Offensive Duke stars to circle against Virginia: Nate Sheppard is one of the nation's best

Midseason All-American Sheppard headlines Blue Devils' attack

Oct 17, 2026; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils running back Nate Sheppard (20) runs the ball during the fourth quarter against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It doesn't take a football savant to recognize the focus of Duke's offensive game plan.

The Blue Devils' attack revolves heavily around sophomore tailback Nate Sheppard, who leads the ACC in rushing yards (820) and touchdowns (eight) through six games. He's not Duke's only threat, but you can be sure Virginia defensive coordinator John Rudzinski focused most of his attention this week on scheming to contain Sheppard on Friday night.

Starting with the obvious, here are three Duke offensive players to watch against the Cavaliers:

RB Nate Sheppard

A year ago, he was a complementary piece to quarterback Darian Mensah. After Mensah transferred to Miami, Sheppard has become the Blue Devils' unquestioned star and a top rival to Mensah for ACC player of the year.

He needs just 48 rushing yards Friday night to reach 2,000 in his career, barely midway through his second college season. Not only does he lead the conference in rushing, he also leads the Blue Devils in receptions (28), receiving yards (259) and receiving touchdowns (four).

Duke's coaching staff clearly make a point of getting him the ball as often as possible, and in a variety of ways. In the past two games alone, he's caught 19 passes, including 11 last week against North Carolina. Look for Kam Robinson to stay busy trying to minimize Sheppard's impact Friday night.

QB Walker Eget

Eget had some big shoes to fill in replacing Mensah. The graduate transfer from San Jose State hasn't been nearly as dynamic as his predecessor, but he's been efficient.

Through six games, Eget has completed 62.8 percent of his passes for 1,229 yards and eight touchdowns, with just two interceptions. Many of his throws have been checkdowns to Sheppard, but that's rarely a bad decision.

His two most prolific passing games of the season have come in the past two weeks: 259 yards against Georgia Tech and 249 against North Carolina. Duke lost both games. The Cavaliers would like to take their chances on Eget's arm beating them rather than Sheppard's legs.

C Bradley Smith

Graduate student Matt Craycraft has anchored the Blue Devils' offensive line for the past three years, but he suffered an injury against UNC last week and won't play Friday. Duke shifted Smith, a sophomore, from right guard to center last week, and he'll likely start there again on Friday.

Nothing can short-circuit a successful run game faster than problems with snaps to the quarterback, or confusion in blocking schemes. Smith will be making just his eighth career start, and his first at center. The Cavaliers hope to expoit his inexperience.