CENTRAL FLORIDA KNIGHTS NOTES:
• For the first time in history, the UCF football team is headed to the Military Bowl. UCF will meet Atlantic Coast Conference representative Duke at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2022, in 34,000- seat Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland, in the Military Bowl presented by Peraton, benefiting the USO. The game will be televised by ESPN.
• It’s a program-record seventh consecutive postseason bowl appearance for the Knights, the 10th in 11 seasons and the 14th in 18 years. UCF also previously played in the NCAA Division II playoffs in 1987 and in the NCAA FCS Playoffs in 1990 and 1993.
• UCF is looking for its seventh bowl win in program history and second consecutive after the Knights defeated Florida in the Gasparilla Bowl. A win against the Blue Devils would give UCF a bowl win in consecutive years for just the second time (2012-13).
• The Knights are also in search of their ninth 10-win season in program history and their fourth in the last six seasons. UCF last won 10 games in 2019 with a 10-3 mark, after compiling a 12-1 record in 2018 and a 13-0 mark in 2017.
• UCF just completed its final season in the American Athletic Conference. In 10 seasons as a member of the AAC, the Knights compiled a 57-23 (.713) mark in regular-season conference games.
• UCF accepted an invitation to join the Big 12 Conference on Sept. 10, 2021, then-Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, UCF director of athletics Terry Mohajir, and UCF President Alex Cartwright announced in a release. The Knights athletics program has now moved from Division III, Division II, the FCS level, the FBS level that included time in the MAC, Conference USA, the AAC, and now to the Big 12 Conference.
• UCF’s red zone defense continues to rank among the best in the country at No. 5 nationally, as opponents have scored on 68% of their trips to the red zone, converting on 37-of-54 attempts. The Knights have allowed 24 touchdowns in the red zone in 54 trips for opponents, a 44% rate. UCF has forced at least one red zone stop in 10 of its 13 games this season, headlined by a season-high five red zone stops against Georgia Tech.
• The Knights’ rushing attack ranks eighth nationally, averaging 236.1 rushing yards per game. UCF has rushed for 200 or more yards in nine of its 13 games this season, headlined by a season-high 345 rushing yards in the win over South Florida. The Knights’ 33 rushing touchdowns this season are tied for 10th nationally and lead the conference.
• UCF’s offense has been ranked among the nation’s best throughout the season, as the squad is 11th with 480.6 yards per game. The Knights are one of just four teams (Ohio State, Oklahoma, Tennessee) nationally to surpass 650 yards of total offense in two games this season. UCF had a season-high 737 yards against Temple, the second most by any team in a single game this year, and 653 yards against Florida Atlantic.
A WIN WOULD…
• Give UCF 10 wins for the ninth time in program history and eighth time in the FBS era of the program
• Give UCF its seventh bowl win in program history
• Give the Knights bowl wins in consecutive seasons for the second time
• Give Gus Malzahn and the Knights their first win against Duke in the first meeting for both
• Be better than a loss
SERIES BREAKDOWN
The Military Bowl matchup will be the first meeting between the programs, as the Knights and Blue Devils have never met on the gridiron. Duke and UCF share two common opponents this season, as both teams defeated Temple (UCF: 70-13, Duke: 30-0) and the Knights defeated Georgia Tech (27-10), while the Blue Devils were edged in overtime by the Yellow Jackets (23-20).
THE OPPONENT
• After winning just three games overall last season and zero conference games, first-year Duke head coach Mike Elko has put together one of the best turnarounds in college football. The Blue Devils are 8-4 overall and 5-3 in Atlantic Coast Conference play, which resulted in Elko earning ACC Coach of the Year honors.
• Duke is coming off a 34-31 win against Wake Forest in its most recent game of the season on Nov. 26. The Blue Devils own a 6-8 all-time record in bowl games and the squad is making its first appearance in a bowl since 2018.
• The Blue Devils have committed very few turnovers this season, as they rank 10th nationally and first in the ACC in fumbles lost with four and they are No. 1 nationally for most fumbles recovered with 15.
