The Duke football program started off its 2026 regular season with a 17-3 victory over Tulane at Wallace Wade Stadium on Saturday night.
Certain parts of the game look vastly improved from 2025, while others look like they may have taken a bit of a step back. All in all, the Blue Devils played a solid outing, but it was a win against a Tulane team that looked all out of sorts.
The Blue Devils should’ve won this game by much more than 14 points. Still, a win is a win. “Blue Devil Brief” will be our weekly column to break down Duke football’s season. This is our first edition. Let’s go over both sides of the ball.
Offense
Nate Sheppard
There’s nowhere else to start this recap than star sophomore running back Nate Sheppard. If it wasn’t clear before that he will be the catalyst for this team offensively, it is now.
Simply put, it looked easy for Sheppard all night, and it didn’t take long for head coach Manny Diaz and Co. to feed him the ball. Sheppard tallied 11 carries on Duke’s opening 17-play offensive drive and ended the first half with 19 carries for 139 yards and a touchdown, which included several big runs.
The Blue Devils continued to feed him the ball in the second half. Not only was Sheppard easily Duke’s most productive offensive player tonight, but he was really the only bright spot on the entire unit. Sheppard totaled 35 carries for 227 yards and two touchdowns, to go along with three catches for 19 yards.
Expect Sheppard to be fed in 2026. He accounted for 246 yards of offense. The rest of Duke’s offense as a whole combined for 135 yards.
Walker Eget
Walker Eget’s Duke debut was underwhelming, to say the least. The San Jose State transfer finished 13-of-26 (50%) passing for 131 yards.
Eget looked very uncomfortable, specifically in the first half. He missed at least two or three open receivers on big plays that would’ve resulted in touchdowns. He looked a little more in a groove in the second half, but his debut certainly left a lot to be desired.
Early in the fourth quarter, Duke made a change at QB, bringing in redshirt freshman Dan Mahan. He didn’t even attempt a pass on that drive, but when Eget returned to the field to replace Mahan, it seemed like there were “boos” heading his way. Not a great start.
Obviously, it’s early. Eget is in a brand-new system and is coming off surgery that kept him out of the spring. Nonetheless, it’s unclear after Week 1 how safe his starting job is.
Jonah Burton
After not receiving much praise throughout the offseason, Idaho State transfer wide receiver Jonah Burton appeared to be one of Eget’s top targets. Granted, Charlotte transfer Javen Nicholas was ruled out of this game shortly before kickoff, but Burton played a solid role in the opener.
Duke’s passing game didn’t get much going at all, as the unit tallied 13 catches for 131 yards and zero scores. Burton was the leading pass-catcher with three catches for 38 yards. The Blue Devils will need to find ways other than Sheppard to move the chains, but Burton could be a consistent part of the offense this season.
Jared Richardson
Now taking a step in the other direction, Jared Richardson was quiet in his debut with the Blue Devils. After an extremely productive four-year career at Penn, the 6’2″ wideout was widely expected to be this team’s top pass-catcher, but he didn’t have a catch in Week 1.
To be fair, this is not entirely on him at all. We mentioned that Duke had zero rhythm in the passing game; the entire offense combined for 13 catches. Still, Richardson will have to be more involved throughout the year.
Nick Del Grande and Braden Miller
Coastal Carolina transfer Nick Del Grande and California transfer Braden Miller looked great in their openers with Duke. They had the tough task of replacing the tackle spots that Brian Parker II and Bruno Fina left behind.
With all of the production Sheppard gave Duke tonight, credit has to be given to the offensive line. The unit as a whole looked great, and Del Grande and Miller look like two fantastic portal additions for Diaz and Co.
Defense
On paper, the Blue Devils played a stellar game defensively. Tulane didn’t score until the fourth quarter, accumulated 258 yards of total offense, and went 3-for-14 on third down. However, I’m not sure whether that was elite defense from Duke or whether Tulane looked completely disheveled on offense all night.
Bryce Davis
There were high hopes for Bryce Davis entering his sophomore year in Durham, and he delivered in the first game of the year. The edge tied the team lead in tackles with six, along with two sacks and three tackles for loss.
Davis could be the Blue Devils’ best all-around defender in 2026. We have discussed his potential extensively throughout the summer, and he put that on display on Saturday night.
Nick Morris Jr.
Nick Morris Jr. missed most of the 2025 campaign with a leg injury, but showed he will be a mainstay in the linebacker unit against Tulane. Morris matched Davis’ tackle total with six, with 0.5 TFL and a fumble recovery.
The Blue Devils’ linebacker corps could be one of the best in the ACC. Morris, Luke Mergott, Bradley Gompers, and Kendall Johnson all had their moments against the Green Wave.
Kyon Loud
Defensive coordinator Jonathan Patke said ahead of Week 1 that he was excited to watch the transfer defensive backs in game action for the first time. I was highly impressed with what Montana transfer Kyon Loud brought to the table.
Loud was listed as a starter in Duke’s first depth chart and went for two tackles and a pass deflection in Week 1. The box score numbers might not jump out at first glance, but he was everywhere on the field to contribute to shutting the Green Wave down offensively.
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