Tag: duke football recruiting

2025 running back announces official Duke football visit for this weekend

RJ Boyd, a three-star running back from Georgia, announced on Friday that he’ll be in Durham for an official visit this weekend.

Duke football’s official visit list for the weekend officially got a little larger on Friday, at least in terms of public knowledge.

RJ Boyd, a three-star 2025 running back from the state of Georgia, shared through X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) that he’d join the Blue Devils for the weekend.

“See you shortly…” Boyd wrote.

Boyd, 247Sports’ 83rd-ranked running back in the class, plays for Ware County High School. He averaged 6.1 yards per carry for the Gators last season, finishing with 694 yards and 10 touchdowns despite playing just 10 games.

The potential future Blue Devil will be on campus alongside 2025 quarterback commit Dan Mahan and a handful of other offensive prospects, like wide receivers Nasir Newkirk and Gerritt Kemp.

Duke already picked up a running back for the 2025 class, another three-star Georgia back named Javin Gordon who committed last week. They also picked up a commitment from New Mexico State transfer Star Thomas for the 2024 season.

Head coach Manny Diaz, in his first full recruiting cycle as Duke’s head coach, already has 12 commits for the 2025 cycle, including two in the last week. Nine of them play defense.

Duke football welcomes 2024 recruiting class for move-in day

Duke football’s 2024 freshmen made the move onto campus on Thursday, and the team shared a short video of their process.

The 2024 freshmen class for Duke football is officially on campus for the summer.

The team shared a short social media video celebrating move-in day for the signees. Just months after the hire of head coach Manny Diaz, the Blue Devils managed to drum up 16 freshmen in the incoming class. Seven of them already enrolled, according to 247Sports, with nine more on the way for summer and fall work.

Duke’s social media team even gave up the microphone at one point. Kobe Smith, a three-star edge rusher from Tennessee and the Blue Devils highest-rated signee in the class, got a brief moment with the camera.

“Having an amazing time,” Smith said about his first hours as a campus resident. “Let’s get it.”

Duke fans keeping an eye on the trail will also recognize wide receiver Chase Tyler and linebacker Montreze Smith, two more of the highest-rated prospects in the class, greeting their new coaches later in the video.

Duke’s first game of the 2024 season comes against Elon on August 30.

Duke quarterback commit from 2025 class set for official visit over the weekend

Dan Mahan, Duke’s three-star QB commit from the state of North Carolina, announced he will be in Durham from June 7-9 for an official visit.

Duke football’s quarterback of the future will be on campus over the weekend.

Dan Mahan, a three-star quarterback from Burlington, North Carolina, shared the news of his visit through X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) on Wednesday.

Mahan plays for Walter M. Williams High School, where he passed for 1,776 yards and 18 touchdowns in 10 games last season as a junior. He averaged 7.46 yards per attempt and only tossed eight interceptions, completing 58.8% of his passes while the Bulldogs finished with a 9-3 record.

The 6-foot-2 passer is 247Sports‘ 91st-ranked quarterback in the 2025 class, and he is one of three offensive members of Duke’s 2025 recruiting class. The Blue Devils have 12 commitments in head coach Manny Diaz’s first full cycle.

Mahan will join a large class of visitors in Duke’s second full weekend of the summer. A pair of three-star wide receiver prospects, Nasir Newkirk from North Carolina and Gerritt Kemp from Georgia, already revealed they’d join Mahan in Durham this weekend.

Diaz hopes to keep up his good form from last week when he snagged commitments from Texas linebacker Elliott Schaper and Georgia running back Javin Gordon.

We’ll continue to monitor if Mahan can convince any fellow visitors to become future teammates.

Duke football gets three-star 2025 running back for third offensive commitment

Javin Gordon, a three-star 2025 running back from Georgia, joined Duke football as Manny Diaz’s third offensive commitment of the cycle.

Duke football picked up its 12th overall commitment and third offensive player of the 2025 recruiting cycle on Monday night, a three-star running back named Javin Gordon.