KNIGHT NOTES
SEVENTH CONSECUTIVE BOWL APPEARANCE
For the first time in history, the UCF football team will play in the Military Bowl. UCF (9-4) will meet Atlantic Coast Conference representative Duke (8-4) at 2 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2022, in 34,000-seat Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland, in the Military Bowl presented by Peraton, benefiting the USO. The game will be televised by ESPN. It’s a program-record seventh consecutive postseason bowl appearance for the Knights, the 10th in 11 seasons and the 14th in 18 years. UCF also previously played in the NCAA Division II playoffs in 1987 and in the NCAA FCS Playoffs in 1990 and 1993. The Knights previously have played twice each in the Fiesta Bowl (following 2014 and 2018 seasons), Liberty Bowl (2007 and 2010), St. Petersburg Bowl (2009 and 2014) and Gasparilla Bowl (2019 and 2021) and once each in the Hawaii Bowl (2005), Beef O’Brady’s Bowl (2012), Cure Bowl (2016), Peach Bowl (2017) and Boca Raton Bowl (2020). The Military Bowl has been played since 2008—the first two seasons as the EagleBank Bowl and then as the Military Bowl beginning with the 2010 campaign. The game benefits the USO and Patriot Point, the Military Bowl Foundation’s 294-acre retreat for wounded, ill and injured service members, their families and caregivers.
Here are details of UCF’s previous postseason appearances (6-7 in bowl games, 6-10 overall):
— 1987–Troy defeated UCF 31-10 in NCAA Division II Playoffs
— 1990—Georgia Southern defeated UCF 44-7 in NCAA FCS Playoffs
— 1993–Youngstown State defeated UCF 56-30 in NCAA FCS Playoffs
— 2005—Nevada defeated UCF 49-48 in Hawaii Bowl
— 2007—Mississippi State defeated UCF 10-3 in Liberty Bowl
— 2009—Rutgers defeated UCF 45-24 in St. Petersburg Bowl
— 2010—UCF defeated Georgia 10-6 in Liberty Bowl
— 2012—UCF defeated Ball State 38-17 in Beef O’Brady’s Bowl
— 2013—#15 UCF defeated #6 Baylor 52-42 in Fiesta Bowl
— 2014—NC State defeated UCF 34-27 in St. Petersburg Bowl
— 2016—Arkansas State defeated UCF 31-13 in Cure Bowl
— 2017–#12 UCF defeated #7 Auburn 34-27 in Peach Bowl
— 2018–#11 LSU defeated #7 UCF 40-32 in Fiesta Bowl
— 2019—UCF defeated Marshall 48-25 in Gasparilla Bowl
— 2020–#13 BYU defeated UCF 49-23 in Boca Raton Bowl
— 2021—UCF defeated Florida 29-17 in Gasparilla Bow
UCF VERSUS THE ACC
UCF will face its third ACC opponent of the season when it takes on Duke in the bowl game. The Knights fell to Louisville, 20-14, but defeated Georgia Tech, 27-10. Duke and UCF share two common opponents this season, as both teams defeated Temple (UCF: 70-13, Duke: 30-0) and the Knights defeated Georgia Tech (27-10), while the Blue Devils were edged in overtime by the Yellow Jackets (23-20).
WRAPPING UP THE AMERICAN
UCF wrapped up play in the American Athletic Conference by playing for its fifth conference championship on Saturday, Dec. 3. The Knights won the title in the first year of the conference in 2013, again in 2014, 2017 and 2018. UCF’s four AAC Championships are the most of any school.
UCF compiled a 57-23 (.713) mark in regular-season conference games in 10 seasons as a member of the American Athletic Conference, which is the most wins and best winning percentage of any team.
WELCOME TO THE BIG 12
Effective July 1, 2023, UCF will be one of 14 members of the Big 12 Conference. The Knights will join the league along with BYU, Cincinnati and Houston. UCF participates in every sport sponsored by the Big 12 except equestrian, gymnastics, swimming & diving and wrestling. The Big 12 sponsors every sport UCF competes in except men’s soccer, which will join the Sun Belt Conference. This marks the second time in the Conference’s 26-year history that new members were added. Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas State, Kansas, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech have been members since the Big 12 began in 1996, with TCU and West Virginia joining in 2011.
