Duke makes the short drive to NC State looking to snap a two-game losing streak.  Here is a brief scouting report on several of the best players for the Blue Devils.    

OFFENSE

#6 QB Maalik Murphy 6’5 230 Redshirt Sophomore
Maalik Murphy, Duke’s starting quarterback is getting his first full season as a starter. He’s a redshirt sophomore who spent his first two years of college as a backup to Quinn Ewers at Texas.

Since he’s been the starting QB at Duke, he’s been one of the better quarterbacks in the ACC. Having thrown for 2,121 yards 20 tds and 8 ints. Given his size you’d think he’s pretty mobile. However, he’s actually one of the better pocket passing QBs in the ACC this season. Although, going through his tape, his best trait is that he throws with great velocity and has a very accurate deep ball.

Although he hasn’t had to go against many great defenses yet, this will be a great test for Murphy to see if he can put up big numbers against an NC State secondary that’s been playing its best football so far this season.  

#17 HB Star Thomas 6’0 210 Graduate
Star Thomas is a graduate transfer from New Mexico State, Where he was teammates with Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia for the past two seasons. In those last two seasons combined he ran for 1,178 yards and 9 rushing touchdowns. His longest run went for 57 yards in 2022, 40 yards last year, and this season his longest run went for 44 yards.

So he definitely has “big play potential.” 

One thing to note here is NC State’s run defense hasn’t been its best recently. Being ranked 4th to last in the ACC at 153.6 rush yards allowed per game. Against SMU, who currently is the best in the ACC in run defense, he had 17 carries for 65 yards and a touchdown. Against Miami (2nd in the ACC), he had 12 carries for 25 yards. So knowing that on paper he should have a field day against NC State’s defense. So if NC State wants to beat Duke this weekend. Stopping the run will be key. 

#8 WR Jordan Moore 6’0 195 Graduate
Jordan Moore has been a productive receiver for the Blue Devils since the 2022 season. Having 600+ receiving yards in the last two seasons.

He’s Duke’s starting Z receiver this season and has not slowed down on his production at all. You should see him lined up in the slot a lot, and with his experience, he’s one of those receivers who knows how to find open space in zones and can beat man coverage with ease.

I’d expect him to be matched up with NC State’s starting nickel corner Tamarcus Cooley who’s been exceeding expectations this year. That’ll be a fun matchup to watch all day on Saturday. 

#4 WR Eli Pancol 6’3 205 Graduate
Eli Pancol has been in Duke’s program for 5 years. During his time here he has been a consistent and reliable target. Which is proven when Pancol has reached a career high 41 receptions this season. That being said, I could see either Aydan White, Brandon Cisse, or Devon Marshall following Pancol around all game. He’s going to be someone Duke will use to get their passing game going so making him and Maalik Murphy uncomfortable early will be key. 

#53 OT Brian Parker II 6’5 300 Redshirt Sophomore
Brian Parker II is a returning offensive tackle for the Blue Devils where he started in 7 games last year. In that season as a redshirt freshman he won the team’s offensive rookie of the year award. Which says a lot even if you’re only a second-year player. He has a lengthy frame for a tackle and is quite mobile as well. He’ll have a size advantage when it comes to arm length against either Davin Vann or Travali Price. So it’ll be interesting to see how this matchup shapes out between either of them. 

DEFENSE

#7 DE Vincent Anthony Jr. 6’6 250 Junior
Watching Vincent Anthony Jr. with Duke this season, he is going to be a matchup nightmare for either Anthony Belton or Jacarrius Peak.

That being because of how long his arms are, being 6’6. The biggest thing with edge rushers outside of size and speed is arm length. That’s because the longer arms you have the easier it is for you to gain an advantage with things like swim moves, cross chops, pull slide rushes. All of those moves are much easier to execute with longer arms. He already has 4 sacks and 8 tackles for loss which is a career high for him in both categories

Having a defensive-minded head coach like Manny Diaz helps out a lot. It’ll be fun to see how either Anthony Belton or Jacarrius Peak will handle this matchup. 

#97 DE Wesley Williams 6’3 245 Redshirt Sophomore
Wesley Williams, the counterpart to Vincent Anthony Jr. is another strong edge defender for this Manny Diaz defense. This season he is another edge rusher who has reached career numbers under Coach Diaz’s first year at Duke. Having 4.5 sacks and 7 tackles for loss, clearly this will be another tough defensive line NC State will face this season. Which is nothing new for NC State, since they’ve been used to such challenges. Wesley Williams is also in his third year at Duke. Showing a lot of progression in his pass rush and run stuffing abilities setting the edge for this efficient Duke defense. He’s a bit of a speedster given his undersized 6’3 245 lb frame. Which has become a more common theme in modern edge rushers. However, he’s shown he’s a complete player as stated earlier with being able to stop the run given his size disadvantage. Him and Anthony Jr. will be one of the best edge rush duos NC State will face this season. 

#45 LB Ozzie Nicholas 6’2 225 Graduate
Ozzie Nicholas is a graduate transfer linebacker from Princeton.

Even though he's spent the last two years playing at that level. He’s more than proven that he’s good enough to play in the ACC. Being Duke’s leading tackler on defense, that’s not a new thing for him. Considering he was Princeton’s leading tackler as well with 102 total tackles on the year.

He’s been a good leader for this Blue Devil defense as well, with all of the experience he has tallied up in his football career. It’ll be interesting to see how he tries to stop CJ Bailey and the rest of this explosive NC State offense. 

#3 LB Alex Howard 6’2 230 Graduate
Alex Howard is another graduate transfer linebacker coming from Youngstown State. He had a career best 67 total tackles there in 2023.

He is about to match that number in tackles for Duke this season as well. More proof that Manny Diaz can get the most out of his guys. He also leads this Duke defense in sacks. Having a knack for getting to the quarterback and getting tackles for loss. Interestingly enough, Duke is 4th in the ACC in total team sacks at 26. I would expect Howard to be the main linebacker they use for blitzes. Which can usually mean he’s not the best in coverage.

Having only 1 career interception which was while he was at Youngstown State last season. Perhaps that could be something NC State can attack if they see he’s in coverage. I would expect Duke to blitz him a lot and also have him as a QB spy to make sure CJ Bailey doesn’t break outside the pocket for some big runs. I think another big key for NC State beating Duke is not letting Alex Howard have his way with the offense on Saturday. 

#0 CB Chandler Rivers 5’10 180 Junior
Chandler Rivers is the leader of this Duke secondary. Which has been the best in the ACC and 33rd in the country against the pass only allowing 192.6 passing yards per game. I would say if you want to see if CJ Bailey truly is legit. This would be the best test for him against this stingy pass defense that Duke has. Even though Chandler Rivers is 5’10 180, he has excellent ball skills. Matching his career high in pass breakups at Duke with 7 and a career high 3 interceptions. I don’t think NC State will target his side of the field much.

However, I do think they have the receivers to beat him one on one. It’ll just depend on when NC State decides to throw his way. It’ll be a good test for CJ Bailey against one of the best overall defenses in the country to see if he can continue the early success he’s had in his career.