Gordon shared the news of his commitment with a graphic on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

According to 247Sports, Gordon is the No. 91 running back in his class. The Stephens County High School product rushed for 1,017 yards and 13 touchdowns as a sophomore before exploding with 1,635 yards and 20 touchdowns as a junior last season. He’s played varsity football in all three of his high school seasons, and he has more than 3,500 yards from scrimmage and 41 total touchdowns already.

Gordon, who stands 5-foot-10, plays basketball for his high school team as well.

Gordon joins offensive tackle Nathan Kutufaris and quarterback Dan Mahan on the offensive side of the ball in head coach Manny Diaz’s first full cycle. He was Duke’s second commitment of the past week, too, after Texas linebacker Elliott Schaper announced his choice on Sunday.

Gordon’s good news for the running back room was swiftly followed by Tuesday reports that Duke would likely land New Mexico State transfer back Star Thomas.

Cameron Smith, the highest-rated 2025 Duke football commit, shares visit photos

Cameron Smith, Duke’s only four-star football recruit from the 2025 class to this point, shared photos from his recent visit on Sunday night.

Cameron Smith, Duke’s lone four-star commitment for the Class of 2025, seems more than content with his choice.

The Philadelphia linebacker shared some photos on X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) of him in a Blue Devils uniform from his recent visit to Durham.

“Had a good time in Durham this weekend!” Smith wrote in the post. The photos showed him in uniform posing with two cars.

The four-star prospect from St. Joseph’s Preparatory School is 247Sports’ 162nd overall player in the class and a top-20 player at his position. He committed to the Blue Devils back on February 8, the second player to sign on with Manny Diaz in the recruiting class.

Duke added two other linebackers among its 10 other commitments thus far. Three-star prospect Asher Wasserman from Connecticut committed in early April, and Texas linebacker Elliott Schaper joined the class on Sunday afternoon. Schaper visited the program at the same time as Smith over the weekend, committing swiftly after he got to campus.

The Duke Blue Devils have a top-30 class for the 2025 cycle as of June 2.

Duke football coach Manny Diaz’s background and priorities clear on the recruiting trail

Diaz, who spent the last two years as Penn State’s defensive coordinator, clearly remains in touch with his background on the recruiting trail.

Even if a Duke football fan didn’t know [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] was a defensive-minded head coach, his 2025 recruiting class to this point would be a dead giveaway.

As of June 2, the Blue Devils have 11 commitments from the Class of 2025. Three of them are linebackers, three of them are defensive backs, three of them play along the defensive line, and two play offense. In fact, the nine defensive prospects make up the nine highest-rated commits in 247Sports’ rankings.

Linebacker Cameron Smith from Philadelphia, the only four-star prospect in the class, leads the way. Homegrown quarterback Dan Mahan, a three-star prospect, offers plenty of excitement because quarterbacks always do, but the 2026-27 Duke teams will win games with their defense.

Diaz, a defensive coach by trade, spent the last two seasons as Penn State‘s defensive coordinator, leading the Nittany Lions to a top-three scoring defense in each of his seasons. He also coached Miami’s defense from 2016-18 before he took over as the Hurricanes head coach and he spent the 2015 season as Mississippi State’s defensive coordinator.

With everything in consideration, it should be no surprise that Duke’s defense impressed in the spring game, and defensive-minded Duke fans should get excited about the future.

Newest Duke football commit from the same high school as linebacker Nick Morris Jr.

Elliott Schaper committed to the Blue Devils on Sunday night. He goes to Westlake High School, the former home of Blue Devil Nick Morris Jr.

Duke football’s newest commitment, three-star linebacker Elliott Schaper, will have at least one familiar face in the Duke locker room.

Schaper goes to Westlake High School in Austin, Texas. Blue Devils linebacker Nick Morris Jr. also attended Westlake for his senior season in 2020.

Morris, who will be a redshirt junior in 2024, played in all 13 of Duke’s games last season and racked up 61 total tackles, tied for the third-most on the team. After a slow start to the season, Morris compiled 38 tackles in Duke’s last four regular-season games, including 12 against Pittsburgh and 11 against Wake Forest.

