Tag: jordan moore

Wake Forest becomes second ACC football team in North Carolina to undergo coaching change

A second in-state Duke football rival will hire a new coach after Wake Forest’s Dave Clawson made the decision to step down.

Wake Forest football coach Dave Clawson will step away from his position at the helm of the Demon Deacons, according to a Monday report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Clawson finished the 2024 season with a second straight 4-8 record, and Wake Forest has won three conference games over the past two seasons. He led the Demon Deacons to seven straight bowl appearances from 2016-22, including an 11-win season in 2021, but the program failed to find its footing since the transfer of longtime quarterback Sam Hartman.

“Clawson is expected to remain with the university in an advisory role,” Thamel wrote, “and the decision to step down was his.”

Clawson will end his 11-year tenure with a 67-69 record, the third-most wins in program history, and no other Wake Forest coach can match his five bowl victories.

The timing of this decision means his final game as head coach will be the Week 14 loss to Duke when [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to [autotag]Jordan Moore[/autotag] on the final play of the game, the final touch on a 14-point comeback.

Wake Forest becomes the second ACC school within the state to need a new head football coach. The North Carolina Tar Heels fired Mack Brown, the winningest coach in school history, after a 6-6 season, but UNC already found legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick to replace him.

Former Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy writes his goodbye to the Blue Devils and fans

Former Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy shared his goodbye to Blue Devils fans after his decision to enter the transfer portal.

[autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] and the Duke football fans may not have expected their union to last a single season, but the 2024 starting quarterback let the Blue Devils faithful know what they meant to him on Wednesday morning.

Roughly 36 hours after the initial announcement that Murphy would enter the transfer portal for the second time in two offseasons, he shared a short statement to social media to thank Duke fans for their support over the past four months.

“Blue Devil Nation, thank you for this amazing chapter in my life,” Murphy wrote. “It was one I can always remember and learn from. Thank you for your love and support throughout the highs and lows this season, it’s been a pleasure playing in Wally Wade.”

Despite his decision to leave the program, several of Murphy’s teammates let the world know they still loved their quarterback. Star wideout [autotag]Jordan Moore[/autotag] and All-ACC defensive back [autotag]Chandler Rivers[/autotag], among others, made sure to share supportive messages as he seeks his next home.

Murphy threw for 2,933 yards and a program-record 26 touchdowns this season, completing 60.3% of his passes. The former Texas Longhorns quarterback played his best football at the end of the season, averaging 286.4 passing yards and scoring 14 total touchdowns in the final five games.

Former Tulane quarterback Darian Mensah announced his commitment to the Blue Devils on Wednesday morning.

Jordan Moore and Chandler Rivers show love to Maalik Murphy after transfer portal decision

Duke football stars Jordan Moore and Chandler Rivers shared their support for quarterback Maalik Murphy after his decision to transfer.

Duke quarterback [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] made the relatively surprising decision to hit the transfer portal again after one year as the program’s starter, but it seems the former Texas Longhorn still made an impact on his teammates.

Star wideout [autotag]Jordan Moore[/autotag] and All-ACC cornerback [autotag]Chandler Rivers[/autotag] both expressed their admiration for Murphy on social media on Tuesday, the morning after he announced his choice to leave.

“Great teammate and great friend,” Moore wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “Go be great.”

Murphy and Moore connected for 798 yards and seven touchdowns in 2024 despite the senior receiver battling injuries for most of the season. They teamed up for one of the best plays of the season against Wake Forest, a 39-yard touchdown on the final play that cemented a 23-17 victory.

The walk-off touchdown will likely be Murphy’s final snap with the Blue Devils after he confirmed he wouldn’t play in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl against Ole Miss.

“Always love on this end 6,” Rivers added from his own X account.

The third-year corner made the All-ACC First Team with 52 total tackles, 7.5 TFLs, and three interceptions as a junior.

Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy to enter the transfer portal again

In a stunning Monday night report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy will re-enter the transfer portal.

In a surprising development, it seems Duke quarterback [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] will only spend one season in Durham.

ESPN reporter Pete Thamel reported on Monday night that Murphy would enter the transfer portal for the second time in two offseasons.

