Duke 2025 Football Recruiting Class

Duke's 2025 Recruiting Class: Comprehensive Analysis

Duke football's 2025 recruiting class comprises 59 total commits with a notable emphasis on defensive recruitment and depth across multiple position groups. The class features four 4-star prospects and 13 three-star recruits, establishing a foundation of solid talent while highlighting the program's focus on building through the portal and mid-tier evaluations. With an average of 0.93 stars per commit, this class reflects Duke's continued efforts to compete in ACC football through strategic roster construction rather than top-tier national recruiting rankings.

The composition of this class reveals a clear organizational strategy: substantial investment in defensive line depth, secondary reinforcement, and offensive skill position development. The 59-commit total provides Duke with meaningful options across the roster, allowing for both immediate contribution opportunities and multi-year developmental pathways for younger prospects.

Key Commits

The headliner of Duke's 2025 class is Bryce Davis, a 4-star EDGE prospect from Greensboro, North Carolina. Davis represents the type of defensive impact player the program targeted, projecting to contribute early in his Duke career given his position value and elite prospect rating.

Bariate Kara, a 4-star defensive lineman from Loganville, Georgia, adds significant depth to Duke's interior defensive line recruitment efforts. His four-star rating positions him among the class's most accomplished defenders and profiles as a player capable of making an immediate impact in the trenches.

Nate Sheppard, a 4-star running back from Mandeville, Louisiana, represents Duke's investment in offensive skill development. Sheppard's elite rating at a premium offensive position suggests the program views him as a cornerstone piece for the backfield moving forward.

Bradley Gompers, a 4-star athlete from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, provides positional flexibility. Athletes of his caliber typically offer multiple pathways within a program, allowing Duke coaching staff to maximize his utility based on roster evolution and program needs.

Among the 3-star commits, Dan Mahan (QB, Burlington, NC), Cole Allen (OT, Flowood, MS), and the secondary contingent led by Andrew Pellicciotta (S, Malvern, PA), Will Felder Jr. (S, Philadelphia, PA), and Ma'khi Jones (S, Alpharetta, GA) represent solid foundational pieces across critical positional tiers.

Position-by-Position Breakdown

Defensive Line: Duke's defensive recruitment features substantial depth along the line with 10 commitments across EDGE, DL, and DE positions (EDGE, DL, DT, DT, DE, DE, DT, DE, DE, DT). This emphasis provides multiple developmental timelines and creates competition for playing time while accounting for typical attrition along the front.

Secondary: The secondary represents one of the class's largest investments with 10 safety and cornerback commits (S, S, S, S, S, S, S, CB, CB, CB, CB, CB). This depth addresses the critical need for multiple options in coverage roles.

Linebacker: Five linebacker commits (LB, LB, LB, LB, LB) establish a pipeline for the middle of Duke's defense, balancing recruitment across front seven positions.

Offensive Line: Ten offensive line commitments across tackle and interior positions (OT, OT, OT, OT, OL, IOL, IOL, OL, OL, OL) reflect sustained emphasis on protecting quarterback development and creating rushing lanes.

Skill Positions: Eight wide receiver commits (WR, WR, WR, WR, WR, WR, WR, WR) paired with three running backs (RB, RB, RB) and three tight ends (TE, TE, TE) provide Duke with multiple offensive weapons across the perimeter and intermediate game.

Quarterback: Three quarterback commits (QB, QB, QB) allow the program flexibility in its signal-caller pipeline.

Specialists: Two kickers (K, PK) address special teams depth.

Needs Still to Fill

While Duke has assembled substantial commitments across most position groups, certain areas remain without representation in the verified commit list. Long snapper and additional specialist positions may still be targeted. The program may also continue evaluating defensive back depth given typical demands in secondary recruitment at the collegiate level.

