Tag: Duke football

Can former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard be a top-10 pick in the 2025 NFL draft?

Former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard, who transferred to Notre Dame this offseason, showed up in the top 10 of The Draft Wire’s early 2025 NFL mock draft.

There’s always a draft riser at the quarterback position every year. 12 months ago, people would have thought you were crazy if you said LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels would be a top-two pick.

Who will it be in 2025? Well, The Draft Wire’s Curt Popejoy thinks it might be former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard.

Popejoy released a way-too-early 2025 NFL mock draft on Sunday, and he slotted Leonard in as the ninth pick to the Las Vegas Raiders.

The former Blue Devils passer transferred to Notre Dame this offseason after three seasons in Durham. He threw for 2,967 yards and 20 touchdowns as a sophomore and led Duke to a 4-0 start as a junior before an ankle injury derailed his season.

Leonard was Popejoy’s second quarterback off the board behind Texas A&M’s Conner Weigman. The old Duke signal-caller went above names like Texas’s Quinn Ewers, Georgia’s Carson Beck, and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders.

New York Giants invite Duke safety Jeremiah Lewis to minicamp

Duke safety Jeremiah Lewis will head to the Big Apple for a chance to work with the New York Giants after a minicamp invite.

The New York Giants extended a minicamp invite to Duke safety Jeremiah Lewis on Sunday.

Lewis spent five years with the Blue Devils starting in 2018. He played in 38 games across his first four collegiate seasons, making 84 tackles and grabbing four interceptions over that time. He broke up 10 passes and picked off two passes during the 2020 season, tying him for first in the conference with 12 passes defended.

Lewis transferred to Northwestern for the 2022 season, making 70 tackles in 12 games, but he came back to the Blue Devils for his final year. Across 11 games as a graduate student this past season, Lewis had 52 tackles, four of which resulted in a loss, and two more interceptions.

The defensive back finished his collegiate career with 206 tackles, six interceptions, and 21 pass breakups.

Lewis becomes the third Duke player invited to a rookie minicamp alongside punter Porter Wilson and offensive lineman Jake Hornibrook.

Duke offensive lineman Jake Hornibrook headed to minicamp in Indianapolis

Former Duke lineman Jake Hornibrook will get the chance to compete for a roster spot on the Indianapolis Colts after an invite to the team’s rookie minicamp.

Duke offensive lineman Jake Hornibrook received an invite to the Indianapolis Colts rookie minicamp on Sunday.

The invite guarantees that Hornibrook is at least under consideration for a spot on the team.

The 6-foot-5 Pennsylvania native spent four years with Stanford before transferring to Duke as a graduate student in 2023. He started every regular-season game along the right side of the offensive line, both at tackle and guard. Across his five-year career, Hornibrook played in 48 games and started 35 times.

Alongside first-round pick Graham Barton and fifth-round pick Jacob Monk, the Blue Devils offensive line gave up 17 sacks on the year, the third-fewest in the ACC. Duke also averaged 4.85 yards per carry on the ground, the fifth-highest mark in the conference.

Hornibrook becomes the second Duke player invited to a team’s rookie minicamp. Punter Porter Wilson got the invitation from Green Bay on Saturday night.

Duke DB Myles Jones signs with New York Jets as an undrafted free agent

Former Duke cornerback Myles Jones is headed to New York after the Jets signed him as an undrafted free agent.

Former Duke cornerback Myles Jones is headed to New York after the Jets signed him as an undrafted free agent.

Jones played only one season with the Blue Devils. He transferred to Durham as a graduate student after he spent 2017 to 2022 with Texas A&M.

Jones played in 49 games for the Aggies, coming up with four interceptions and 29 pass breakups, but struggled with a leg injury during his fifth year and a lower-body injury during his sixth year, leading to him playing just three total games over the two years.

He played in four games for Duke, appearing against Clemson, Lafayette, Northwestern, and NC State. He recorded seven total tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, and one forced fumble.

Jones made the most of his time in Durham, however, as he also grabbed two interceptions and broke up two other passes in the four games.

Jones became the latest of four former Duke players who signed as undrafted free agents over the weekend.

Duke punter Porter Wilson invited to an NFL team’s rookie minicamp

Duke punter Porter Wilson, a First Team All-ACC member in 2023, got an invite to an NFL team’s rookie minicamp for the upcoming season.

Duke punter Porter Wilson will get at least one shot at the NFL.

The Green Bay Packers invited Wilson to the team’s rookie minicamp, meaning he’s at least under consideration for a roster spot on the team.

Wilson led the conference with an average of 46.65 yards per punt last season, the ninth-highest mark in the country. His 57.3-yard average against Florida State this past season set a single-game program record. He finished as a First Team All-ACC selection, and USA TODAY Sports placed him on its Second Team All-American squad.

