Looking at Duke's running backs

Jaquez Moore leads the way

A few days ago I talked about Duke quarterbacks Maalik Murphy, Grayson Loftis and Henry Belin IV and posited that Duke’s offense will consist of one of the three either handing the ball off to a so-called “skill position” player or throwing the ball to one.

Quick aside, I’ve never really understood the term. It doesn’t take skill to block and tackle? For me, those are football’s core skills.

Anyway, back to your regular programming.

Fortunately, Murphy and Loftis--and maybe Belin--never say never--have some pretty talented skill-position options to work with. Duke only lost key ball carrier and one receiver of consequence from last season.

Jordan Waters is the ball carrier, Duke’s leading rusher from last season, with 819 yards and 12 touchdowns. He hit the portal and ended up at NC State.

Yes, this one stings, both because Waters was and is pretty darn good and because he had spent several years telling me and the rest of the media how much he owed Duke for having faith in him when no one else did.

But he was recruited by David Cutcliffe, so maybe two coaching changes in three seasons was a bridge too far. Or maybe State’s NIL program had bigger numbers. Or something else entirely.

I also feel like I should mention oft-injured Jaylen Coleman, who managed to fight through multiple injuries and surgeries and rehabs to rush for 170 yards last season. It was a pretty compelling feel-good story.

I’m pretty Coleman’s playing career is over. The academic All-ACC player is going to have to muddle through somehow with his Duke undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering and graduate degree in engineering management.

Yes, they still make them like that.