Duke Football 2025: Offensive Preview

The Blue Devils visit Berkeley for the first time since 1963, a game which ended in a tie. It's about time we get some resolution.

The Blue Devils are led by Manny Diaz, in his first head coaching role since his dismissal from Miami, where he had a 21-15 record. Prior to that, Diaz was a successful defensive coordinator, having one of the top ranked defenses in the country at Miami (under Mark Richt). The offense is led by offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jonathan Brewer, who previously served as the OC at SMU in 2023. Duke runs an uptempo offense, playing fast to try to get the defense into one of their base formations (i.e. simplifying the defense), and then presenting confusing looks to that defense to catch them off-guard. Brewer helped (now Oregon State QB) Maalik Murphy set a Duke single season record of 26 passing touchdowns in 2024. As we saw earlier this season, Murphy has not played as well this season, so take that as you may.

You expect people in basketball jerseys, but a helmet? Impressive.

Duke has been putting it all out on the field this year. Of course, I mean that literally:

DE Wesley Williams vomits on the field

Since we don’t have much history to talk about with Duke (other than perhaps this awesome comment left on the defensive preview), I have instead resorted to shoehorning my favorite Duke clips into this introduction:

WR Jaivon Solomon is, evidently, a dawg (he was also seen in the postgame eating “W’s” Jameis Winston-style)

Also, a special shout-out to the commenters last week on the Boston College offensive preview who knew Cal football well-enough to know that after I spent a bunch of time talking about how awful their run game was, that their running back would have a career game against us. We all knew it was coming, but putting it in writing like that is obviously a jinx. Still, I haven’t learned my lesson, and I will continue to call it like I see it, even if that backfires spectacularly. It’s called journalistic integrity, okay?

Now let’s get into it.

Quarterback

Duke is led by sophomore Tulane transfer Darian Mensah, whose arrival pushed out the previous starting quarterback Maalik Murphy. According to the 10+ times it’s repeated each game on the TV broadcasts, Mensah came to Duke on a 2-year, $7.5 million NIL deal. Mensah currently leads the ACC in both passing yards and passing TDs, averaging 314.6 passing yards/game (296 yards/game vs FBS) with 13 touchdowns to 2 interceptions in 5 games so far this season.

With that said, maybe I’m too accustomed to the Pac-12 quarterbacks I’d regularly preview (just two years ago, Cal faced Caleb Williams, Michael Penix Jr., Bo Nix, and Cam Ward; all of whom were high 1st round draft picks and all currently starting for NFL teams right now), but for all the hype the broadcasters give him, I haven’t really been all that impressed.

Duke runs the ball well and does a good job of distributing the ball to its receivers in space, running an efficient offense. Mensah reminds me of last week’s quarterback, Boston College’s Dylan Lonergan, where they’ll find open receivers and perhaps put up 300 passing yards per game, but there isn’t a point where I was just blown away thinking “that was an NFL throw right there.” (Well, I was thinking that over and over last week, but not about BC’s QB).

Duke likes to move the pocket with Mensah, who has a knack for throwing on the run, although he’s still prone to errant throws doing so. Here’s one of his best throws, which just so happened to come against his former team:

QB Darian Mensah makes a great throw on the run for WR Sahmir Hagans for the 29 yard TD on the scramble drill

Mensah will have a number of throws like this, rolling out, and throwing without setting his feet, even throwing across his body far more than he should (and I don’t think he has enough arm strength to get away with doing so consistently). Duke had a few plays like the following, where it’s not even clear to the receivers who the intended target is, which probably speaks to the plays they drew up—receivers shouldn’t be crowded together in the same space:

QB Darian Mensah throws it on the run to WR Chase Tyler for a catch and run of 62 yards

Mensah also has a tendency to sit in the pocket for just a bit too long. He does do a nice job of staying calm when facing pressure:

QB Darian Mensah under pressure but keeps his eyes downfield to find an open TE Jeremiah Hasley for 21 yards

And although I haven’t been particularly blown away by his touch passes, he has shown the ability to float some in there:

