Three Duke Players To Watch On Saturday vs Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech welcomes in 4-0 Duke, who is looking to get their fifth win of the season. Today, we take a look at three key players to watch on Saturday who could pose problems for the Yellow Jackets if they don’t slow them down.

1. RB Nate Sheppard

One of the best running backs in the country comes to town and is looking to wreak havoc against the Yellow Jackets. Sheppard has been a terror all season for defenses and is averaging 7.1 yards per carry. He also has six touchdowns and is already on track for a career season with the Blue Devils. Sheppard has his best game of the season in the opener vs Tulane.

He rushed for a season-high 227 yards and two touchdowns, with his longest run coming from 47 yards. Sheppard brings a bevy of problems with his cutback ability, getting downhill, and how tough he is to bring down. All those things put together and you have one of the best running backs in college football.

“Offensively it all starts with 20 (Nate Sheppard). Again, I said this on Tuesday; he's a guy that we know well here. Unbelievable kid.A great player, he's leading the country right now in rushing. Dynamic player, but just the character that kid has that Nate has is what's off the charts. You see it in how the teammates play around him and block for him and block down the field. But they better all be blocking because I mean, he'll hit that thing and bounce it out the front side or hit the cutback,” said Key.

“It could be designed to go inside and one guy out of the gap or loses container, he's gonna pop it or he'll stretch it and hit the cutback lanes. He's all around back.”

2. QB Walker Eget

The veteran quarterback has finally gotten a chance to showcase what he can do, and he has been a key player in helping the Blue Devils get off to a 4-0 start. Eget has thrown for 721 yards, six touchdowns, and just one interception all season. Like Sheppard, he is having a career season and already has a career high in completion percentage and passer rating through just four games this year for Duke.

He has been confident and composed and has been a great complement through the passing game for this offense. Eget had his best game against Illinois, completing 15 of 21 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns. He’s been getting it done, and his performance will determine how successful the Blue Devils are on Saturday.

“Quarterback is a sixth-year player, very experienced. He knows what they wanna do and what they wanna accomplish on offense. He's been around, seen a lot of football. He can deliver the ball where it needs to go. He does an unbelievable job now of just his composure in the pocket, whether it's run, pass, play action, RPO, doesn't matter. He looks the same every time. Doesn't give up giveaway tails. You can see the veteran in him. You really can. Just the calmness he has, regardless of what the score is, he's just playing that play,” said Key.

3. CB Dylan Flowers

The sticky cornerback has been a great pickup for Duke this offseason from Western Kentucky. Flowers has 19 tackles and two passes defensed. He had his best game against Stanford, finishing with seven tackles and a pass defensed. Although the Blue Devils don’t have a great pass defense, Flowers is a player they lean on to get those stops and make plays on opposing offenses. The reason he comes into play is because of the success Georgia Tech has had with big plays from Dalen Penson and Jordan Allen. More than likely, Flowers will be matched up on either of them, or maybe even both, and will be in coverage trying to make plays. It won’t be easy, but if the Yellow Jackets can exploit this matchup, it could be advantageous for them. However, Flowers is one of the better corners in the ACC and will be tough to throw against.

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