Tag: Duke football

Former Rice cornerback Tre’Shon Devones commits to Duke football

Transfer cornerback Tre’Shon Devones, who spent the last four seasons with the Rice Owls, announced his commitment to the Blue Devils on Wednesday.

Cornerback Tre’Shon Devones announced his commitment to the Duke football program through social media on Wednesday night.

Devones, who spent the last four seasons with the Rice Owls, has one year of eligibility remaining.

“I am truly blessed to be able to say that I will be spending my last year at Duke University!” Devones wrote in his social media statement.

He broke out as a junior last season, compiling 45 total tackles and coming down with his first two collegiate interceptions. He also deflected 11 passes, and his 13 passes defended tied for the 24th-most among FBS defensive backs.

Across his collegiate career, Devones has 76 tackles, two interceptions, and 14 pass deflections.

The newest member of the Duke secondary stands 6 feet tall and weighs just under 190 pounds. 247Sports ranked him as a three-star transfer prospect and the 109th overall corner in the 2024 transfer cycle. He was also ranked as a consensus three-star prospect coming out of high school in the Class of 2019.

Devones will pair with star returnee Chandler Rivers in a Duke secondary that already impressed during the spring scrimmage.

Duke football extends offer to 2026 IMG Academy defensive lineman

Preston Carey, a Class of 2026 DL from the prestigious IMG Academy, announced that the Blue Devils extended him an offer on Tuesday night.

First-year Duke head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] and his staff are hot on the recruiting trail, and they aren’t only looking at the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

Preston Carey, a defensive lineman from the Class of 2026, announced through social media on Tuesday night that he received an offer from the Blue Devils.

Carey wrote that he spoke with Diaz and Duke defensive coordinator Jonathan Patke, who also coaches the Blue Devils’ linebackers.

According to On3’s Industry Ranking, Carey is a four-star prospect and the 29th-best defensive lineman in the class. Rivals is the highest individual recruiting site on Carey’s talent, ranking him as the sixth-best defensive lineman and the 62nd overall player in the Class of 2026.

Duke will have its work cut out if it wants to land Carey. He referred to the Blue Devils as his 31st offer for a full scholarship on Tuesday night, and heavyweight programs like Penn State, Michigan, Ohio State, Florida State, LSU, and Georgia all sit in his inbox.

Diaz and his coaching staff have put in work to put together a 2024 team through the transfer portal and the recruiting trail this offseason. The Blue Devils got a commitment from offensive tackle Bruno Fina from UCLA, their third offensive tackle commitment, on Monday.

CBS Sports ranks Power Four college football coaches, where is Manny Diaz?

Manny Diaz hasn’t coaches a game in Durham yet, but CBS Sports still included him on their Power Four coach rankings…just not very high.

CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli released the first wave of his ranking of the 68 Power Four football coaches on Wednesday, and he doesn’t sound particularly bullish on first-year Duke coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag].

Fornelli had Diaz as the 48th-best coach among the Power Four conferences. In another phrase, that means the Blue Devils leader is the 21st-worst football coach among the Power Four conferences.

Diaz spent three years with the Miami Hurricanes in 2019-21, and he won at least six games every season and finished with a 21-15 record. He also spent the last two seasons as the Penn State defensive coordinator, and the Nittany Lions finished with the ninth-best scoring defense in 2022 and the third-ranked scoring defense in 2023.

The Blue Devils won eight games in each of the past two seasons, the first time Duke has done so since 2014-15. Diaz takes over for Mike Elko, who left to become the head coach at Texas A&M.

“It’s not the easiest job in the country,” Fornelli wrote about Duke. “But Mike Elko left him a solid foundation, which could help Diaz get the Blue Devils up and running quickly.”

Diaz gets his first crack on the sidelines at Wallace Wade Stadium on August 30 against Elon.

ACC football coaches haven’t forgotten College Football Playoff snub at spring meetings

Some ACC football coaches expressed that things needed to change in the conference after an undefeated Florida State missed the four-team playoff.