QB Darian Mensah drops in a perfect throw for TE Jeremiah Hasley but he can’t complete the catch

Mensah’s throwing motion is also inconsistent at times. When Mensah is able to properly step into his throws, he is able to launch it down the field:

QB Darian Mensah has WR Cooper Barkate open deep but overthrown

Mensah also likes to hit receivers down the sidelines. Here he shows nice placement on the back shoulder throw:

QB Darian Mensah makes a nice back shoulder throw to WR Andrel Anthony for 35 yards

And again, from a clean pocket:

QB Darian Mensah makes a nice throw downfield for the back shoulder to WR Que’Sean Brown for 44 yards

However, Mensah is also prone to the occasional erratic throw down the sideline, where it will sail well out of bounds, without giving his receiver a chance at the ball:

QB Darian Mensah can’t step into his throw and sails the deep ball out of bounds

Here Mensah manages to squeeze the throw into his receiver before he goes out of bounds:

QB Darian Mensah throws back across his body for the 5 yard toe-tap TD to WR Andrel Anthony

But here he underthrows the throw across his body for an interception:

QB Darian Mensah throws across his body for an underthrow and interception

While Mensah generally does a good job of surveying the field and making his reads, he did try to force throws when trailing:

QB Darian Mensah makes a bad read and a bad throw across his body for what should have been an INT

While Mensah is not really a running QB and will try to buy time in the pocket for the big throw, he is plenty athletic enough to run the ball if the occasion calls for it:

QB Darian Mensah on the rollout and has room to run for the first down

But he’s also not going to bail himself out of trouble the way some of those earlier Pac-12 QBs might have:

QB Darian Mensah tries to escape pressure but instead loses 15 yards on the sack by LB Antoine Deslauriers

I don’t know if his prior team had a better read on him than most, but Tulane was able to bait Mensah into making mistakes:

QB Darian Mensah has time to throw but gets baited by the defender underneath for an INT

Illinois also had a beat on Mensah, which is that they realized Mensah was not good at sensing pressure from his back side:

QB Darian Mensah doesn’t sense the pressure behind him and gets stripped for the fumble

They used this to force multiple fumbles on Mensah:

QB Darian Mensah again doesn’t feel the pressure from behind for another fumble

So while Mensah is a talented quarterback, he also has plenty of vulnerabilities.

Running back

With all the hype around Darian Mensah coming into the season, Duke’s run game has been an unexpected surprise. True freshman RB Nate Sheppard has recently, particularly after putting up 168 rushing yards on 15 carries against Syracuse (11.2 yards/carry), and he’s averaging 8.1 yards/carry on the season. Sheppard already looks like a future star.

Despite being a true freshman, Sheppard already looks like a well-rounded polished back. He’s shown good patience and vision:

RB Nate Sheppard finds a seam for a 35 yard run

Sheppard is fast, and has breakaway speed:

RB Nate Sheppard gets a lane and breaks free for the 49 yard TD

Sheppard has favored outside runs, where he can use his speed to beat receivers to the outside:

RB Nate Sheppard gets to the outside for a 32 yard run

And even though Sheppard is fast, he’s not afraid to lay the wood on defenders either:

RB Nate Sheppard lowers the shoulder on the hit for a 12 yard run

Just look at the speed he makes these cuts:

RB Nate Sheppard makes a nice cut back inside for 11 yards

Sheppard can make a man miss in space, or he can just bulldoze right over the defender:

RB Nate Sheppard runs over a defender for the 12 yard TD

And while Sheppard is (rightfully) earning increased attention, I also think RB Anderson Castle is another very talented and underrated back. Castle is a more traditional power back, except he’s also shown some really nice skills in the receiving game as well.