MATCHUP TO KEEP AN EYE ON
Both teams love to run the football. In fact, UCF has rushed for 200 or more yards in nine of its 13 games this season and Duke has surpassed the 200 rushing yards mark in six games. The Knights are seventh nationally and second in the American Athletic Conference with 236 rushing yards per game, while the Blue Devils are 40th in the nation and third in the Atlantic Coast Conference with 184.8. Defensively, UCF has allowed 156.2 rushing yards per game and opponents have averaged 121.1 against Duke.
PLUMLEE CHASING HISTORY
With 11 rushing touchdowns this season, UCF quarterback John Rhys Plumlee is one rushing touchdown shy of tying for the most by a quarterback in a single season in program history. Daunte Culpepper holds the record with 12 rushing touchdowns in a single season set in 1998.
DUKE BLUE DEVILS NOTES:
OPENING KICKOFF
• Duke is set to make it’s 15th bowl appearance when it faces off against UCF on Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium … the game will be televised live by ESPN.
• Wednesday will mark the first meeting on the gridiron between these two programs … they do have two familiar foes from the 2022 regular season schedule in Georgia Tech and Temple … the Blue Devils went 1-1 against those opponents, while the Knights finished 2-0.
• The Blue Devils have won three-straight bowl games, which entered the bowl season tied for the 10th longest active streak nationally … among ACC teams, only Syracuse has a longer active streak at four wins.
• Duke head coach Mike Elko and nine Blue Devils were honored with ACC recognition at the conclusion of the regular season … Elko was tabbed the league’s Coach of the Year, joining Bill Murray (1954, 1960, 1962), Steve Spurrier (1988, 1989), Fred Goldsmith (1994), and David Cutcliffe (2012, 2013) as the Duke coaches to receive the honor … Elko was later tabbed a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award and a semifinalist for the George Munger Coach of the Year Award.
• Duke has recorded 200-plus rushing yards on six different occasions this year and ranks third in the ACC and 39th nationally with 184.75 ground yards per contest.
• Duke and Florida State are the only two teams in the ACC to be averaging 184.00-plus rushing and 235.00-plus passing yards per game on the season.
• This season, sophomore quarterback Riley Leonard is 231-of-364 (.635) passing for 2,794 yards with 20 touchdowns and has rushed 114 times for 636 yards with 11 scores … for that effort he ranks third in the ACC in total offense (285.83), trailing North Carolina’s Drake Maye (366.77) and Wake Forest’s Sam Hartman (321.36) … in addition, he is one of three quarterbacks nationally with 11-plus rushing and 20-plus passing scores on the year, joining Oregon’s Bo Nix and UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson … Leonard became the first player in Duke history with 10-plus rushing and 20-passing scores in a single season.
• Senior wide receiver Jalon Calhoun is 189 receiving yards shy of reaching 1,000 on the year … he would become the 10th Blue Devil to achieve the feat and first since current Buffalo Bills wide receiver Jamison Crowder did so in 2014 with 1,044 … Calhoun has 197 career receptions and 2,298 receiving yards to his name to rank fifth and ninth in program history, respectively.
Wednesday’s game will mark the first on the gridiron between the two schools … the Blue Devils are coming off a 34-31 victory over Wake Forest in their regular season finale, while the Knights dropped a 45-28 decision to No. 18 Tulane in the AAC Championship Game during their
last outing.
OFFENSIVE NOTES
Duke’s single-game record for pass completion percentage was set in Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium … on October 30, 2010, Sean Renfree completed 28-of-30 (.933) pass attempts to establish the new Blue Devil standard as Duke defeated Navy, 34-31 … the previous record of .852 (23-of-27) was set by Spence Fischer on October 1, 1994 against Navy – also at Navy-Marine-Corps Memorial Stadium. The Duke men’s lacrosse program has enjoyed postseason success at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, winning three NCAA Tournament quarterfinal games in
2007 (19-11 over North Carolina), 2009 (12-11 over North Carolina) and 2018 (14-9 over Johns Hopkins).
GOING BOWLING
After earning their sixth win of the year against Boston College on Nov. 4th, the Blue Devils became bowl eligible for the first time since 2018 when they beat Temple in the Walk-On’s Independence Bowl … Mike Elko becomes just the second head coach in school history to lead his team to bowl eligibility in his first season (Fred Goldsmith, 1994). Duke, North Carolina, N.C. State and Wake Forest are expected to play in a bowl game in the same season for the first time ever.
