David Cutcliffe and the Duke football coaching staff locked in 18 recruits for the class of 2021 Wednesday morning.
Duke’s class was signed and completed with no surprises by 10:10 a.m. ET.
The Blue Devils brought in a balanced class with nine players on the defensive side of the ball signing, seven on the offensive side and two athletes.
Defensively, Duke went heavy at defensive back, signing four: Cameron Bergeron, Placide Djungu-Sungu, Brandon Johnson and Dylan Merrell. The Blue Devils also have athlete Joshua Pickett, who is labeled in the Rivals.com database as a defensive back.
Rivals.com recruiting analyst Chad Simmons praised Cameron Bergeron’s game shortly after his decision to commit to the Blue Devils.
“I like this pick up. He has very good size,” Simmons said. “He’s a versatile DB that can be moved around the secondary. He is physical and he likely would have drawn a lot more attention in a normal spring.”
The defensive line was also a point of emphasis for the coaching staff, as they signed three with Trey Brown III, Aaron Hall and Madela Tobin all sending their NLI’s on Wednesday morning.
Duke also added depth at linebacker with Anthony (Tre) Freeman and Nick Morris Jr. signing.
Offensively, the coaching staff brought in two quarterbacks, a position that became a surprising need following Chase Brice and Chris Katrenick’s decisions to transfer. Both Riley Leonard and Jordan Moore come to Durham with a quite a bit of praise.
Rivals.com’s Adam Friedman has said Moore has the ability to make an impact at a lot of positions, and cited his explosiveness as a tool for Duke.
“He’s got good instincts in the pocket but his vision and explosiveness make him a big play threat every time he touches the ball,” Friedman noted.
Duke also added two offensive linemen, Andrew Jones and Justin Pickett.
The Blue Devils also added two running backs, a pair of three-star prospects in Trent Davis from Alabama and Jaquez Moore from Florida.
One wide receiver was signed, Sahmir Hagans, a slot target from Philadelphia. Trent Broadnax, who is listed as an athlete by the Duke coaching staff, was rated as a wide receiver by the Rivals.com recruiting staff.