RB Anderson Castle finds a lane for the 13 yard TD

Castle will churn his legs and fall forward in short yardage situations:

RB Anderson Castle powers his way into the endzone for the 2 yard TD

But just look at the way Castle can move the pile:

RB Anderson Castle gets a good push to pick up the 4th down conversion

Castle has nice hands and the ability to pick up extra yards after the catch:

RB Anderson Castle on the route out of the backfield for 17 yards

Duke’s original starter, Jaquez Moore, has since fallen by the way side. Moore seemed like a perfectly serviceable back in the limited action I’d seen him in so far this season:

RB Jaquez Moore has a nice run to the outside for 22 yards

And again:

RB Jaquez Moore makes a nice cutback for the 32 yard TD

So while the Duke passing game may get the headlines, I think their run game is underrated, and that’s what really helps open up the field for their passing attack.

Receivers

Duke also has some talented receivers. Mensah’s favorite target is the Harvard transfer, Cooper Barkate. Barkate, as the Z-receiver, will often be found all over the field. He does a good job of both gaining separation and finding open space:

WR Cooper Barkate beats the corner and gets open on the post for the 34 yard TD

Barkate has excelled at finding the soft spots of zone. He frequently works his way wide open:

WR Cooper Barkate finds himself open between 2 defenders for the 41 yard catch

Duke will also mix in some go-routes for Barkate, as he can use his speed to get open deep:

WR Cooper Barkate gets open down the sideline for the 46 yard catch

Another one of Mensah’s favorite targets is the Y-receiver, Que’Sean Brown (who is nicknamed “Queso”). Brown is the speedy slot receiver who is most often targeted near the line of scrimmage:

WR Que’Sean Brown catch and run on the slant for 26 yards

Although he’s only 5’8”, he has plenty of speed to make up for it:

WR Que’Sean Brown runs right past the defender for the 30 yard catch

Although I’d probably need to make a formal tally to be sure, the receiver I see most often on go-routes is the X-receiver Sahmir Hagans:

WR Sahmir Hagans gets open on the go route for the 33 yard TD from QB Darian Mensah

Here Hagans does a nice job adjusting to the slightly underthrown ball:

WR Sahmir Hagans makes a nice adjustment to the ball for the 15 yard TD

The other receiver frequently in the rotation is WR-X Andrel Anthony, the Michigan/Oklahoma transfer:

WR Andrel Anthony beats his man inside for the 6 yard TD

Although Duke primarily uses their tight ends for blocking, they will occasionally sneak out on routes:

TE Jeremiah Hasley with the catch out of the backfield for 15 yards

I’m also a fan of Utah transfer TE Landen King, who has legitimate receiving skills for a big man:

TE Landen King makes a nice catch over the defender in the endzone for the 17 yard TD from QB Darian Mensah

Backing up Cooper Barkate is the redshirt freshman Chase Tyler, who I primarily remember from this accidental play:

WR Chase Tyler catches the overthrown ball not intended for him with a nice run after the catch for 39 yards

Darian Mensah will spread the ball amongst his many talented receivers.

Conclusion

My read on Duke is that they’re a talented team that just hasn’t played as well as the sum of their parts. A lot of their issues are fixable, like poor tackling, penalties, or special teams miscues. Against Tulane: two false starts to push their FG back out of range, a fumbled hold on another FG try, a blocked FG, roughing the kicker on a punt to give a free first down, etc. Against Illinois: a muffed punt, having two #8s on the field for a punt return which gave Illinois the first down and led to an Illinois TD, 5 turnovers, and so on. The Syracuse game last week was more about Syracuse not looking too great with their starting QB injured, but the NC State win was impressive, turning a 21-20 game at halftime into a 45-33 win (24-13 Duke in the second half, when they played relatively mistake-free).

Duke should definitely be the favorite if they are firing on all cylinders, but the relatively narrow spread represents how often Duke has shot themselves in the foot this season. Vincent Anthony Jr. is a force on the defensive line, and he has the ability to disrupt drives with pressure (or continue them with unnecessary penalties), so JKS may need a plan to get the ball out quicker than in previous weeks. The Cal run game may find more success due to Duke’s tackling struggles (often opting for big hits instead of wrapping up), but if this game turns into a shoot-out, special teams may be the deciding factor here.

As always,

Go Bears!

You can find my full clips here.