DURHAM – Now it’s a really good thing for Duke that Nicky Dalmolin decided he wasn’t quite finished with football.

The Blue Devils will be without tight end Jeremiah Hasley for the rest of the season after he suffered what coach Manny Diaz said was a lower leg injury.

“That’s a big loss for us, certainly,” Diaz said of the converted linebacker who started the first two games.

There isn’t too much of a shock factor, as the last we saw of Hasley, he was being carted off Northwestern’s temporary field while in tears. His teammates and staff left the sideline to offer condolences to Hasley being the cart left the field.

Hasley had a touchdown in Duke’s season opener against Elon; he had five catches for 52 yards and a touchdown last season, his first after a position change in fall camp about a year ago.

Figuring out who moves into the starting lineup is easy; Dalmolin actually started the season opener alongside Hasley and started 19 games over the previous two seasons. He’s had 57 catches for 519 yards and five touchdowns in 43 career games.

Dalmolin went through Senior Day last season and was finished with football. He wasn't with the team during spring practices but decided to return to the team and use his final season of eligibility.

The interesting part is what comes next, since you can’t expect Dalmolin to play every single snap for the next 10 games.

Duke’s depth at tight is, at best, unproven. Dalmolin has played 101 snaps this season and Hasley played 56; the Blue Devils’ offense has been on the field for 144 total snaps, per Pro Football Focus.

The only other tight ends to take the field for an offensive snap have been Jake Taylor, for four snaps, and Vance Bolyard, for one snap. Taylor is a redshirt sophomore whose only career catch was a 14-yarder against Lafayette last year; Bolyard played six snaps in that game against Lafayette last year and hasn’t recorded a catch. The only other tight end on the roster is freshman Brett Elliott.

Taylor, a 6-5, 235-pounder from Raleigh, was on the field for Duke’s two-point conversion attempt in the second overtime. Diaz lauded him for being able to fill in on the fly for the Blue Devils.

“You know, we have to be creative with how we use guys,” Diaz said, “and be smart with how we practice. But that’s who we’ve got, so we move forward.”