As exhilarating as Duke’s come-from-behind victory at Notre Dame was, it came with a pretty significant cost: senior safety DeVon Edwards, who was injured on the game’s opening kickoff. Edwards tore both the ACL and the MCL in his left knee, which effectively ends his career as one of the greatest players in the history of Duke football.
Edwards is now the second senior captain for Duke — along with quarterback Thomas Sirk — to be lost for the season due to an injury. The Blue Devils have found a productive replacement, though, for Sirk: redshirt freshman Daniel Jones.
Jones has completed 64.7 percent of his passes for 1,090 yards and five touchdowns. He’s thrown three interceptions, but Jones isn’t just a checkdown machine; the rookie QB is averaging 7.6 yards per attempt. According to Football Study Hall, Duke ranks 23rd nationally in passing success rate. Jones really looked the part against Notre Dame, too — completing 75 percent of his passes and averaging 8.6 yards per attempt. Duke possesses one of the nation’s best defensive secondaries, but replacing Edwards, who is also a major force as a kick returner, will be an even greater challenge than Sirk.
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