One of Duke football’s All-ACC defensive players recovering from knee injury
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Terry Moore's ACL injury leaves Duke without its top safety for early 2025.
- Chandler Rivers returns as Duke’s defensive anchor and preseason All-American.
- Young defensive backs gain key reps as Duke prepares for Moore’s delayed return.
When the 2025 preseason All-ACC teams were chosen, the Duke Blue Devils had cornerback Chandler Rivers and safety Terry Moore both on the first team.
What was interesting about the selections was that Rivers is fit and ready to play. Moore is not and may not be for some time.
Had Moore not hurt his knee in the Gator Bowl game against Mississippi on Jan. 2, the twosome of DB’s would be the backbone of arguably the ACC’s best secondary on one of the league’s best defensive teams. But an ACL tear that required surgery for Moore has left his availability in doubt.
Duke coach Manny Diaz, during a Monday media call, was asked about Moore’s progress and status.
“We knew we wouldn’t have him for the first part of the year,” Diaz said. “When we get him back is just based off the medical people.
“Certainly a big miss for us. Whenever he gets back, it will be a big boost for our defense because he’s one of the top players in this league, if not one of the top safeties in the country.”
Tough injury for Terry Moore
Knee injuries, and especially the tear of an anterior cruciate ligament, can take 9-10 months or longer for a full recovery. For a defensive back, recovery means being able to quickly pivot, push off and get to full speed as well as being able to back-pedal.
N.C. State defensive back Devan Boykin suffered an ACL tear in 2023 in a practice before the Wolfpack’s appearance in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. The Pack initially hoped to have Boykin healthy and back at some point in the 2024 season. He was medically cleared to return to practice in mid-November but did not play, and later transferred to Indiana.
Moore, a graduate who wears the No. 1 jersey for the Devils, was among the leaders for several defensive categories in 2024 as Duke finished 9-4 in Diaz’s first season as head coach. Named second-team All-ACC, he led the Blue Devils with four interceptions and was fourth on the team with 71 tackles.
Pro Football Focus gave Moore the second-highest grade among the nation’s safeties (90.1) as he allowed just one touchdown pass in his 407 coverage sacks.
Moore had a 59-yard pickoff against Ole Miss in the Gator Bowl, the longest interception return in Duke’s bowl history. Moore defused a Rebels trick play, grabbing the pass in the end zone and running it out. albeit in what would be a lopsided loss for Duke.
Enough said? The Devils will miss Moore, his savvy and big-play potential, until he’s back.
Duke needs Chandler Rivers at his best
But Rivers, a first-team All-ACC choice in 2024, also could be one of the country’s best on the back end. Most observers believe it, naming the swift 5-foot-10 senior to such preseason watch lists as the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the Jim Thorpe Award.
Athlon Sports and Phil Steele have him on their preseason All-America teams. He’s also up for the Wuerffel Trophy, college football’s award for community service.
Rivers, a senior from Beaumont, Texas, was given Duke’s defensive MVP award last season. He allowed 13 completions all season -- only three of 20 or more yards -- and PFF had him ranked second nationally among corners in both his defense grade (90.7) and coverage grade (89.8).
And he can be better, Diaz said.
“Chandler understands he has to be a better player this year,” Diaz said Monday. “That’s always the trick of, when a guy has a really good season and gets the accolades, do you become comfortable with that, especially at a position where the No. 1 thing you’re defined as is your sense of urgency? I’ve seen in my career where guys had great junior years and then, at that spot, all of a sudden think you’ve arrived. The margin of error is so little.
“The most pleased I’ve been when Chan in the first week of (preseason) practice is he has been highly urgent, highly disruptive and making everything difficult on whoever he’s covering, which isn’t just getting him better but making us a better offense.”
How does Rivers handle the accolades? With help, he said.
“My teammates, my coaches, they keep me grounded,” he said at the ACC Kickoff in Charlotte. “It’s not hard to miss all the outside noise, all the hype we get, whatever. But my teammates and coaches keep me humble every day.
“They know my goal, our goal as a team. So holding me to that standard every day, that keeps me grounded, knowing there’s more to work for and more we’ve got to accomplish together.”
In a Duke football podcast released this week, Rivers joined linebacker Tre Freeman and running back Jaquez Moore in reviewing the first few preseason practices. It was a free-wheeling hour with some good-natured moaning about the heat but also had some behind-the-scenes football insights.
Rivers, in talking about the secondary, touched on good work from cornerbacks Kimari Robinson, Moussa Kane, Vontae Floyd and Landan Callahan, stressing the improvement they’ve made since spring ball.
“They’re getting better every day, getting more comfortable with the system,” Rivers said on the Devil Up podcast.
Turning to the safeties, Rivers said a number of guys were “stepping up to the plate,” first noting DaShawn Stone and adding that Caleb Weaver, a graduate transfer from Sam Houston State, has fit in well.
Rivers also has a special mention for freshman Ma’khi Jones, a Newark, New Jersey, native recruited out of Milton High in Georgia – “He’s the truth,” Rivers said.
“I’m excited to see where his growth goes and excited to see where the secondary goes,” Rivers said on the podcast.
This story was originally published August 4, 2025 at 5:22 PM.
