Duke Football added some big bodies on Monday after picking up two FCS stars from Cornell and Holy Cross. Micah Sahakian, a three-star offensive tackle out of Mount Prospect, Illinois, committed to Cornell out of high school and played with the Big Red for four seasons. Eric Schon, another 3-star offensive lineman from Holy Cross, also committed after playing his full four years of eligibility with his team.
The offensive linemen are welcome additions to the Blue Devil’s offense who will try to replicate the success they had in the 2023 season.
Duke Looking For a Strong Line
Historically, Duke has been a basketball school (and lacrosse), but recently, they have had more success in football. This past season, the Blue Devils made it as high as 16th in the nation before ultimately dropping four of their final six games finishing unranked.
One of the issues that Duke faced was their overall depth, including the offensive line.
With the 61st-ranked rushing offense, 114th in passing yards per game, and 67th in points per game, it is obvious that Duke is focusing heavily on having a more explosive offense that can score more points. That will start with a strong offensive line.
Recently Added FCS-to-FBS Transfers
Micah Sahakian (OL) Cornell to Duke
Eric Schon (OL) Holy Cross to Duke
Terrence Spence (DB) Holy Cross to JMU
Jalen Travis (OL) Princeton to Iowa St
Daniel Keys (OL) SFA to LA Tech
Jacob Rizy (OL) Harvard to Florida Sthttps://t.co/cJomfEDPaP— Sam Herder (@SamHerderFCS) January 29, 2024
One of the best ways to get a strong line is to get older players being overlooked by other teams. Sahakian and Schon may be the perfect candidates. Both players are former 3-star prospects who have been playing college football for four years. Since they are coming from FCS schools, they very well may be overlooked and be just the kind of players Duke needs.
Can Duke Rebuild?
Duke is going through quite a few changes with a new quarterback, head coach, starting running back, and coaching staff in general. Manny Diaz is a good coach and has shown that he is able to build a strong program, the big question will be whether they will be able to rebuild quickly or not.
As mentioned before, Duke is not historically a football school. With so many new pieces needing to be replaced, one has to wonder whether they will be able to avoid being thrown back into being irrelevant like they have been for most of their history or if they will be able to still build off of the positive momentum they gained the past decade.
The Blue Devils open up their season against Elon on Friday, August 30th.
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