Tag: Duke football

Duke football earns commitment from three-star 2025 defensive lineman

Tommy Rupley, a three-star defensive lineman from Massachusetts, chose the Blue Devils and announced his commitment on Friday afternoon.

The Duke football program earned a Class of 2025 commitment on Friday afternoon when three-star defensive lineman Tommy Rupley announced his decision.

“Proud to announce my commitment to Duke University! #BleedBlue,” Rupley wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Rupley, who plays at the Belmont Hill School in Massachusetts, chose the Blue Devils over schools like Virginia, Boston College, and Penn State, among his other leading offers.

The three-star prospect is the 84th-ranked defensive lineman in his class, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. He’s measured at 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds.

Rupley becomes the 10th commitment among Duke’s 2025 recruiting class, and he’s the third-highest-rated Blue Devils recruit according to 247Sports. He joins a squad with four-star linebacker Cameron Smith and three-star quarterback Dan Mahan.

The Blue Devils clearly seem committed to their defense on the recruiting trail. Rupley joins another defensive lineman, an edge rusher, two linebackers, and three cornerbacks.

Duke now has the 26th-ranked recruiting class for the 2025 cycle, according to 247Sports.

Three-star 2025 wide receiver announces official visit with Duke in early June

Duke will officially host a three-star wide receiver from Georgia during the second weekend of June, according to a Friday social media post.

Duke football will officially host a three-star receiver from the Class of 2025 in three weeks, according to a Friday social media post.

Gerritt Kemp, a wideout who plays for Hebron Christian Academy, announced on X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) that he would take an official visit with the Blue Devils from June 7-9.

Kemp is the 72nd-ranked receiver in 247Sports’ Composite Rankings, and recruiting sites list him at 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds. He already took an unofficial visit with Duke back in late January, and he shared the news of his offer from the Blue Devils on January 8.

247Sports says Kemp is also courting interest from Michigan State, NC State, and Ole Miss. However, the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine is bullish on the Blue Devils. The national recruiting site gives Manny Diaz a 26.9% chance to land a Kemp commitment, the best chance of any program in the running.

Diaz already has nine commitments from the Class of 2025, including four-star linebacker Cameron Smith and three-star quarterback Dan Mahan.

Duke football slightly ahead of North Carolina in ESPN’s post-spring SP+ rankings

ESPN released its latest SP+ college football rankings on Tuesday, and the Blue Devils hold a slim advantage over their bitter rival.

ESPN’s Bill Connelly released an updated SP+ ranking of FBS college football teams on Tuesday, an update after spring practices.

In the 134-team rankings, the Blue Devils came in 47th. The ranking left Duke football three spots ahead of the North Carolina Tar Heels, who slotted in at 50th.

The SP+ rankings include offensive and defensive metrics. The Blue Devils checked in a little below the median offensively with the 70th-best grade, but the 34th-ranked defense and a top-20 special teams unit pulled the average up.

The ranking made Duke the eighth-best team in the expanded ACC, according to the preseason math. Florida State, who went undefeated through the regular season en route to last year’s ACC title, came in with the highest grade at 12th overall.

However, even though they were ahead of the Tar Heels, the Blue Devils weren’t the best team in the state. The NC State Wolfpack came in 29th.

The first year of the Manny Diaz era starts on Friday, Aug. 30, against Elon.

If the ACC dissolves, one writer says Duke football should jump to the Big Ten

With the ACC’s future as a football conference unsteady amid Florida State’s impending departure, Tar Heels Wire shared where the Blue Devils should go if it folds.

The future of ACC football seems a little unsteady right now after Florida State declared its intent to leave the conference, but could there really be college football without the conference in the near future?

Tar Heels Wire’s Zack Pearson went through each football team in the ACC on Monday and weighed in on whether they’d be a better fit for the SEC or the Big Ten.

According to Pearson, the Blue Devils would be the best fit in the Big Ten alongside bigger basketball programs like Purdue, Indiana, Iowa, and Michigan. Even though the article specifically related to football, the Tar Heels Wire writer included Duke’s status as a member of The Association of American Universities, something shared by nearly every member of the Big Ten, as a reason for the pairing.

“The issue for Duke is that it is not a big market in terms of viewership,” Pearson wrote. “If they get a chance to move to the Big Ten, it would be smart.”

Duke fans will need to keep an eye on the ACC’s developments to see if anything changes in Durham.

Former Duke football player Graham Barton throws first pitch at Tampa Bay Rays game

Graham Barton, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ first-round pick, lobbed the first pitch at Rays’ Monday night game against the Red Sox.

Former Duke offensive lineman [autotag]Graham Barton[/autotag] threw the first pitch at the Tampa Bay Rays’ Monday night game against the Boston Red Sox.

Barton, the first-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was picked 26th overall in April’s NFL draft. After three years at left tackle in Durham, Bucs general manager Jason Licht said Barton will move back to center for Tampa Bay, the position he played as a freshman.

He became Duke’s eighth first-round NFL draft pick in program history and the third since 1987.

Barton didn’t seem overly interested in lighting up the speedometer with his opening throw, a lazy curveball above the strike zone, but he came off the mound with a big grin on his face. Knowledgable baseball fans will also appreciate that Barton took care to not step on the foul line as he came off the field, taking a big step over the chalk line to follow the sport’s superstition.

