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Blue Devils Ready for Spring Practice Thursday
3/19/2025 11:06:00 AM | Football
DURHAM, N.C. – Under the direction of head coach Manny Diaz, the Duke football team officially will be back in action Thursday, when the Blue Devils kick off spring practice at Pascal Field House.
Duke will use the 15 practice sessions allowed by the NCAA during the spring in preparation for the 2025 season. One of those practice sessions will be devoted to the team's annual Blue & White Game, set for Saturday, April 19, at 12 noon.
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Last fall Diaz tied the program record for most wins by a first-year head coach with nine. He also guided Duke to the nine-victory plateau for just the eighth time in program history.Â
This spring, the Blue Devils return 16 starters and 39 lettermen from last year's squad that went 9-4 and made the program's first appearance in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. Two of those returning starters garnered All-America honors in safety Terry Moore and cornerback Chandler Rivers.
Defensively, Duke welcomes four other starters back this spring in addition to Moore and Rivers. Moore was an Action Network Second Team All-America selection as well as a Second Team All-ACC pick. He started all 13 games and led the Blue Devils in interceptions with four, tied for the squad lead in caused fumbles with two and ranked fourth in tackles with 71. Rivers was an All-America pick by The Athletic (Second Team), College Football Network (Second Team), the Associated Press (Third Team) and Phil Steele (Fourth Team). He was a First Team All-ACC honoree after starting all 13 games and booking 54 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, three interceptions, two caused fumbles, eight pass breakups, three quarterback pressures and one fumble recovery.Â
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Duke's defensive strength will also be boosted by the return of three starting linemen in ends Vincent Anthony Jr. and Wesley Williams and tackle, and 2024 team captain, Aaron Hall. Williams and Hall were Honorable Mention All-ACC selections last fall. Anthony Jr. and Williams combined for 73 tackles, 23.0 tackles for loss, 12.0 sacks and 22 quarterback pressures in the fall. Williams' 7.5 sacks are the eighth most in a year in program history while Anthony Jr.'s 13 quarterback pressures rank as the seventh most in a Duke campaign. Hall registered 41 tackles, 8.0 TFL, 3.5 sacks, six quarterback pressures and two pass breakups in 13 games, all starts.
The Blue Devils must replace three starting linebackers, including honorable mention All-America Alex Howard and All-ACC pick Ozzie Nicholas. Duke does return Tre Freeman, who started six games last fall and earned honorable mention all-league accolades. Freeman registered 67 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, two interceptions, one caused fumble and two fumble recoveries. He tallied one of Duke's more memorable turnovers during the season, sealing the victory against North Carolina with an interception that allowed Duke to run out the clock and bring the Victory Bell back to Durham.
Duke's offense welcomes back six starters this spring including Second Team All-ACC selection Brian Parker II. In 2024, Parker II started all 13 games, 12 at right tackle and one at left tackle. He was graded by Pro Football Focus as having played the most pass blocking snaps nationally without allowing a sack in 2024 with 515.Â
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Up front the Blue Devils also return center Matt Craycraft, left tackle Bruno Fina and right guard, as well as 2024 team captain, Justin Pickett. The unit ranked second in the ACC, and tied for ninth nationally, in fewest sacks allowed per game (0.92) last fall.Â
Two starting receiving targets from 2024 are back in Sahmir Hagans and Jake Taylor. Hagans started 11 games in the fall and finished third on the team with 47 receptions and three TDs. He also ended the year ranked fourth on the squad in receiving yards with 413, averaging 8.79 yards per grab. Taylor became Duke's starting tight end for the back half of the season after injuries devastated the position. He earned starts in the final six games of the season, catching 11 passes for 74 yards (6.73).
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Duke must replace starting quarterback Maalik Murphy, who transferred to Oregon State after completing 254-of-421 (.603) passes for 2,933 yards with 26 touchdowns. Rising redshirt junior Henry Belin IV, who served as the backup to Murphy, saw action in four games for Duke last fall and started the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Murphy's absence. Rising redshirt sophomore quarterback Darian Mensah arrived from Tulane in January. He started 13 games for the Green Wave in 2024 and completed 189-of-287 (.659) passes for 2,723 yards with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions in his first season as a starter. On the ground, he added 60 rushing attempts for 132 yards and a score.
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The Blue Devils open 2025 at home for consecutive games with Elon (Aug. 30) and Illinois (Sept. 6) at Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium. Duke also will host NC State (Sept. 20), Georgia Tech (Oct. 18), Virginia (Nov. 15) and Wake Forest (Nov. 29) this season.
To stay up to date with Blue Devils football, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeFootball".