The redshirt sophomore spent his first two years with the Texas Longhorns before he transferred to Duke for the 2024 season. He started all 12 regular-season games for the Blue Devils, leading the team to nine victories and setting a single-season program record with 26 passing touchdowns. He and senior wideout [autotag]Jordan Moore[/autotag] connected for a 39-yard score on the final play against Wake Forest in Week 14, a walkoff touchdown that appears to be Murphy’s final snap in a Duke uniform.

Murphy also told Thamel he would not play in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, Duke’s postseason battle against the Ole Miss Rebels.

Grayson Loftis, who started several games for the Blue Devils in 2023, battled Murphy for the starting spot all offseason. With the starter’s departure, it appears Loftis and Henry Belin IV will be the primary quarterbacks against the Rebels.

Duke football picks up third Class of 2026 commitment from a South Carolina wide receiver

The Duke Blue Devils added their third commitment from the Class of 2026 on Monday, a 6-foot-4 wide receiver from South Carolina.

The Duke Blue Devils notched their third commitment from the Class of 2026 on Monday when Jude Hall, a 6-foot-4 wideout from South Carolina, announced his decision on social media.

The Christ Church Episcopal School product is not currently ranked by 247Sports, but at 6-foot-4 and 185 pounds, he clearly possesses the physical tools to play outside at the collegiate level. According to MaxPreps, he led the Cavaliers with 57 receptions for 795 yards and five touchdowns in 11 games, and he caught nine touchdowns as a sophomore in 2023.

Duke’s receiver depth was one of its best qualities in 2024, but the position group will experience a firm overhaul over the next two seasons. [autotag]Eli Pancol[/autotag] and [autotag]Jordan Moore[/autotag], who combined for 1.539 yards and 16 touchdowns, both just finished their senior season. Sahmir Hagans will be a redshirt senior in 2025, and Old Dominion transfer Javon Harvey just used his final season of eligibility.

Hall joins four-star offensive lineman Sean Stover and three-star defensive lineman Ayden Cain in Duke’s current 2026 recruiting class.

Eight Duke football stars, including wideout Jordan Moore, honored on All-ACC teams

The ACC included eight Duke Blue Devils on its all-conference team for the 2024 college football season, including star wideout Jordan Moore.

The ACC released its 2024 all-conference teams for the 2024 college football season on Tuesday, and eight Blue Devils earned a spot on one of the three squads.

Cornerback [autotag]Chandler Rivers[/autotag], who finished the season with three interceptions, nine other deflections, and 52 total tackles, was the lone Duke football player on the First-Team squad, joining California’s Nohl Williams at the position. However, four Blue Devils made the Second-Team unit with three others on the Third-Team roster.

Offensive linemen Brian Parker II and Caleb Krings joined defensive tackle Kendy Charles and safety Terry Moore on the second team. Parker and Krings helped protect quarterback [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] all season, and the Blue Devils only surrendered 12 sacks as a team in 2024.

Charles, an offseason transfer from Liberty, finished with 49 total tackles, 7.0 of which resulted in a loss, with 2.0 sacks from the interior, and Moore tied Rivers with three interceptions on the season.

Wideouts [autotag]Jordan Moore[/autotag] and [autotag]Eli Pancol[/autotag], both of whom surpassed 700 yards in the regular season, made the third team alongside linebacker Ozzie Nicholas.

Pancol, the Brian Piccolo Award recipient for the ACC this season, caught 55 passes for 741 yards and nine touchdowns after missing the entire 2023 season due to injury. His best game came in his final home game at Wallace Wade Stadium in Week 13 when he picked up 188 yards and scored three touchdowns on five catches against the Virginia Tech Hokies.

Moore, who battled injury in the middle of the season, caught 50 passes for a team-leading 798 yards and seven scores. Nicholas paced the Blue Devils with 89 total tackles, and he forced turnovers on back-to-back plays against the Florida State Seminoles in Week 8.

Defensive end Wesley Williams, defensive tackle Aaron Hall, safety Jaylin Stinson, punter Kade Reynoldson, return man Que’Sean Brown, and linebackers Alex Howard and Tre Freeman all made the Honorable Mentions.

Duke football finishes the 2024 season with more fourth-quarter comebacks than losses

With their thrilling win over Wake Forest, the Duke Blue Devils ended the 2024 regular season with more fourth-quarter comebacks than losses.

The Duke Blue Devils scored three touchdowns in the final 16 minutes of Saturday’s game against Wake Forest, including a 39-yard strike from quarterback [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] to star wideout [autotag]Jordan Moore[/autotag] on the final play, for a 23-17 comeback victory over the Demon Deacons.