OUTSCORING OPPONENTS
The Blue Devils are outscoring their opponent 397-274 … they are also outscoring their opponents in three-of-four quarters this year. Duke has recorded points in 43-of-48 quarters played in regulation, with its lone blemishes being the first quarter against Georgia Tech and Miami as well as the third quarter against Kansas, North Carolina and Pittsburgh. Three of Duke’s eight wins on the year have come against Virginia Tech, Miami and Virginia, who outscored the Blue Devils by a combined 143-27 just a year ago … Duke flipped the script this season and defeated the trio by a combined 107-45.
REGULAR SEASON FINISH
The last time Duke played a regular season and did not lose at least one game by 10-plus points was 1953 … that team went 7-2-1 with losses to Army (14-13) and Georgia Tech (13-10).
MARGIN OF DEFEAT
Duke has four losses on the year by a combined 16 points … of the 12 Power 5 schools with four losses, the Blue Devils’ 16-point margin is the lowest … Duke is followed by Texas (18), Illinois (20), Notre Dame (29) and N.C. State (41).
NON-CONFERENCE WINS
Over the last 10 years, Duke holds a 29-7 (.806) regular season and 32-9 (.780) overall record against non-conference opponents … in its last 25 non-conference games, Duke is 19-6 (.760).
SCORING FIRST
Duke is 6-0 this season when scoring first … in five of those six games, the Blue Devils registered a touchdown to begin the scoring and four were on their opening drive.
OFFENSIVE LINE UNIT
One of Duke’s most veteran groups heading into the year was its offensive line … led by team captain Jacob Monk, the Blue Devils have been able to use a consistent rotation of upperclassmen in graduate students Jack Burns, Brian Foley, Andre Harris, and Chance Lytle as well redshirt junior John Gelotte and junior Graham Barton. Duke’s offensive line currently ranks first in the ACC and tied for 31st nationally in sacks allowed with just 17 on the year … the unit also is first in the league and tied for 10th nationally in tackles for loss allowed relinquishing just 4.00 per outing.
DUKE AND THE RUN GAME
Duke is third and fourth in the ACC in rushing offense (184.75) and rushing yards (2,217), respectively … four players have been at the forefront of that attack in RBs Jaylen Coleman, Jaquez Moore and Jordan Waters as well as QB Riley Leonard. All four have 420-plus rushing yards on the year, led by Leonard’s 636 yards on 114 carries with 11 scores … Waters follows closely with 561 yards on a team-high 120 rushes with eight touchdowns … Ja. Moore and Coleman have chipped in with 465 and 427 rushing yards with four touchdowns each … prior to 2022, the Blue Devils had never had four players with 300-plus rushing yards in the same season. The quartet make Duke the only school in the ACC with four players with 400-plus rushing yards.
RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS
Duke ranks tied for third in the ACC and tied for 23rd nationally with 28 rushing scores on the year … the 28 rushing touchdowns tie with the 2013 team for the second-most in program history … the Blue Devils are one rushing score away from tying the program record of 29
achieved during the 1954 season.
Duke’s foursome of Riley Leonard (11), Jordan Waters (8), Jaylen Coleman (4) and Jaquez Moore (4) make up the Blue Devils first quartet to register four-plus rushing scores in a season since 1948 when the stat was first tracked by the school.
BIG GAINS AND QUICK STARTS
Through 12 games in 2022, sophomore QB Riley Leonard has registered 45 passes of 20-plus yards. Leonard is strong out of the gate as well … the Fairhope, Ala., native is a combined 120-of-177 (.678) passing in Duke’s first half, including a 55-of-74 (.743) mark in the first quarter.
SCORING DRIVES
The Blue Devils have produced 14 scoring drives of 10- plus plays this season, after recording two (11-43 yards and 10-60 yards) against Wake Forest during their last outing.
YARDS PER RUSH
As a team, the Blue Devils rank second in the ACC with a 4.99 yards per rush average … Jaquez Moore and Riley Leonard are first and eighth in the conference with a 6.94 and 5.58 yards per rush mark, respectively.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
VETERAN LEADERS
DT DeWayne Carter and LB Shaka Heyward both bring a wealth of experience with them and over 38 career games played and 1,900 career snaps … Carter leads a youthful defensive line, while Heyward anchors the linebacker unit for the third consecutive season.
