Duke threw 399 forward passes last season. Riley Leonard threw 393, Henry Belin IV threw six. Both return this season.
Duke had 484 rushes. Players accounting for 481 of those return, although Terry Moore (29 rushes) has been moved to defensive back and Eric Weatherly (two) has been moved to wide receiver.
Duke returns every receiver, tight end and running back from last season who caught more than three passes, with Terry Moore accounting for four.
Without putting too fine a point on it Duke returns every skill-position player of consequence from last season.
And, did I mention that every offensive coach also returns?
A stark contrast to this time last season when Duke was looking at a new coach and an almost completely new staff searching to find replacements for record-setting running back Mataeo Durant, starting quarterback Gunnar Holmberg, leading wide receiver Jake Bobo and starting tight end Jake Marwede, among others.
The advantages are obvious. Everybody knows the system, everybody knows their teammates.
Wide receiver Jalon Calhoun addressed this experience after Saturday’s scrimmage.
“Veterans coming back, a lot of experience coming back really helps the young guys come along, show them what to do. We have that chemistry, so now it’s just taking it up another notch. Now we know the ropes on offense, where we need to be. Now it’s just getting that timing together and taking it to a whole new level. Sometimes we can speed up a little now that we know the offense better.”
But Calhoun says there’s no complacency.
“All the guys have stayed hungry. You can never get complacent. We talk about staying in the greenhouse in the off-season.”
There may be some newcomers able to wedge their way into the conversation. Calhoun, Jordan Moore, Eli Pancol and Sahmir Hagans combined for 176 receptions last year.
But there’s room for a new face or two and redshirt freshman Mehki Wall seems to be making a case to seeing the field. He’s not very big--5-9, 177 pounds--but some of Duke’s best wide receivers have been about that size. And Wall’s prep stats at Greensboro’s Dudley High School are jaw-dropping. Try 33.2 yards per punt return as a senior. He’s also a three-time state champion in different hurdle events.
True freshman running back Peyton Jones has also opened some eyes. He’s another burner, a 200-pounder from Norfolk. It’s not clear if Duke will need a fourth running back but if the necessity arises, Jones could be an option.
The offensive line has more question marks. Grad-student transfers Andre Harris (Arkansas State), Chance Lytle (Colorado) and Jack Burns (Cornell) all started at least a few games for Duke and all three used up their eligibility and have moved on.
Duke does return some quality experience on the offensive line. But guard Maurice McIntyre is out this spring following ACL surgery and left tackle Graham Barton is limited, also due to surgery.
Both are expected to be good to go by August.
Barton was first-team All-ACC last season and already has been named to some pre-season All-American teams.
Redshirt sophomore Justin Pickett looks like a looming star. He’s 6-7, 317 and can play guard or tackle.
Then there’s Jacob Monk, who played tackle at Duke his first two seasons, then guard and now looks like he’s going to be the starting center.
“We’re just more comfortable now,” Monk said at the beginning of spring practice, “comfortable in the system. But we’re still hungry. We’re working as hard as ever.”
So, assuming the return of good health for McIntyre and Barton, Duke is 4/5ths of the way to a starting offensive line.
But with McIntyre out and Barton limited, there’s plenty of opportunities for other linemen to make their cases.
Duke signed three grad-student transfers, Jake Hornibrook from Stanford, Dustyn Hall from South Florida and Michael Purcell from Elon.
“All of them have looked so good,” Monk said. “I’m really excited to see how they play this year. They’re definitely ready to step in and contribute.”
Hornibrook has the highest profile. You might remember his older brother Alex, a standout quarterback at Wisconsin a few years back. There’s also sister McKenzie who swam for Penn State and an uncle, Ben Davis, who played seven seasons as a catcher in the major leagues.
Jake is 6-5, 297 and has 23 career starts at a Power-Five school.
Duke also has three redshirt freshmen competing for playing time on offensive line and Brian Parker II has been taking some snaps with the first team. Parker is 6-5, 295, from Cincinnati.
“Right now, it’s a puzzle that we’re trying to put together,” offensive coordinator Kevin Johns told the media earlier in the spring. “We’re challenging every one of our linemen by moving them around. Our goal is always to have the five best on the field. So, when we get into the season and somebody gets hurt, we can put in the next best lineman. So, right now it’s a little bit all over the place. As you can imagine we’re trying to take Riley Leonard and Jalon Calhoun and challenge them and get them to chapter two and at the same time we need Hornibrook to get chapter one down. So, these guys are swimming because there’s a lot for them right now. But I love their effort and attitudes and we don’t have to make any decisions for a long time. It’s just about getting better every day.”
After yesterday’s scrimmage Calhoun said the primary goal for the offense was to be more consistent. “I don’t feel like we finished everything.”
I’ll talk about the defense in a few days.
I’m expecting a performance jump from the offense in year two under Kevin Johns.