Ahead of its Week 1 matchup against Tulane, Duke football has released its initial depth chart. While some competitions, including the battle for starting quarterback, were previously decided, the first official look at the roster reveals which jobs have been won and which remain up for grabs.
Here are some quick takeaways from the Blue Devils' initial depth chart.
Offense
Heading into the season, little was certain about this year's offense. Running back Nate Sheppard, tight end Jeremiah Hasley and center Matt Craycraft are the only offensive players who played prominent roles for the Blue Devils last season and remained with the team.
Head coach Manny Diaz said the offense has found their "identity" after Walker Eget was announced as the starting quarterback.
He offered little more explanation other than saying that a good coach would build the offense around what their quarterback is most comfortable executing.
Eget is an experienced signal-caller with a big arm and capable mobility. He's not exactly a dual-threat at the position, but he has enough juice to keep opposing defenses honest, giving Duke a bit more flexibility and versatility in what they can run.
The wide receiver battle was among the most notable for the Blue Devils this offseason and the clear winner appears to be Jared Richardson. Coming to Duke as a transfer from Penn, Richardson has solidified a starting spot in the receiving corps and while Jayden Moore and Jonah Burton were also listed as starters on the initial depth chart, they appear to be sharing time with Javen Nicholas and Kavon Simmons, at least situationally.
The full offensive depth chart is as follows:
Quarterbacks
- Walker Eget
- Dan Mahan
Running backs
- Nate Sheppard
- CJ Campbell Jr.
- Javian Tanelus
Wide receiver 1
- Jayden Moore OR Kavon Simmons
- Jaivon Solomon
Wide receiver 2
- Jonah Burton OR Javen Nicholas
- Jamien Little
Wide receiver 3
- Jared Richardson
- Blake Rohrer
- Brody Keefe
Tight end
- Jeremiah Hasley
- Nate Kurisky OR Jake Taylor
Left tackle
- Nick Del Grande
- Micah Sahakian
- Nathan Kutufaris
Left guard
- Jordan Larsen
- Daniel Boyd
Center
- Matt Craycraft
- Sean Stover
- Ryan Daly
Right guard
- Bradley Smith
- Gemyel Allen
Right tackle
- Braden Miller
- Caleb Dorris
- Cole Allen
Defense
There's plenty of intrigue around what Duke's offense will look like this year, but Diaz has long hung his hat on the defensive end and the Blue Devils are looking to reestablish themselves as a formidable squad on that end.
Tyshon Reed and standout candidate Bryce Davis will get the majority of the traditional edge snaps while Kevin O'Connor will fill the vyper role and notably saw work on the interior at times this offseason, adding to his versatility. On the interior, David Anderson will clog the trenches alongside Preston Watson as the final starters on Duke's defensive line.
The linebacker position is where Diaz can be particularly creative, using Luke Mergott between the MIKE and Star roles around a talented and deep linebacker corps that includes Nick Morris Jr., Kendall Johnson and Bradley Gompers.
Duke will see new starters at three of four defensive back positions. DaShawn Stone remains a fixture and Andrew Pellicciotta is moving into the starting lineup after appearing in all 14 games last season as a freshman. Kimari Robinson made nine starts last season, but is listed behind Kyon Loud while Dylan Flowers and Landan Callahan remain in competition for the opposite starting position.
Defensive end
- Tyshon Reed or Bryce Davis
- Semaj Turner
Nose tackle
- David Anderson
- Julius Columbus OR Owen Wafle
Defensive tackle
- Preston Watson
- Dakota Quinonez
- Bariate Kara
Vyper defensive end
- Kevin O'Connor
- Kobe Smith
- Sampson Onuoha
Mike linebacker
- Nick Morris Jr. OR Luke Mergott
- Elliott Schaper
Will linebacker
- Kendall Johnson
- Bradley Gompers
- Derrick Brown Jr.
Star
- Will Felder Jr. OR Luke Mergott
Cornerback
- Dylan Flowers OR Landan Callahan
- Evan Smith
Cornerback
- Kyon Loud
- Kimari Robinson
- Kaleb Lanier
Free safety
- Andrew Pellicciotta
- Ché Ojarikre
- Leon Griffin III
Rover
- DaShawn Stone
- Patrick Smith-Young
- KD Cotton
Special Teams
Cosme Salas is set to replace last season's kicker, Todd Pelino. Salas was the Blue Devils' kickoff specialist last season, but has yet to attempt a field goal or extra point in a college game.
After averaging 44.61 yards per punt last season and being named the Sun Bowl special teams MVP, Kade Reynoldson is returning as both punter and holder.
Finally, Moore handled limited kickoff-return work last season, but will get more opportunities this season, along with Jonah Burton. Returning punts will be Charlotte transfer Javen Nicholas, who is also pushing for time in the slot on offense.
PK
- Cosme Salas
- Gavin Strange
KO
- Cosme Salas
- Gavin Strange
P
- Kade Reynoldson
H
- Kade Reynoldson
LS
- Jack Yates
- Jack Ronilo
KOR
- Jayden Moore OR Jonah Burton
- CJ Campbell
PR
- Javen Nicholas
- Andrew Pellicciotta
- CJ Givers
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This article originally appeared on Duke Wire: What Duke football’s first depth chart tells us ahead of Tulane
