Upcoming Event: Football versus Tulane on September 5, 2026 at 3:30 p.m.
Football
vs Tulane
Photo by: Nell Redmond/ACC
Four to Represent Duke at July ACC Kickoff
6/24/2026 3:02:00 PM | Football
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Redshirt senior tight end Jeremiah Hasley, sophomore running back Nate Sheppard and redshirt junior linebacker Luke Mergott, along with head coach Manny Diaz, will represent Duke at the 2026 ACC Football Kickoff, July 15-17, at the Hilton Charlotte Uptown. Â
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The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Wednesday the 50 student-athletes who have been chosen by its 17 league schools to attend the main preseason event. Duke, along with California, North Carolina, Pitt, SMU and Wake Forest will hold its media availability at the kickoff Friday, July 17.
Hasley, from Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, had a breakout 2025 season, capped by honorable mention All-ACC honors. A two-time Academic All-ACC pick (2023, 2025) and a 2025 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honoree, Hasley was tabbed by Pro Football Focus (PFF) as the No. 6 returning tight end nationally heading into 2026. In 32 career games (21 starts), Hasley has recorded 48 receptions for 517 yards (10.77) with eight touchdowns. He caught a career-high two TD passes against Virginia in the 2025 ACC Championship Game. Hasley enters 2026 with eight career TD catches, four shy of the Duke record by a tight end.Â
Sheppard, a Freshman All-America pick by The Athletic in 2025, earned Second Team All-ACC accolades by the league and the Associated Press, as well as an Academic All-ACC selection, in 2025. Sheppard is PFF's No. 7 returning running back heading into 2026. He is one of three in the ACC to have rushed for 10 or more touchdowns in 2025 and return to the same school in 2026, joining Mark Fletcher, Jr. (Miami; 12) and Will Wilson (NC State; 10). In 14 games (10 starts), Sheppard has rushed 200 times for 1,132 yards (5.66) and 11 touchdowns while catching 37 passes for 286 yards (7.73) and one TD. He owns career per-game averages of 14.29 carries, 80.86 rushing yards, 0.79 rushing touchdowns, 2.64 receptions, 20.43 receiving yards and 102.87 all-purpose yards. He has 12 career games with 30+ rushing yards, 10 with 60+, six with 90+ and three with 100+ including a personal-best 170 yards against Arizona State in the 2025 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl. Sheppard rushed for a personal-best two TDs four times in 2025, versus Syracuse, California, Connecticut and Wake Forest. Sheppard, from Mandeville, Louisiana, holds Duke freshman season records for rushing yards, rushing attempts, rushing touchdowns and 100-yard rushing games while owning the rookie single-game mark for highest average per attempt (11.20; vs. Syracuse in 2025).
Mergott, a two-time Academic All-ACC selection (2024, 2025), is one of five returning student-athletes in the ACC to have booked 85 or more tackles in 2025. He pairs with safety DaShawn Stone to give Duke the only duo in the league to return and each register 85 or more tackles in 2025. In 32 career games (10 starts), Mergott, a native of Berlin, Maryland, has carded 107 tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries, three pass breakups and nine quarterback pressures. Mergott was thrust into the starting role in week five of the 2025 season due to injuries and thrived, sealing the ACC Championship Game and Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl victories with fourth-quarter interceptions.Â
The three will be joined by Diaz, who is entering his third year at the helm. Diaz has led the Blue Devils to an 18-9 record with an 11-5 ledger in ACC action, highlighted by victories over in-state rivals North Carolina, NC State and Wake Forest in 2024 and 2025.Â
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Duke is set to kick off the 2026 season at home on Saturday, September 3 at 3:30 p.m. when it welcomes Tulane to Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium. Season tickets are now available by visiting GoDuke.com/footballtix.Â
For more information on Duke Football, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "DukeFOOTBALL".
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#GoDuke
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The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Wednesday the 50 student-athletes who have been chosen by its 17 league schools to attend the main preseason event. Duke, along with California, North Carolina, Pitt, SMU and Wake Forest will hold its media availability at the kickoff Friday, July 17.
Hasley, from Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, had a breakout 2025 season, capped by honorable mention All-ACC honors. A two-time Academic All-ACC pick (2023, 2025) and a 2025 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honoree, Hasley was tabbed by Pro Football Focus (PFF) as the No. 6 returning tight end nationally heading into 2026. In 32 career games (21 starts), Hasley has recorded 48 receptions for 517 yards (10.77) with eight touchdowns. He caught a career-high two TD passes against Virginia in the 2025 ACC Championship Game. Hasley enters 2026 with eight career TD catches, four shy of the Duke record by a tight end.Â
Sheppard, a Freshman All-America pick by The Athletic in 2025, earned Second Team All-ACC accolades by the league and the Associated Press, as well as an Academic All-ACC selection, in 2025. Sheppard is PFF's No. 7 returning running back heading into 2026. He is one of three in the ACC to have rushed for 10 or more touchdowns in 2025 and return to the same school in 2026, joining Mark Fletcher, Jr. (Miami; 12) and Will Wilson (NC State; 10). In 14 games (10 starts), Sheppard has rushed 200 times for 1,132 yards (5.66) and 11 touchdowns while catching 37 passes for 286 yards (7.73) and one TD. He owns career per-game averages of 14.29 carries, 80.86 rushing yards, 0.79 rushing touchdowns, 2.64 receptions, 20.43 receiving yards and 102.87 all-purpose yards. He has 12 career games with 30+ rushing yards, 10 with 60+, six with 90+ and three with 100+ including a personal-best 170 yards against Arizona State in the 2025 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl. Sheppard rushed for a personal-best two TDs four times in 2025, versus Syracuse, California, Connecticut and Wake Forest. Sheppard, from Mandeville, Louisiana, holds Duke freshman season records for rushing yards, rushing attempts, rushing touchdowns and 100-yard rushing games while owning the rookie single-game mark for highest average per attempt (11.20; vs. Syracuse in 2025).
Mergott, a two-time Academic All-ACC selection (2024, 2025), is one of five returning student-athletes in the ACC to have booked 85 or more tackles in 2025. He pairs with safety DaShawn Stone to give Duke the only duo in the league to return and each register 85 or more tackles in 2025. In 32 career games (10 starts), Mergott, a native of Berlin, Maryland, has carded 107 tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries, three pass breakups and nine quarterback pressures. Mergott was thrust into the starting role in week five of the 2025 season due to injuries and thrived, sealing the ACC Championship Game and Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl victories with fourth-quarter interceptions.Â
The three will be joined by Diaz, who is entering his third year at the helm. Diaz has led the Blue Devils to an 18-9 record with an 11-5 ledger in ACC action, highlighted by victories over in-state rivals North Carolina, NC State and Wake Forest in 2024 and 2025.Â
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Duke is set to kick off the 2026 season at home on Saturday, September 3 at 3:30 p.m. when it welcomes Tulane to Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium. Season tickets are now available by visiting GoDuke.com/footballtix.Â
For more information on Duke Football, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "DukeFOOTBALL".
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#GoDuke
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