Class Outlook

Duke's 2025 class projects as a competitive roster-building effort emphasizing defensive line stability, secondary depth, and offensive line protection. The four 4-star prospects provide anchoring talent while

Last updated: Jul 24, 2026

Defense Commits (28)

	Name	Pos	Stars	Rank	Hometown	Status
	Bryce Davis Roster profile →	EDGE	★★★★☆	#73	Greensboro, NC	Enrolled
	Bariate Kara Roster profile →	DL	★★★★☆	#470	Loganville, GA	Enrolled
	Tommy Rupley Roster profile →	DL	★★★☆☆	#795	Acton, MA	Enrolled
	Andrew Pellicciotta Roster profile →	S	★★★☆☆	#1467	Malvern, PA	Enrolled
S	Will Felder Jr.	S	★★★☆☆	#1507	Philadelphia, PA	Enrolled
S	Ma'khi Jones	S	★★★☆☆	#1560	Alpharetta, GA	Enrolled
S	KD Cotton	S	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
DT	Ayden Cain	DT	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
DT	Chadwicke Cannon Jr.	DT	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
LB	Colsen Gatten	LB	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
S	Maliki Wright	S	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
S	Lyrik Pettis	S	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
DE	Obinna Umeh	DE	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
LB	Tony Grimmer	LB	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
CB	Tyson Sanford	CB	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
	Julius Columbus Roster profile →	DT	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
	Derrick Brown Jr. Roster profile →	LB	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
	Landan Callahan Roster profile →	CB	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
	Jaylen Carl Roster profile →	DE	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
	Kyren Condoll Roster profile →	CB	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
CB	Kolbe Harmon	CB	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
CB	Kaleb Lanier	CB	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
DE	Sampson Onuoha	DE	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
	Tommy Rupley Roster profile →	DE	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
	Elliott Schaper Roster profile →	LB	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
	Kobe Smith Roster profile →	DE	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
	Asher Wasserman Roster profile →	LB	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
S	Brady Winter	S	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled

Offense Commits (29)

	Name	Pos	Stars	Rank	Hometown	Status
	Bradley Gompers Roster profile →	ATH	★★★★☆	#189	Pittsburgh, PA	Enrolled
	Nate Sheppard Roster profile →	RB	★★★★☆	#439	Mandeville, LA	Enrolled
	Jaivon Solomon Roster profile →	WR	★★★☆☆	#518	Gray, GA	Enrolled
	Jamien Little Roster profile →	WR	★★★☆☆	#739	Hickory, NC	Enrolled
	Dan Mahan Roster profile →	QB	★★★☆☆	#795	Burlington, NC	Enrolled
OT	Cole Allen	OT	★★★☆☆	#1560	Flowood, MS	Enrolled
	Roman Fina Roster profile →	OT	★★★☆☆	#1629	Tucson, AZ	Enrolled
	Kavon Simmons Roster profile →	ATH	★★★☆☆	#1671	Wake Forest, NC	Enrolled
	Kai Jacobowitz Roster profile →	OT	★★★☆☆	#1679	Carlsbad, CA	Enrolled
	Nathan Kutufaris Roster profile →	OT	★★★☆☆	#1881	Springfield, PA	Enrolled
TE	Benjamin Moseley	TE	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
WR	Brody Keefe	WR	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
RB	CJ Givers	RB	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
TE	Jack Gaskins	TE	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
WR	Jackson Maggiore	WR	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
RB	Jayvian Tanelus	RB	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
WR	Kavon Conciauro	WR	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
OL	Sean Stover	OL	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
QB	Terry Walker III	QB	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
	Jamin Brown Roster profile →	OL	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
	Gemyel Allen Roster profile →	OL	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
	Lawrence Gardner Roster profile →	QB	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
	Qeanu Johnson Roster profile →	WR	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
	Jamien Little Roster profile →	WR	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
	Jayden Moore Roster profile →	WR	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
	Jack Small Roster profile →	OL	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
	Bradley Smith Roster profile →	OL	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
	Chase Tyler Roster profile →	WR	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled
	Brett Elliott Roster profile →	TE	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled

Other Commits (3)

	Name	Pos	Stars	Rank	Hometown	Status
	Evan Scott Roster profile →	IOL	★★★☆☆	#1950	Augusta, GA	Enrolled
	Daniel Boyd Roster profile →	IOL	★★★☆☆	#2085	Las Vegas, NV	Enrolled
PK	Mika Levy	PK	☆☆☆☆☆	—		Enrolled

Special Teams Commits (1)

	Name	Pos	Stars	Rank	Hometown	Status
K	Ashton Zamani	K	★★★☆☆	#2929	Chatsworth, CA	Enrolled

Total Class	61
Committed	0
Enrolled/Signed	61
Avg Stars	0.93
5★	0
4★	4
3★	13