Nothing’s guaranteed. I get that. But on paper Duke football’s offense should be pretty formidable this season. An offensive line with two All-America candidates, a plethora of talented running backs, talented receivers galore and a next-level quarterback wrapped around an offensive coaching staff with zero turnover from last season’s team.
But can Duke get enough stops to maximize this presumed offensive productivity?
Duke allowed 22.1 points per game last season. That was fifth best in the ACC, 32nd in the NCAA. A lot of that effectiveness was the result of a ball-hawking defense that led the NCAA with 16 recovered fumbles. Along with 10 interceptions Duke finished ninth nationally in forced turnovers, second in turnover differential.
But Duke lost its two leading tacklers, safety Darius Joiner and linebacker Shaka Heyward, from that team. Duke also lost starting DB Datrone Young to graduation and reserves at every position to the transfer portal.
There’s also a new defensive coordinator, Tyler Santucci, the program’s only new assistant. Santucci coached with Mike Elko at Texas A&M, so don’t expect big changes. Duke will still run a 4-2-5 and prioritize forcing turnovers and finishing tackles.
Pretty anodyne to be sure. But it’s not like he’s going to give away the game plan to people like me.
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