ETCHING HIS NAME
In 51 career games (41 starts), redshirt senior LB Shaka Heyward has compiled 339 tackles, 32.5 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, four interceptions, five fumble recoveries, nine pass breakups, and 12 quarterback pressures … after recorded a game-high 13 tackles during Duke’s regular season finale against Wake Forest, Heyward im- proved to 13th all-time on Duke’s career tackles chart … he has also added 32.5 career tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks to rank 12th and tied for 14th in Blue Devil lore. While playing 3,400 career snaps, he has 12 double-digit tackle games, including a career-high 16 stops against North Carolina A&T in 2021 … Heyward currently has 36 career games with five-plus tackles.
FUMBLE RECOVERIES
Duke is tied for leading the nation with 15 fumble recoveries on the year … 11 different Blue Devils have accounted for those recoveries … redshirt junior DeWayne Carter (3), redshirt senior Shaka Heyward (2) and sophomore Brandon Johnson (2) make Duke one of three schools in the ACC with three players with two-plus recoveries on the year (Georgia Tech and Louisville). Duke’s 38 fumble recovery yards rank fourth in the ACC.
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS
Throughout Duke’s 12 games, it has scored 51 points off of nine opponent turnovers … Duke scored a sea- son-high 31 points off of five Miami turnovers on Oct. 22.
RACKING UP THE SACKS
Over Duke’s last six games, it has recorded 20 of its 30 total sacks on the year … the Blue Devils currently rank tied for seventh in the ACC in sacks and compiled a season-best six against Miami on Oct. 22 … redshirt junior DT DeWayne Carter and sophomore DB Brandon Johnson
lead the team with 5.5 sacks on the year, followed by redshirt junior DE R.J. Oben with 3.5. Johnson is 0.5 sacks away from breaking into Duke’s top-15 for a single-season … he would be the only defensive back on the list.
DEFENSIVE PRESSURE
Duke has recorded 62 tackles for loss to just 48 for its opponents … leading the way for the Blue Devils is red- shirt junior defensive tackle DeWayne Carter with 11.0 tackles for loss on the year … Brandon Johnson (7.5), Darius Joiner (7.0), Shaka Heyward (6.0), and R.J.
Oben (5.5) have each recorded 5.5-plus tackles for loss to help Duke’s cause. In addition, the Blue Devils have registered 46 quarterback pressures to 32 for their opponents … Oben leads the team with nine, while Carter and junior Aeneas Peebles follow closely with six.
LIMIT THE SCORING
In 2021, the Blue Devils finished last in the ACC in scoring defense (39.8) and 127th nationally … this season, they rank sixth in the ACC and tied for 36th nationally in scoring defense, limiting their opponents to just 22.83 points per game.
FOURTH DOWN DEFENSE
The Blue Devil fourth down defense has limited opponents to just 9-of-22 conversions for a .409 percentage … that mark ranks fifth in the league, which is up from their .692 percent mark in 2021 (9-of-13).
STAND YOUR GROUND
Duke has nine players with 40-plus tackles on the year, led by redshirt senior Shaka Heyward (93), graduate student Darius Joiner (90), and junior Jaylen Stinson (69) … the trio make Duke one of three schools in the ACC with at least three student-athletes with 69-plus tackles on the year (Boston College and N.C. State).
RUSHING DEFENSE
Duke currently ranks fourth in the ACC in rushing defense, allowing just 121.08 yards per outing … it has held five of its 12 opponents to under 100 yards rushing on the season … opponents are averaging 3.73 yards per carry with just eight rushing scores. Since 1970, there have only been five Duke teams that have held its opponents to less than 15 rushing scores in a single-season.
DUKE SINGLE-SEASON RUSHING TDS ALLOWED SINCE
1970
Rank Year Number
- 1971 11
- 1972 12
1985 12 - 1973 14
- 1994 15
TURNOVER MARGIN
After finishing the 2021 season last in the ACC in turnover margin, the Blue Devils are tied for second nationally in the category with +1.17 turnovers per game … they trail Southern California (+1.69) … Duke has six offensive interceptions and four fumbles compared to its 24 turnovers gained … those turnovers gained are tied for 11th in the country and second in the ACC behind Louisville (30).
