All of the attention for Duke football centered around the quarterbacks this spring, from new transfer Maalik Murphy to returners Grayson Loftis and Henry Belin IV.
However, during the Blue & White Game on Saturday, the Blue Devils defense proved it won’t go away in the 2024 season with a 24-16 win over the offense.
Last year under former head coach Mike Elko, Duke surrendered just 19.0 points per game, the best mark in the ACC. Elko left for Texas A&M this winter, but former Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz took his place and the defense looks like it won’t lose a step under his eye.
Murphy and Loftis split time under center, and while the stats won’t reflect anything due to the informal nature of the scrimmage, Murphy did toss the only touchdown of the game to star wideout Jordan Moore.
However, the defense won almost every other series. Junior defensive back Chandler Rivers fought with Moore for that touchdown catch, nearly wrestling it away for an interception. True freshman Vontae Floyd, a Virginia native, did intercept Loftis for the game’s lone turnover later in the second half.
Duke’s football season gets underway on August 30 against Elon.