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10/21/2026 12:05:00 PM | Football
DALLAS – Duke offensive lineman Matt Craycraft has been named one of 20 semifinalists for the 10th annual Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award, the organization announced Wednesday afternoon.
Compiled by a subset of the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Selection Committee, the semifinalists have all demonstrated a record of leadership by exhibiting exceptional courage, integrity and sportsmanship both on and off the field.
Craycraft, a native of Dallas, Texas, has seen action in 41 career games (33 starts) and has played 2,390 snaps in his five seasons with the Blue Devils. A three-year starting center, Craycraft anchors an offensive line that leads the country in fewest sacks allowed and ranks fourth in sack yards lost (16). In three conference games, Duke has yielded just 1.0 sack, tied for the fewest nationally. The Blue Devil unit also ranks tied for sixth nationally and second in the ACC in fewest tackles for loss allowed per game (2.67) and is second in the country in fewest yards lost on TFLs.
In 2024 he helped anchor an offensive line that ranked among the nation's best in sacks allowed and contributed to Duke's 2025 ACC Championship season, when the Blue Devils set program records for touchdowns scored (63), points scored (484) and pass efficiency (152.53). He provided protection for a Duke passing attack that averaged 285.36 yards per contest in 2025, the program's highest mark since 2009. He also opened holes for Duke's ground attack that featured the first campaign in program history with two or more backs having 10 or more touchdowns each with Anderson Castle (12) and Nate Sheppard (11).
Craycraft, a graduate student was also tabbed a semifinalist for the 2026 William V. Campbell Trophy and earned a spot on the Rimington Trophy Watch List, Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Watch List and Shriners Children's East-West Bowl 1,000. Heading into the 2026 campaign, Craycraft was named an Athlon Second Team Preseason All-ACC and Phil Steele Third Team Preseason All-ACC selection.
A respected leader on and off the field, Craycraft was selected as a team captain for the 2026 season and serves on the program's leadership council. Outside of football, Craycraft represents Duke on the ACC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and helped develop NXT40, a networking app connecting student-athletes with Duke alumni for mentorship and career opportunities. Academically, he has earned three All-ACC Academic Football Team selections, four ACC Academic Honor Roll honors and two Academic All-District honors.
"I'm very honored to announce the semifinalists for the Collegiate Man of the Year," said Witten. "These twenty young men are prime examples of what makes college football so great. They have separated themselves not just by their play on the field, but how they have been leaders in the locker room, in their communities and in their own families. They are great representatives for their schools and the game of football, and I commend all nominees for getting to this point."
The winner of the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year will also receive a $10,000 contribution in his name to his school's athletic scholarship fund. The contribution will be made by Jason Witten's SCORE Foundation, the official charity of Jason and his wife Michelle. The SCORE Foundation, founded in 2007, has positively impacted tens of thousands of children and families in Texas and Tennessee over the last 17 years. The foundation operates its nationally-recognized SCOREkeepers program, which places trained male mentors on staff to work with children at family violence shelters, at nine shelters in the two states.
#GoDuke
Compiled by a subset of the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Selection Committee, the semifinalists have all demonstrated a record of leadership by exhibiting exceptional courage, integrity and sportsmanship both on and off the field.
Craycraft, a native of Dallas, Texas, has seen action in 41 career games (33 starts) and has played 2,390 snaps in his five seasons with the Blue Devils. A three-year starting center, Craycraft anchors an offensive line that leads the country in fewest sacks allowed and ranks fourth in sack yards lost (16). In three conference games, Duke has yielded just 1.0 sack, tied for the fewest nationally. The Blue Devil unit also ranks tied for sixth nationally and second in the ACC in fewest tackles for loss allowed per game (2.67) and is second in the country in fewest yards lost on TFLs.
In 2024 he helped anchor an offensive line that ranked among the nation's best in sacks allowed and contributed to Duke's 2025 ACC Championship season, when the Blue Devils set program records for touchdowns scored (63), points scored (484) and pass efficiency (152.53). He provided protection for a Duke passing attack that averaged 285.36 yards per contest in 2025, the program's highest mark since 2009. He also opened holes for Duke's ground attack that featured the first campaign in program history with two or more backs having 10 or more touchdowns each with Anderson Castle (12) and Nate Sheppard (11).
Craycraft, a graduate student was also tabbed a semifinalist for the 2026 William V. Campbell Trophy and earned a spot on the Rimington Trophy Watch List, Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Watch List and Shriners Children's East-West Bowl 1,000. Heading into the 2026 campaign, Craycraft was named an Athlon Second Team Preseason All-ACC and Phil Steele Third Team Preseason All-ACC selection.
A respected leader on and off the field, Craycraft was selected as a team captain for the 2026 season and serves on the program's leadership council. Outside of football, Craycraft represents Duke on the ACC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and helped develop NXT40, a networking app connecting student-athletes with Duke alumni for mentorship and career opportunities. Academically, he has earned three All-ACC Academic Football Team selections, four ACC Academic Honor Roll honors and two Academic All-District honors.
"I'm very honored to announce the semifinalists for the Collegiate Man of the Year," said Witten. "These twenty young men are prime examples of what makes college football so great. They have separated themselves not just by their play on the field, but how they have been leaders in the locker room, in their communities and in their own families. They are great representatives for their schools and the game of football, and I commend all nominees for getting to this point."
The winner of the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year will also receive a $10,000 contribution in his name to his school's athletic scholarship fund. The contribution will be made by Jason Witten's SCORE Foundation, the official charity of Jason and his wife Michelle. The SCORE Foundation, founded in 2007, has positively impacted tens of thousands of children and families in Texas and Tennessee over the last 17 years. The foundation operates its nationally-recognized SCOREkeepers program, which places trained male mentors on staff to work with children at family violence shelters, at nine shelters in the two states.
#GoDuke
Players Mentioned
Tuesday, October 20
Tuesday, October 20
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Saturday, October 17