The ACC football coaches haven’t forgotten about last year’s College Football Playoff snub when an undefeated Florida State missed the four-team bracket.

During the conference’s spring meetings on Tuesday, the football coaches of the conference think the entire ACC needs to take the sport more seriously.

According to On3’s Andy Staples, Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson offered a couple of comments on the matter.

“No matter what we think, an undefeated Florida State got left out of the playoff,” Clawson said.

The problem won’t exist as dramatically in 2024 with the playoff expanded to 12 teams. However, more than half of those spots will be up for grabs for non-conference champions, and the rest of the ACC wants to make sure they’ll remain in consideration for those.

When asked how the conference could move from where it was to where it needed to be, Clawson pointed toward the athletic directors.

“That’s up to the people in that room,” he said simply.

Duke’s 2024 football season gets underway against Elon on August 30.

Where did Graham Barton rank among the 100 best NFL draft picks, per ESPN?

ESPN’s Matt Miller released his ranking of the 100 best NFL draft picks on Tuesday, and one former Blue Devil appeared.

ESPN’s Matt Miller released a list of what he considered to be the 100 best picks in the 2024 NFL draft, and first-round offensive lineman Graham Barton appeared on the list.

Barton, the four-year Duke starter who went 26th overall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, graded out as the 34th-best pick in the draft, Miller said.

The former Blue Devil played left tackle for his last three years of college, but he started as a center in his freshman season. That’s where the Buccaneers said they want him to play.

“It was clear a center had to be added at some point in the early rounds of the draft,” Miller wrote.”The Bucs got the first snapper off the board and a player with exceptional versatility…Barton has great movement traits.”

Barton ranked as the 21st overall player in the class in Miller’s final Big Board.

Duke Blue Devils get UCLA left tackle Bruno Fina from transfer portal

UCLA transfer Bruno Fina, who started 13 games at left tackle for the Bruins in 2023, committed to play for Manny Diaz and the Blue Devils on Monday.

The Blue Devils got some desperately needed offensive line help on Monday with the commitment of UCLA transfer Bruno Fina.

Fina shared a social media post announcing his commitment on Monday afternoon through X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Under first-year head coach Manny Diaz, Duke often played seven-on-seven situations during the Blue & White Game this spring due to the lack of offensive linemen on the roster. Only five linemen dressed for the spring scrimmage, and after Ethan Hubbard and Calib Perez entered the transfer portal, Diaz only had seven offensive linemen on the roster.

Fina, for his part, started 13 games for the Bruins in 2023. He played left tackle, and the redshirt junior measured out at 6-foot-5 and 300 pounds.

The left tackle offers a perfect compliment to fellow offensive lineman Jack Purcell, who transferred into the program from Penn this winter. Purcell made 10 starts with Quakers, with nine of those starts coming at right tackle.

Diaz also welcomed former Northwestern offensive lineman Zachary Franks in February as the first-year Blue Devil rebuilds a line that lost first-round draft pick Graham Barton and multiple other starters to the NFL.

Duke football among Power 4 teams with least returning production, ESPN calculates

ESPN’s Bill Connelly ranked all 134 FBS college football teams by returning production from 2023, and the Duke Blue Devils came in well below the median.

No one in Durham needs to be told the 2024 football team with first-year head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] will look different from 2023, but just how different could be a surprise.

ESPN’s Bill Connelly shared a ranking of the 134 FBS college football teams by what percentage of their 2023 production returns for the 2024 season. The Blue Devils finished 91st with just 56% of its 2023 work still in town.

The most notable departures, head coach Mike Elko to Texas A&M and quarterback Riley Leonard to Notre Dame, take the headlines. However, the Blue Devils also lost multiple starting offensive linemen and First Team All-ACC defensive tackle DeWayne Carter to the NFL draft. A handful of other defensive linemen also left the school, with edge rusher RJ Oben joining Leonard on the Fighting Irish and tackle Ja’Mion Franklin signing with his hometown NFL team.