The former Blue Devil finished as a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award (given to the nation’s best punter) in both 2020 and 2023, and he spent four seasons with the Duke program.

Should Wilson make the Green Bay team, he’d join former teammate and fifth-round pick Jacob Monk on the roster.

Former Duke wide receiver Jalon Calhoun signs with Detroit Lions

Jalon Calhoun, a five-year Blue Devils wide receiver, signed with the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent on Saturday night.

Duke wide receiver Jalon Calhoun didn’t hear his name called during the 2024 NFL draft, but he’ll still get to put pen to paper on an NFL contract.

The Detroit Lions signed Calhoun as an undrafted free agent after the seventh round ended on Saturday evening.

Calhoun played for the Blue Devils for five seasons, starting as a freshman in 2019. He played 61 games across that time frame, amassing more than 3,000 yards and scoring 17 touchdowns.

He had his best season in 2022 when he caught 62 passes for 873 yards, both career-highs, and tied his personal best with four receiving touchdowns. He finished his career with an average of 49.6 yards per game, and he surpassed 100 yards in six different games, including a staggering 174 yards against Wake Forest in 2022.

Calhoun finished either first or second on the team in receiving yards during each of his five Duke seasons. In fact, he led the team with 420 receiving yards as a freshman.

Calhoun will fight for playing time on a stacked Detroit offense featuring receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams.

Jacob Monk goes to the Green Bay Packers in fifth round

The Green Bay Packers drafted Duke offensive lineman Jacob Monk in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL draft on Saturday.

The Green Bay Packers traded up to draft Duke offensive lineman Jacob Monk in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL draft on Saturday.

Monk, who played both right guard and center for the Blue Devils last season, went with the 163rd overall pick. The Packers gave up two picks to go get the longtime Duke starter.

At 6-foot-3 and 320 pounds, Monk was ESPN’s 154th overall prospect on the Best Available tracker and the site’s seventh-highest center.

Monk, like former teammate Graham Barton, played all across the Duke offensive line. He started as a right tackle in 2019, shifted to right guard the next two seasons, and started dabbling as a center in 2022 and 2023. He spent the last two Blue Devils seasons as a team captain, and he earned Second Team All-ACC honors as a senior.

Duke has now seen three former players drafted by the NFL this year. Barton went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 26th overall pick in the opening round and defensive tackle DeWayne Carter went to the Buffalo Bills in the third round.

DeWayne Carter taken by the Buffalo Bills in third round

The Buffalo Bills drafted All-ACC defensive tackle DeWayne Carter during Friday’s third round.

The Buffalo Bills drafted Duke defensive lineman DeWayne Carter in the third round of the 2024 NFL draft on Friday.

The former Blue Devil went 95th overall after he was expected to be a fourth-round pick in most mock drafts.

Carter spent five years with the Blue Devils, amassing 126 tackles, 12 sacks, and five forced fumbles across his career. He set a personal record with 41 total tackles in 2023, and he earned First Team All-ACC honors for the first time as a senior.

Carter became the second Duke player drafted this year after offensive lineman Graham Barton went 26th overall in the opening round to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Bills also drafted Florida State wide receiver Keon Coleman and Utah safety Cole Bishop during the second round.

WATCH: Duke lineman Graham Barton finds out he’s a first-round pick from Tampa Bay

Watch the moment the Tampa Bay Buccaneers told Graham Barton he would be a first-round pick.

Every college football player dreams of the moment they get the call, an NFL front office letting them know they’re going to play the game they love at the professional level.

Duke offensive lineman Graham Barton got that call on Thursday night.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted Barton with the 26th pick in the 2024 NFL draft, making him the third Blue Devil since 1987 to hear his name called on the first day.

Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht and head coach Todd Bowles got on the phone and let Barton know he’d be a member of the organization. Check out his reaction below.

Barton also heard from former first-round pick Laken Tomlinson, another Duke offensive lineman, after the historic selection.

Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht said Bucs were ‘crossing our fingers’ for Graham Barton

“We were crossing our fingers that he would make it to us,” Tampa Bay’s general manager said after the Buccaneers drafted Graham Barton.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht seemed quite pleased with Duke offensive lineman Graham Barton on Thursday night.

Licht and Tampa Bay made the former Blue Devil the 26th pick in the 2024 NFL draft, and the team had its eyes on him the entire night.

“To be honest with you, the whole time, we were crossing our fingers that he would make it to us,” Licht said after the pick. “And he did.”

Licht also confirmed that Tampa Bay saw Barton as a center. He would replace franchise legend Ryan Jensen, who started Super Bowl LV three seasons ago and retired in February.

The leader of the Buccaneers front office didn’t rule out other spots, however, praising the versatility Barton was known for within draft circles.

“Center, but he can play guard,” Licht said. “He did a pretty damn good job playing tackle, too.”

Barton became the eighth Blue Devil picked in the first round of the NFL draft and the third since 1987.