Kirk Benedict - Assistant Coach/Special Teams and Defense - Football Coaches

Kirk Benedict

Title:
Assistant Coach/Special Teams and Defense
Email:
kirk.benedict@duke.edu
Phone:
(919) 684-3788

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Kirk Benedict joined the Blue Devil coaching staff in June of 2014 and serves as the Special Teams Coordinator and the Recruiting Coordinator [defense] while aiding the defensive staff.

Before being elevated to his current role, Benedict spent three seasons (2018-20) as an assistant coach mentoring the special teams unit and assisting on defense. In 2016 and 2017, he served as a graduate assistant coach while working primarily with the offense and the entire special teams operation. Prior to that, he served as an operations assistant working with the special teams units during the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

Last year, Benedict coached first-year starters kicker Charlie Ham and punter Porter Wilson. Ham, a 2020 semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award, finished the year going 13-of-15 on field goal attempts, with a season-long 47 yarder coming against Virginia. He was tied for second in the ACC and tied for 13th nationally with a 86.7 field goal percentage. The Atlanta, Ga., native also went 30-of-32 on PAT attempts.

Wilson, a 2020 Freshman All-America Second Team selection by The Athletic and a Ray Guy Award semifinalists, punted 53 times for 2,276 yards for an average of 42.94 yards during his first year as a starter. His first career punt against Notre Dame went 60 yards while 21 boots were downed inside the 20 yard line against two touchbacks. Wilson was one of just three punters in the ACC with at least 10-plus punts of 50-plus yards and at least 20-plus punts downed inside the 20. The Fairlawn, Ohio, product was one of only three punters to rank among the league’s top 10 in punting average with 45-plus boots against two-or-less touchbacks.

Benedict also helped rookie Isaiah Fisher-Smith to an impressive first year on special teams. The Greensboro, N.C., native had two blocked punts on the year and added a recovery of a blocked punt during Duke’s outing against Charlotte. He became the first player at Duke to block multiple kicks in a single season since Mike Ramsay did so in 2017.

Duke’s punt return defense was also a point of emphasis for Benedict and the special teams unit in 2020. The Blue Devils’ punt return coverage team limited its opponents to a mere 12 punt return yards on 16 attempts (0.75 yards per return).

In 2019, Benedict mentored Damond Philyaw-Johnson, Austin Parker, and AJ Reed to postseason honors. Philyaw-Johnson, a return specialist, earned All-America accolades from Phil Steele while also garnering Second Team All-ACC honors. Both Parker and Reed earned Honorable Mention All-ACC recognition as a punter and kicker, respectively.

Philyaw-Johnson registered 549 yards on 17 kickoff returns for an average of 32.29 with two touchdowns. He matched the NCAA single-game record with two kickoff returns for touchdowns against Wake Forest and was named ACC Specialist of the Week following the performance. His 251 kickoff return yards versus the Demon Deacons marked the highest single-game total in school history, while his 98-yard scoring return in the contest tied him with Shaun Wilson for the 10th longest return in program history.

Parker punted 66 times for 3,018 yards (45.73) and had 24 kicks downed inside the opponent 20-yard line against six touchbacks. His season punting average placed second on the Duke single-season chart and seventh in ACC lore. He posted a career long punt of 72 yards against Syracuse, which matched the 10th-longest boot in Duke history. The Mount Pleasant, N.C., native finished with 26 punts of 50-plus yards on the year for the third-highest total in the ACC. He also finished fourth in the ACC and 13th in the country with a 45.70 punting average.

Reed recorded 79 points on 15-of-18 (.833) field goals and 34-of-34 (1.000) PAT conversions. He converted on a career-long field goal of 51 yards against Syracuse and was the only ACC kicker with three field goals of 49-plus yards in 2019. The Prattville, Ala., native was also one of just two ACC kickers with multiple field goals of 50-plus yards. He finished the season tied for 27th in the country with a .833 field goal percentage. The Lou Groza Award semifinalist posted nine straight field goals throughout the season as well.

Benedict also mentored Josh Blackwell, who served as Duke’s top punt returner, finishing with 142 yards on 13 attempts. Blackwell ranked second in the ACC with a 10.9 punt return average.

The 2018 campaign was Benedict’s first as a full-time coach with the Blue Devils, taking over special teams duties and working with Duke’s defense. Benedict helped first-year kicker Collin Wareham finish the campaign making 9-of-13 field goals and 49-of-51 extra points while punter Parker averaged 41.4 yards per boot. Wareham’s 49 PATs are the third most in a year for a Blue Devil. Parker finished with 23 punts downed inside the opponent 20-yard line after concluding the 2017 season with just 10 punts inside the 20.

Duke’s kickoff coverage unit again ranked among the top in the ACC, finishing third in the league and 44th nationally with 19.7 yards per runback allowed.

In 2017, Benedict worked alongside assistant coach Jim Bridge on special teams as Duke ranked among the ACC’s top five in field goals (t3rd), kickoff coverage (4th), field goal percentage (4th) and kickoff returns (5th). Offensively, the Blue Devils utilized a balanced attack featuring quarterback Daniel Jones, who threw for over 2,500 yards for the second straight season, and the running back tandem of Brittain Brown and Wilson, who combined to rush for 1,519 yards and 13 touchdowns.

In 2016, the Blue Devils’ kickoff unit ranked third in the ACC and 12th nationally while the coverage unit allowed 18.67 yards a runback, fourth best in the league and 25th in the country. On offense, the Blue Devils were led by Jones, who finished second in the balloting for ACC Rookie of the Year honors after setting or matching 23 school records including most total offensive yards by a freshman (3,322).

During the 2015 campaign, Benedict assisted Zac Roper with the special teams operation as two Blue Devils were All-America selections in return specialist DeVon Edwards and kicker Ross Martin. Edwards set a school single-season record with three kickoff returns for touchdowns while Martin, who finished his career with the second most total points in ACC history, established Duke single-season standards for both total points (120) and field goals (26). In addition, punter Will Monday garnered All-ACC honors for the fourth consecutive season.

Martin was selected to participate in both the East-West Shrine Game and Senior Bowl while Monday, also an East-West Shrine Game choice, earned an invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Ind. Both Martin (New York Jets) and Monday (Pittsburgh Steelers) signed NFL free agent contracts.

In 2014, Benedict and Roper oversaw four All-America special teams performers. Punt returner Jamison Crowder picked up Second Team All-America accolades from Lindy’s while Edwards, Monday and Martin all were honorable mention choices by Sports Illustrated.

A native of Fairfax, Va., Benedict was a two-time All-Pioneer Football League fullback at Davidson College before graduating with a degree in political science in 2010. He was tabbed the program’s offensive MVP as a senior in 2009.

Following his graduation from Davidson, Benedict was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army and graduated from the Army Reconnaissance Course in 2011. He was stationed in Germany from 2011-14, serving as a Reconnaissance Platoon Leader and Troop Executive Officer in the 2nd Cavalry Regiment. Benedict also served two deployments to Afghanistan (2011, 2013-14) before exiting the army at the rank of captain.

Benedict is married to the former Molly Battle.