He also recorded his first career sack against North Carolina and recovered a fumble against Connecticut.

Schaper, who would have been in eighth grade when Morris graduated from Westlake, shared a photo with the fellow Chaparral on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Schaper announced his commitment to the Blue Devils just 32 minutes later.

Schaper becomes head coach Manny Diaz’s 11th commit of the 2025 class.

Duke football lands 2025 linebacker from Texas

Duke football picked up yet another 2025 commitment on Sunday evening, this time from a three-star linebacker out of Texas.

Duke football coach Manny Diaz picked up his 11th commitment from the Class of 2025 on Sunday evening.

Elliott Schaper, a linebacker from Texas, shared his decision on X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) just after 7 p.m. Eastern time.

“100% committed,” Schaper wrote with a pair of devil emojis next to the text.

247Sports grades Schaper, who plays for Westlake High School in Austin, as a three-star prospect. He’s considered the 90th-rated linebacker in the class, and he’s the fourth-highest recruit to choose Diaz thus far in the process.

After a junior season that consisted of 108 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, nine sacks, and two interceptions in 2023, the Austin American-Statesman named Schaper its Central Texas Defensive Player of the Year.

According to the 247Sports site, Schaper took a visit with the Blue Devils over the weekend. Diaz and his staff must have impressed the young linebacker with his quick commitment.

With plenty of esteemed 2025 talent expected to visit Duke in the coming weeks, Schaper might not be the last commitment on the calendar.

2025 Duke football recruiting target set to visit Durham this weekend

Duke football continues to target offensive line depth now and in the future with a 2025 prospect set to visit this weekend.

Duke football’s group of official visitors over the next month grows ever-larger.

Offensive lineman Mark Handy, a three-star prospect from New Mexico, announced through social media on Wednesday that he’d take an official visit with the Blue Devils beginning on May 31.

Handy, a 6-foot-6 prospect who weights 310 pounds, is one of 247Sports’ top 40 interior offensive linemen in the Class of 2025. He plays for La Cueva High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

A quick look through Handy’s profile on X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) shows a recent visit with Cal, a new member of the ACC for the 2024-25 calendar, and another with Baylor. He also has visits with Minnesota and Arkansas on his upcoming calendar.

Handy joins a roster of upcoming talent in Durham. The Devils Den’s Adam Rowe shared a list of prospects he confirmed will visit on May 31 with Handy, and a trio of 2025 prospects have already shared their plan to visit with the Blue Devils on June 7. The most recent member of that group, in-state wideout Nasir Newkirk, also announced his plan on Wednesday.

First-year head coach Manny Diaz already secured 10 commitments for the 2025 recruiting cycle, a class on the verge of the top 25 in the country.

Duke football 2025 recruiting class nearly inside the top 25 after Tommy Rupley’s commitment

The Blue Devils landed three-star Tommy Rupley on Friday, and their 10th commitment of the 2025 class brought them to the doorstep of the top 25.

There are a lot of days between now and the end of the 2025 recruiting cycle, but after landing three-star defensive lineman Tommy Rupley on Friday, Manny Diaz and the Duke Blue Devils nearly have a top-25 class.

According to 247Sports, the Blue Devils have the 26th-ranked class in the country and the eighth overall class in the ACC.

Rupley was the 10th commitment of the cycle and the eighth defensive player. Four-star linebacker Cameron Smith from Philadelphia, one of the top 170 players in the year, leads the way as the highest-ranked Duke commit thus far. Diaz also has three-star edge rusher Sampson Onuoha, Rupley and fellow defensive lineman Julius Columbus, and the cornerback trio of Ma’khi Jones, Kaleb Lanier, and William Felder Jr.

Diaz also grabbed a potential quarterback of the future in three-star prospect Dan Mahan, a North Carolina native.

The Blue Devils hope to add to that class with three-star wideout Gerritt Kemp, who takes an official visit to Durham in early June.