With a 9-3 regular-season record now cemented, Duke achieved a pretty staggering feat with its late surge in Winston-Salem. The Blue Devils came from behind in the fourth quarter four different times in 2024, including a last-minute field goal against Northwestern in Week 2 and a 21-point surge against the North Carolina Tar Heels back in Week 5, to give them more comebacks than losses in the regular season.

The Wildcats game was technically tied until a Northwestern field goal with 11:39 left on the clock, but even without including that game, the numbers are tied at three apiece. That doesn’t even include the SMU game in Week 9 when Duke scored two late touchdowns to force overtime, only losing after a failed 2-point conversion on the first additional possession.

For those doing the math at home, head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] ended his first season in Durham with a winning record when trailing after three quarters. Duke won three of its five such games this season, only surrendering a late lead once to Georgia Tech.

Duke WR Jordan Moore calls choosing the Blue Devils the ‘best decision (he) ever made’

After his last-second touchdown against Wake Forest, Duke wideout Jordan Moore called the program the “best decision (he) ever made.”

[autotag]Jordan Moore[/autotag], Duke’s star wide receiver, authored what may be the best moment of his college football career on Saturday with a 39-yard touchdown against Wake Forest on the final play, handing the Blue Devils a 23-17 victory and a nine-win regular season.

After the game, Moore took to social media for a strong vote of confidence in the program and its first-year coaching staff.

“Best decision I ever made was to come to Duke,” Moore wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “If you want to play for a coach that truly believes in his players, come play for (Manny Diaz).”

Moore ended Saturday’s game with 98 yards on five receptions, giving him 50 receptions and a team-leading 798 yards for the year despite an injury that kept him on a snap count for more than a month. He ended both of the first two games with at least 100 yards, giving him five career triple-digit performances despite only playing the position for three seasons.

After making the switch from quarterback to wide receiver ahead of the 2022 campaign, Moore ended up with 2,289 career receiving yards and 20 touchdowns on 172 catches (pending a potential bowl game).

The best Duke football photos from the Wake Forest victory in Week 14

Check out the best photos from Saturday’s game between the Duke Blue Devils and Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

The Duke Blue Devils closed the 2024 college football season with their most dramatic victory yet thanks to a 39-yard touchdown on the final play.

After falling behind 17-3 early in the third quarter, quarterback [autotag]Maalik Muprhy[/autotag] completed 16 of his 20 second-half attempts for 153 yards as he led a trio of touchdown drives. With eight seconds left and the Blue Devils on the edge of field goal range, he opted to instead loft the ball down the right sideline to a wide-open Jordan Moore, who somehow found a gap in the defense and reached the end zone for a walk-off score.

The last-second touchdown gave the Blue Devils a 23-17 victory and secured their second nine-win season in three years. With previous wins over the North Carolina Tar Heels and NC State Wolfpack already on the resume, head coach Manny Diaz and his players swept their three in-state conference rivals for the first time since 2013.

Here are the best photos from the stunning comeback victory in Winston-Salem.

Duke football sweeps the state of North Carolina for the first time in more than a decade

Duke’s 23-17 win over Wake Forest on Saturday meant that, for the first time in more than a decade, the Blue Devils swept the state.

For the first time since 2013, the Duke Blue Devils run the state of North Carolina.

Quarterback [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] and wide receiver[autotag] Jordan Moore[/autotag] teamed up for a 39-yard touchdown on the final play of the game in Winston-Salem on Saturday, handing Duke a 23-17 victory over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

The win, Duke’s ninth of the season, cemented a sweep of the other three ACC schools from the state. The Blue Devils mounted a 20-point comeback against the North Carolina Tar Heels in Week 5 and handed the NC State Wolfpack a 29-19 win in Raleigh in Week 11, completing a trifecta they haven’t achieved since that fateful 10-win season under David Cutcliffe.

In a similar fashion to the Tar Heels game, Duke needed three late touchdowns to beat the Demon Deacons. Murph completed 16 of his 20 second-half passes for 153 yards and ran for another score after the break, ending the regular season with a school-record 26 touchdown passes.

None of the other three teams entered Week 14 with more than six wins for the year, either, so the Blue Devils will finish multiple games above the rest of the state.