Barton’s first NFL game against the Washington Commanders starts on September 8.

EA Sports College Football 25 trailer briefly features the Duke Blue Devils

EA Sports released a trailer for the anticipated College Football 25 on Friday, and eagle-eyed Duke fans could spot Wallace Wade Stadium.

The first official trailer for EA Sports College Football 25 was released on Friday morning, and Duke fans got a glimpse of Wallace Wade Stadium and the Blue Devils.

At the 0:55 mark of the two-minute clip, there’s a short image of Blue Devils donned in the home blue uniforms jogging onto the field before a wide shot of them racing onto the field surrounded by the university band and some flashy pyrotechnics.

The team already confirmed it would be in the game back in February. Check out our predictions for the five highest-ranked Blue Devils in the game, from new quarterback Maalik Murphy to star cornerback Chandler Rivers, here.

The game revealed on Thursday that it will be released on July 19, so Duke fans will need to wait until the summer to bring College Football Playoff titles to Durham. However, they can rewatch that small moment from the trailer for a taste of the Wallace Wade Stadium satisfaction.

Duke Blue Devils get two transfer commitments from Rice in two days

The Duke Blue Devils got two transfer commitments from Rice in two days, first for the football team and then again for the basketball team.

The Duke Blue Devils got two transfer portal commitments from Rice in two days, first with a cornerback for the football team on Wednesday before an additional member of the men’s basketball team joined on Thursday.

Tre’Shon Devones, a 6-foot cornerback who spent the past four seasons with the Owls, announced he’d play his last season for first-year coach Manny Diaz.

The breakout 2023 corner picked off two passes last season and ended the year with 13 passes defended, tied for the 24th-most among FBS corners. He also racked up a career-high 45 tackles.

Less than 24 hours later, former schoolmate Cameron Sheffield announced he’d join the Duke men’s basketball team. The fourth transfer commitment of the offseason for head coach Jon Scheyer sat out last season with a foot injury, but he finished the 2022-23 campaign with 7.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.

The two Rice standouts get to start school together again once more this fall.

EA Sports College Football 25 release date announced

EA Sports College Football 25, which will let Blue Devil fans play at Wallace Wade Stadium, announced its release date on Thursday.

EA Sports College Football 25, the highly anticipated return of the NCAA video game series, will be released on July 19.

The franchise told fans to mark their calendars on Thursday with an announcement. The game will cost $70 with a deluxe version running for $150.

The franchise stopped releasing new games after NCAA Football 14 back in the summer of 2013, 11 years ago. The game became a cult classic, and updates on the newest version have slowly trickled out over the last year.

The Duke football team already confirmed it would be in the newest edition of the franchise. Fans will be able to bring national championships to the crowds of Wallace Wade Stadium on the game console of their choice.

With names like Jordan Moore, Chandler Rivers, and Maalik Murphy in Blue Devils uniforms next season, check out our prediction for the five highest-ranked Duke players in the game here.

The game is available for preorder now.

Duke first-round picks Graham Barton and Daniel Jones set to play in November

Daniel Jones, the only first-round quarterback in Duke history, and 2024 first-rounder Graham Barton will play each other in November.

Duke’s two most recent first-round picks, quarterback Daniel Jones and center Graham Barton, will face off on November 24.

The NFL released its 2024 schedule on Wednesday night, and the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers both announced their future contest. The two teams play on November 24, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, in the 12th week of the regular season.

Jones, the sixth overall pick in 2019, has played in 60 games over the last five seasons. He threw a career-high 24 touchdowns as a rookie, and he won his first playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings in 2022.

Across his career, Jones has thrown for 12,512 yards, rushed for 1,914 more, and scored 75 total touchdowns (62 passing, 13 rushing) against 69 turnovers (45 interceptions, 24 lost fumbles).

Barton, on the other hand, was taken 26th overall in the most recent NFL draft this April. He started his first rookie minicamp with Tampa Bay last week, and he’ll return to the position he played as a freshman for the Blue Devils.

The four-year Duke starter will play his first career game against the Washington Commanders in Week 1.

Both teams have a bye week in Week 11, the Sunday before their game.

Graham Barton set to make NFL debut against Washington Commanders

The 2024 NFL schedule got released on Wednesday, and Duke first-round pick Graham Barton found out his first 17 opponents.

Former Duke offensive lineman Graham Barton, the first-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2024 NFL draft, will play his first NFL game against the Washington Commanders.

The 2024 NFL schedule was released on Wednesday night, and Barton learned his first 17 matchups in an NFL uniform.

His first battle against 2023 Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels and the Commanders at 4:25 p.m. Eastern time on September 8. The game will be broadcast on FOX.

Barton spent the last four years in Durham, playing center as a freshman before moving to left tackle for his last three years of college ball. The Buccaneers, who won the NFC South division in each of the last three seasons, said they intend to move him back to his freshman position.

Duke fans already got a look at Barton in an NFL uniform last weekend when Tampa Bay’s rookie minicamp began.

Check out the rest of Tampa Bay’s 2024 schedule below.