Football is won in the trenches.
Duke football’s front seven has become one of the program’s most talked-about units for good reason. The Blue Devils return great experience from its 2024 defense, which ranked second nationally in tackles for loss per game (8.9), second in fumbles recovered (14) and fourth in sacks per game (3.3). That experience includes edge rushers Wesley Williams and Vincent Anthony Jr., and Aaron Hall on the interior. There are several new faces, too, including Dartmouth transfer Josiah Greene inside and true freshman Bryce Davis — the highest-rated recruit in Duke’s 2025 class — on the edge.
At linebacker, Duke returns fifth-year senior Tre Freeman along with a healthy Nick Morris. It also bolsters its linebacker corps with Utah State grad transfer Jaiden Francois and true freshman Bradley Gompers – the second-highest rated recruit in Duke’s 2025 cycle behind Davis.
“You hear the expression ‘Big guys start the way, it starts up front,'” Williams said during an Aug. 19 media availability.
“It’s all true. We gotta set the tone. We gotta be the hammer not the nail. So I think every day, kind of bringing your hard hat and going and doing your job, striking somebody, being violent, physical, that’s what we’re all about. That’s what we harp on. So that’s who we want to be, who we are.”
It is a front seven that redshirt junior offensive lineman Brian Parker II called “one of the best I’ve seen while I’ve been here.” Parker II enters the 2025 season as the No. 9 returning offensive tackle per Pro Football Focus, having only allowed one sack across more than 800 snaps per PFF.
It’s a…
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Publish date : 2025-08-20 08:02:00
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