#GoDuke
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Duke will use the 15 practice sessions allowed by the NCAA during the spring in preparation for the 2025 season. One of those practice sessions will be devoted to the team's annual Blue & White Game, set for Saturday, April 19, at 12 noon.
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Last fall Diaz tied the program record for most wins by a first-year head coach with nine. He also guided Duke to the nine-victory plateau for just the eighth time in program history.Â
This spring, the Blue Devils return 16 starters and 39 lettermen from last year's squad that went 9-4 and made the program's first appearance in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. Two of those returning starters garnered All-America honors in safety Terry Moore and cornerback Chandler Rivers.
Defensively, Duke welcomes four other starters back this spring in addition to Moore and Rivers. Moore was an Action Network Second Team All-America selection as well as a Second Team All-ACC pick. He started all 13 games and led the Blue Devils in interceptions with four, tied for the squad lead in caused fumbles with two and ranked fourth in tackles with 71. Rivers was an All-America pick by The Athletic (Second Team), College Football Network (Second Team), the Associated Press (Third Team) and Phil Steele (Fourth Team). He was a First Team All-ACC honoree after starting all 13 games and booking 54 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, three interceptions, two caused fumbles, eight pass breakups, three quarterback pressures and one fumble recovery.Â
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Duke's defensive strength will also be boosted by the return of three starting linemen in ends Vincent Anthony Jr. and Wesley Williams and tackle, and 2024 team captain, Aaron Hall. Williams and Hall were Honorable Mention All-ACC selections last fall. Anthony Jr. and Williams combined for 73 tackles, 23.0 tackles for loss, 12.0 sacks and 22 quarterback pressures in the fall. Williams' 7.5 sacks are the eighth most in a year in program history while Anthony Jr.'s 13 quarterback pressures rank as the seventh most in a Duke campaign. Hall registered 41 tackles, 8.0 TFL, 3.5 sacks, six quarterback pressures and two pass breakups in 13 games, all starts.
The Blue Devils must replace three starting linebackers, including honorable mention All-America Alex Howard and All-ACC pick Ozzie Nicholas. Duke does return Tre Freeman, who started six games last fall and earned honorable mention all-league accolades. Freeman registered 67 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, two interceptions, one caused fumble and two fumble recoveries. He tallied one of Duke's more memorable turnovers during the season, sealing the victory against North Carolina with an interception that allowed Duke to run out the clock and bring the Victory Bell back to Durham.
Duke's offense welcomes back six starters this spring including Second Team All-ACC selection Brian Parker II. In 2024, Parker II started all 13 games, 12 at right tackle and one at left tackle. He was graded by Pro Football Focus as having played the most pass blocking snaps nationally without allowing a sack in 2024 with 515.Â
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Up front the Blue Devils also return center Matt Craycraft, left tackle Bruno Fina and right guard, as well as 2024 team captain, Justin Pickett. The unit ranked second in the ACC, and tied for ninth nationally, in fewest sacks allowed per game (0.92) last fall.Â
Two starting receiving targets from 2024 are back in Sahmir Hagans and Jake Taylor. Hagans started 11 games in the fall and finished third on the team with 47 receptions and three TDs. He also ended the year ranked fourth on the squad in receiving yards with 413, averaging 8.79 yards per grab. Taylor became Duke's starting tight end for the back half of the season after injuries devastated the position. He earned starts in the final six games of the season, catching 11 passes for 74 yards (6.73).
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Duke must replace starting quarterback Maalik Murphy, who transferred to Oregon State after completing 254-of-421 (.603) passes for 2,933 yards with 26 touchdowns. Rising redshirt junior Henry Belin IV, who served as the backup to Murphy, saw action in four games for Duke last fall and started the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Murphy's absence. Rising redshirt sophomore quarterback Darian Mensah arrived from Tulane in January. He started 13 games for the Green Wave in 2024 and completed 189-of-287 (.659) passes for 2,723 yards with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions in his first season as a starter. On the ground, he added 60 rushing attempts for 132 yards and a score.
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The Blue Devils open 2025 at home for consecutive games with Elon (Aug. 30) and Illinois (Sept. 6) at Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium. Duke also will host NC State (Sept. 20), Georgia Tech (Oct. 18), Virginia (Nov. 15) and Wake Forest (Nov. 29) this season.
To stay up to date with Blue Devils football, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeFootball".
#GoDuke
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Players Mentioned
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/ FootballGame Trailer: California
Friday, October 03
Coach Diaz Media Availability: Cal
Wednesday, October 01
Bruno Fina Media Availability: Cal
Tuesday, September 30
Tre Freeman Media Availability: Cal
Tuesday, September 30