CARTER FINDING HIS RHYTHM
Redshirt junior DT DeWayne Carter has recorded 84 tackles, 21.5 tackles for loss, 11.0 sacks, five pass breakups, 12 quarterback pressures, three fumble recoveries and seven caused fumbles in his Blue Devil career … he is 0.5 sacks away from breaking into Duke’s top-15 in the category. In 2022, Carter is tied for third nationally in fumble recoveries (3) and tied for 11th in forced fumbles (3) … Carter’s seven career forced fumbles rank tied with Bob Grupp and Matt Daniels for fourth all-time on Duke’s career chart.
DEFENSIVE SECONDARY
The starting defensive secondary is compiled of sophomore Brandon Johnson, graduate student Darius Joiner, sophomore Joshua Pickett, freshman Chandler Rivers, junior Jaylen Stinson, and graduate student Datrone “Speedy” Young. This unit has compiled 55 pass breakups on the year to
rank fourth in the league, trailing only Clemson (66), Pittsburgh (65), and Wake Forest (63) … 14 of those 55 pass breakups came in Duke’s victory at Northwestern … over the last 10 years, the Blue Devils have registered double-digit pass breakups in a single game on three other occasions (10 vs. Virginia in 2014; 11 vs. Miami in 2013; 10 at Virginia Tech in 2013). Duke is one of two schools in the ACC with five players with six-plus pass breakups on the year, joining Pittsburgh.
DEFENSIVE MINDSET
Head coach Mike Elko is known for his successful defenses … the former defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Texas A&M helped lead the Aggies to a 34-14 (.708) record and four consecutive bowl games during his four-year tenure … in his final season, he mentored the group to the No. 3 national ranking in scoring defense, allowing just 15.92 points per game, as well as the No. 9 pass efficiency defense (112.00) and No. 7 red zone defense (.710) … Texas A&M also ranked seventh in the country by allowing just 4.66 yards per play, tied for 10th in fourth down defense (.353), tied for 12th in total sacks (39.0) and defensive touchdowns (3), 16th in third down defense (.328) and 20th in total defense (327.5).
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
SPECIAL TEAMS SCORING POINTS
Since 2018, Duke has registered points on special teams on 10 different occasions … in 2018, RB Deon Jackson posted a kickoff return for a touchdown against Miami on the game’s opening drive … in 2019, S Javon Jackson registered his lone career touchdown when he returned a blocked punt 14 yards for the score against Georgia Tech. 2020 was filled with five point-scoring plays on special teams — WR Damond Philyaw-Johnson earned two kickoff returns for a touchdown against Wake Forest, while LB Shaka Heyward and S Jaylen Stinson recovered muffed punts for touchdowns against Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech, respectively … LB Dorian Mausi added a recovered blocked punt for a score against NC State that season as well … last season, Stinson broke free for two kickoff returns for touchdowns against Pittsburgh and Miami. During Duke’s contest with Georgia Tech earlier this season, redshirt freshman Sahmir Hagans scored his first special teams touchdown with an 81-yard punt return for a touchdown.
BLOCK PARTY
During Duke’s outing against Pittsburgh, freshman Chandler Rivers blocked the Blue Devils’ second punt on the year … junior Ryan Smith also blocked a punt for Duke this season against Virginia on Oct. 1 … the pair join teammates Isaiah Fisher-Smith, Darrell Harding Jr., and Rocky Shelton II with at least one blocked kick in their Duke career … Fisher-Smith leads the group after compiling three career blocked punts … he’s also added a recovery of a blocked punt during Duke’s game against Charlotte in 2020.
NET PUNTING
After 12 games in 2022, the Blue Devils are fourth in the ACC in net punting with a 39.98 mark.