However, a few 2024 stars stayed in the building. Wide receiver Jordan Moore, who finished with a team-high 835 yards, made an impressive touchdown catch during the spring game over star corner Chandler Rivers. Running back Jaquez Moore, whose 674 rushing yards in 2023 were the second-most on the team, will lead the backfield once again.

Duke’s 2024 season gets underway on August 30 against Elon.

FanDuel doesn’t like Duke football coach Manny Diaz’s chances to win seven games

The FanDuel Sportsbook released its win total lines for the 2024 college football season, and Duke’s under is currently the heavy favorite.

The FanDuel Sportsbook released its win total lines for the 2024 collegiate football season, and first-year Duke coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] seems to have his work cut out for him to win more than six games.

Duke’s over/under line is set at 6.5, but the under currently sits as the heavy favorite with a line of -158.

The Blue Devils won at least eight games in each of the last two years, but former head coach Mike Elko left for Texas A&M and starting quarterback Riley Leonard transferred to Notre Dame.

Duke reloaded with Diaz, who spent the last two seasons as the Penn State defensive coordinator, and Texas transfer Maalik Murphy under center, but is it enough to maintain the 2022-23 momentum? The Blue Devils will face defending ACC champion Florida State with other notable battles against Miami, North Carolina, NC State, and SMU. Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech also appear on the schedule, two teams who seemed to ascend during the 2023 campaign.

[gambcom-standard rankid=”3006″]

Here are the complete odds for the Blue Devils’ 2024 win totals.

Duke’s 2024 win total Odds
Over 6.5 +128
Under 6.5 -158

Get Duke Wire’s full game-by-game predictions for the 2024 Duke football season here.

[gambcom-standard rankid=”5″]

Get more betting analysis and predictions at Sportsbook Wire

FanDuel doesn’t like Duke football coach Manny Diaz’s chances to win seven games

The FanDuel Sportsbook released its win total lines for the 2024 college football season, and Duke’s under is currently the heavy favorite.

The FanDuel Sportsbook released its win total lines for the 2024 collegiate football season, and first-year Duke coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] seems to have his work cut out for him to win more than six games.

Duke’s over/under line is set at 6.5, but the under currently sits as the heavy favorite with a line of -158.

The Blue Devils won at least eight games in each of the last two years, but former head coach Mike Elko left for Texas A&M and starting quarterback Riley Leonard transferred to Notre Dame.

Duke reloaded with Diaz, who spent the last two seasons as the Penn State defensive coordinator, and Texas transfer Maalik Murphy under center, but is it enough to maintain the 2022-23 momentum? The Blue Devils will face defending ACC champion Florida State with other notable battles against Miami, North Carolina, NC State, and SMU. Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech also appear on the schedule, two teams who seemed to ascend during the 2023 campaign.

[gambcom-standard rankid=”3006″]

Here are the complete odds for the Blue Devils’ 2024 win totals.

Duke’s 2024 win total Odds
Over 6.5 +128
Under 6.5 -158

Get Duke Wire’s full game-by-game predictions for the 2024 Duke football season here.

[gambcom-standard rankid=”5″]

Get more betting analysis and predictions at Sportsbook Wire

ACC starting quarterback rankings for 2024

Here are our ACC quarterback rankings for 2024, with projected starters.

We are still some time away from the start of the 2024 college football season, but that doesn’t stop us from looking ahead.

Today, we are looking at the ACC starting quarterbacks for 2024 and ranking them ahead of the season. This is just a preview, as it is still many months from the season, and things can change fast. While every team doesn’t have a starting quarterback on paper, we are making projections on these starters based on what we know right now.

The ACC is a bit different now, with the addition of new programs and new faces to the conference. Try not to get mad with these, they’re subjective! That said, here are our ACC starting quarterback rankings heading into the 2024 season.

– Updated 5/11