina brothers

Roman Fina, a three-star 2025 prospect, and his older brother Bruno, a former UCLA starter, both joined the Duke program this offseason.

A second Fina brother joined the Duke football program on Monday afternoon, albeit with a wait time before he suits up.

Roman Fina, a three-star 2025 prospect, revealed his commitment to the Blue Devils through social media. His older brother, Bruno, transferred from UCLA after starting 13 games at left tackle for the Bruins last season.

The Fina family has experience with high-end offensive line play. Their father, John, played offensive tackle for the Buffalo Bills from 1992-2001 and added a final season with the Arizona Cardinals.

Manny Diaz, Duke’s first-year head coach, clearly prioritized the offensive line in recent weeks. Fina became the fourth 2025 commitment along the trenches over the previous 24 hours when he announced his decision, and five of the Blue Devils’ 19 2025 commits play along the offensive line.

Bruno, for his part, sounded pretty excited about the prospect of sharing a program with his brother. He shared an enthusiastic post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, after the announcement.

Bruno spent four years with the Bruins, but between a redshirt season in 2020 and the additional year of eligibility due to COVID-19, he should have one final year of eligibility for Roman’s freshman season in 2025.

Duke football snags fourth commitment from 2025 offensive lineman in two days

Roman Fina, the younger brother of new Duke transfer tackle Bruno Fina, announced his commitment to the Blue Devils on Monday.

The Blue Devils added yet another offensive lineman to the 2025 recruiting class on Monday afternoon, and this time, Duke football is a family affair.

Roman Fina, a 6-foot-5 offensive tackle from Arizona, announced his commitment through X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter).

“I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity to play football and continue my education at Duke University,” Fina wrote. “Thankful for the love and support of my family, friends and coaches. #BleedBlue!”

Fina joins his older brother, Bruno, on the Duke team. Bruno spent the past four seasons with the UCLA Bruins before he transferred to the Blue Devils this offseason. He started 13 games at left tackle for the Bruins last season.

Roman, for his part, ranks as the 128th overall offensive tackle in the class. He plays for Salpointe Catholic High School in Tucson, Arizona.

Duke earned commitments from three other offensive linemen on Sunday with offensive tackle Cole Allen, interior lineman Jamin Brown, and offensive lineman Evan Scott.

The Blue Devils now have 19 commitments for the 2025 recruiting cycle, including five offensive linemen.

Duke football inside the top 20 for 2025 recruiting rankings after four Sunday commitments

Duke football coach Manny Diaz picked up four commitments on Sunday, and with 18 members of his 2025 class now, the Blue Devils are in the top 20.

After four commitments on Sunday, the Duke Blue Devils are inside the top 20 in the 2025 football recruiting rankings.

Duke head coach Manny Diaz picked up a two-way star and a trio of offensive linemen on Father’s Day, and there are now 18 members of the Blue Devils’ recruiting class.

As of Monday morning, the team sits 20th in the 247Sports’ 2025 Recruiting Rankings and fourth among ACC teams. Only five other schools in the country have more than 18 commits of their recruiting class.

Linebacker Cameron Smith, the only four-star player in the class, leads the way as a top-200 prospect in the country. Diaz also picked up two other linebackers, four offensive linemen, four defensive backs, and three defensive linemen.

Duke also found a quarterback of the future with three-star prospect Dan Mahan from Burlington, North Carolina.

Keep an eye on Diaz and the recruiting trail as he tries to build his image of the Duke football program.

Duke’s offensive line of the future took shape on Sunday

The Blue Devils added four 2025 commits on Sunday, including three offensive linemen who could one day be the future of Duke football.

Duke football fans who paid attention to the 2024 Blue & White Game noticed a severe lack of offensive linemen.

The team couldn’t even run full 11-on-11 sets for most of the game because they couldn’t field enough protectors. At one point in the offseason, due to recent transfers, the Blue Devils only had eight offensive linemen on the spring roster.

Help is on the way, however. First-year head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] already fished some big names out of the transfer portal like UCLA tackle Bruno Fina, Northwestern tackle Zachary Franks, and Penn tackle Jack Purcell.

Diaz isn’t just keeping an eye on the 2024 schedule, however. His Sunday work on the recruiting trail proved that. The Blue Devils picked up a quarter of commitments on Father’s Day, including three offensive linemen. Offensive tackle Cole Allen, interior lineman Jamin Brown, and offensive lineman Evan Scott (listed as a tackle but ranked as an interior lineman) all announced they would join the program after their senior seasons.

Along with tackle Nathan Kutufaris, who committed back in April, Duke now has four future guardians among its 18 commitments for the 2025 cycle.

The Sunday prospects weren’t run-of-the-mill announcements, either. All three commitments are three-star prospects. Brown is 247Sports’ fifth-highest-rated member of Duke’s class and Allen is eighth.

It’ll take until 2026 (or maybe even 2027) before the four linemen in the upcoming class start defending a Duke quarterback (perhaps classmate Dan Mahan), but the Blue Devils’ future offensive line seems to be trending upwards.