Nate Sheppard ran into the end zone again and again Saturday against Boston College. After the fifth time, a Duke record, he struck the Heisman pose. The 47-2 win made the Blue Devils (6-2, 3-2 ACC) bowl-eligible for a fifth straight season, thanks in part to Sheppard's record-breaking season, which includes 19 total touchdowns and leading the country in touchdowns and scoring.
Two days before Sheppard scored 30 points on five runs, Duke coach Manny Diaz believed his running back belonged in the Heisman conversation. "I don't know why the running back thing has become so devalued," he told CBS Sports. "Obviously there's great wideouts and quarterbacks all over the country.
I understand that. … I mean, whether they throw it to you or hand it to you, it's a big deal. And he has the ability to affect winning, which is, to me, what that award should go to." Analysts and outsiders didn't expect this to happen at Duke. The bulk of Duke's offense walked out the door in January.
Darian Mensah, the quarterback who led the Blue Devils to their first outright ACC Championship since 1962, entered the transfer portal on the final day of the window and landed at Miami. His favorite target, wide receiver Cooper Barkate, followed. Mensah threw for 3,973 yards, the second-best total nationally, with 34 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Barkate caught 72 passes for 1,106 yards. Sheppard was the third piece, a second-team All-ACC freshman from Mandeville, Louisiana. Other programs also called and tried to pull him away from Duke after the season.
He told Duke he was staying, days before Mensah and Barkate left for Miami. "I remember Darian called me and was like, 'I just got this crazy offer,'" Sheppard said. "And I was like, well, you know, you got to do what's best for you.
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