SNAP IT BACK
Graduate student long snapper Evan Deckers joined the Blue Devils during the spring after an impressive career at Massachusetts,
He lettered four years at Massachusetts, playing in 40 career games … Deckers earned Second Team All-Independent honors by Phil Steele just a season ago … the Avon, Conn., native helped the Minutemen kickers convert 27-of-36 field goals and 102-of-106 PATs during his tenure … he also assisted the punting unit on 226 punts for 9,290 yards (41.11), including 57 punts downed inside the 20. In his first year in a Blue Devil uniform, Deckers has helped the Duke kickers convert on 14-of-21 FGs and 49- of-49 PATs … in addition, he’s assisted P Porter Wilson on 42 punts for 1,813 yards.
HOLD ON
For the fifth consecutive season, Duke relies on graduate student Jackson Hubbard to handle the holding responsibilities on placement kicks.
THE RETURN GAME
Junior Jaylen Stinson has been Duke’s primary punt return specialist in 2022 … the Opelika, Ala., native has registered 15 kick returns for 380 yards (25.3) … his kick return yardage and kick returns rank him third in the ACC in both categories. As a team, Duke’s 30 kick returns rank tied for second in the ACC, while its 623 kick return yards rank third. Duke’s punt return unit of senior WR Jalon Calhoun and redshirt freshman WR Sahmir Hagans has the Blue Devils’ first in the ACC with 259 combined punt return yards … Hagans is fourth in the league with 146 return yards on the year, while Calhoun is ninth with 113. During Duke’s game against Georgia Tech, Hagans broke free for a career-long 81-yard punt return for a touchdown … that return marked Duke’s first since Jamison Crowder did so against Arizona State in the 2014 Sun Bowl. The 81-yard punt return for a touchdown was the eighth-longest single-game total in Duke history, while the total punt return yardage (139) ranks as the second-highest single-game total in Duke history
PELINO STEPPING UP
Freshman K Todd Pelino saw action in his first career game during Duke’s outing against Miami … since then, he’s converted on 25-, 28-, 32-, 39- and 42-yard field goals as well as all 21 of his PAT attempts.
PUNTING EXPERIENCE
Redshirt junior Porter Wilson has been Duke’s starting punter for the last three seasons … he has punted 156 times for 6,821 yards (43.72) with 56 boots downed inside the opponent 20-yard line against eight touchbacks in 35 career games … he has 39 punts of 50-plus yards
and registered a career-long 70-yard punt against Georgia Tech in 2020. His career punting yards rank 11th on Duke’s all-time chart … he is 411 yards award from breaking into Duke’s top-10.
PATs and FGs
The Blue Devils kicking unit comprised of Charlie Ham and Todd Pelino have converted on all 49 of their PAT attempts … that mark ranks Duke fifth in the ACC for total PATs.
KICKING WITH HAM
Redshirt junior Charlie Ham is back as Duke’s primary kicker … last year, he recorded a team-high 74 points on 14-of-20 (.700) field goals and 32-of-32 (1.000) PATs … he also tallied 55 kickoffs for 3,211 yards (58.38) with 22 touchbacks against two boots out of bounds. During his Blue Devil tenure, Ham has totaled 199 points on 36-of-50 (.720) FGs and 91-of-93 (.978) PATs … in addition, he has kicked off 136 times for 8,298 yards (60.01) with 71 touchbacks against three boots out of bounds.
He’s currently sixth on Duke’s all-time scoring ledger and is one point away from becoming the sixth player to reach 200-plus points in their career … Ham is also tied with Doug Peterson for fourth on Duke’s career charts for most field goals, fourth in PATs and has converted 75 consecutive PATs … the 75 consecutive PATs place him third all-time in program lore.
ALL-PURPOSE FOR CALHOUN
Senior WR Jalon Calhoun has registered 950 all-purpose yards on the year from 811 receiving, 113 punt and 26 kick return yards … the Greenville, S.C., native earned a career-best 24-yard kick return and 43-yard punt return against the Cavaliers earlier this season.
ALL-ACC PRAISE FOR CALHOUN
At the conclusion of the regular season, senior WR Jalon Calhoun was honored with Third Team All-ACC nods as a return specialist … in addition, Calhoun garnered Honorable Mention All-ACC accolades as an all-purpose player.
LIMITING RETURNS
The Blue Devils have held opponents to just 74 punt return yards on the season … an average of just 5.7 yards per return … the longest return Duke allowed was a 16-yarder against Kansas.
