How freshman running back Nate Sheppard is transforming Duke football’s offense

Syracuse’s Cornell Perry got a good look Saturday at Duke’s Nate Sheppard, from front and behind.

In the first quarter of the Blue Devils’ 38-3 win, Perry could do little to stop Sheppard from breaking off a 49-yard touchdown run for Duke’s first score. The freshman running back was through the gap and past the Orange safety so fast that “Sheppard” on the back of that white No. 20 jersey might have seemed blurred.

Later would come a face-to-face encounter.

Sheppard made a quick move through the left side of the Duke line and again had running room. Waiting for him near the goal line was Perry, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound junior. Both lowered their heads, bracing for the impact.

Boom. Sheppard bulldozed — is there any other word to describe it? — Perry back and into the end zone for a second touchdown, from 12 yards.

With Duke leading 31-3, Sheppard could more or less call it a day at that point. He had 15 carries for 168 yards and added 33 yards on four catches for 201 of the Devils’ 503 yards in total offense.

“We just came out and executed,” Sheppard said, matter-of-factly, after the game. “We came out and did our job and that’s what happened.”

While the headliner, Sheppard also received an honor: ACC running back of the week, an award won by teammate Anderson Castle the week before after his three touchdowns in the win over N.C. State. Sheppard also was named ACC rookie of the week, and offensive tackle Brian Parker II was the ACC offensive lineman of the week and the highest-rated tackle nationally by Pro Footbal Focus last week.

Duke offensive tackle Bruno Fina was asked on a Tuesday media call to give a scouting report on Sheppard.

“Dawg,” Pina said, smiling. “One word, he’s a dawg.

“He’s super mature for a freshman. I mean, he just gets it done. He sees the play develop, he hits the hole, he’s patient. I mean, for us he’s everything you want in a running back.”

Rebounding from a painful injury

Sheppard’s high school career in Mandeville, Louisiana, ended in the worst possible way — with a broken leg that abruptly ended his senior season.

The Skippers were undefeated, but Sheppard was lost when he suffered a right fibula fracture in the win over Ponchatoula. A three-star recruit, he had scored 26 offensive touchdowns, including seven in the game against Slidell.

Sheppard was the first to post the somber news of the injury on social media, but also added a touch of optimism: “I will come back stronger than ever!”

Duke wanted him. Recruited by Georgia Tech and Ole Miss, he committed to the Blue Devils.

“It was his explosive plays, his home-run ability,” Duke coach Manny Diaz said this week. “Before he got hurt, it seemed like every week he had five touchdowns,.”

Much like Castle, a transfer from Appalachian State, the Blue Devils used a staff connection to help sign Sheppard. With Castle, it was assistant coach Justin Watts, who was on the ASU staff when Castle was playing for the Apps. With Sheppard, it was Chris Foster.

Diaz said Sheppard was first recruited by former Duke assistant coach Willie Simmons, and with Northwestern his second choice. Simmons left after the 2024 season to become head coach at FIU. But replacing him at Duke was Foster, who came from Northwestern to coach the running backs and was recruiting Sheppard for the Wildcats.

“Chris has done a phenomenal job of mentoring Nate, not just with what he does with the ball but how he plays without the ball, how he is in pass pickup,” Diaz said. “He plays beyond his years, and he obviously has transformed our offense in terms of our ability to be really dynamic in the running game.”

Earning playing time

Sheppard came to Duke in January, joining a running back room that had Jacquez Moore, Peyton Jones and Castle.

“Obviously with the injury I was a little devastated, but I came out here and I kept grinding,” Sheppard said. “I always knew I wanted to start early, but I didn’t know it would be by week five.”

Sheppard had an inspired effort in the Devils’ first road game, against Tulane in New Orleans. That allowed him to go back close to home and he responded with 75 on five carries in the 34-27 loss to the Green Wave.

Then, his big opportunity. He said he was told Friday he would be making his first college start for the Blue Devils, who moved to 3-2 overall and 2-0 in the ACC with the road win.

“When the opportunity shows up, when you get a chance to carry the football, what do you do with the ball?” offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer said Monday. “And he showed out.”

Sheppard is listed at 5-10 and 200 pounds but Brewer called him a “naturally bigger guy” than his measurables.

“If you go up and stand behind him, he’s got big arms, thick legs,” Brewer said. “He’s a powerful runner, a violent runner. He finishes runs. He finishes through people.”

Ask Syracuse’s Cornell Perry.

This story was originally published October 1, 2025 at 9:24 AM.

Chip Alexander

The News & Observer

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In more than 40 years at The N&O, Chip Alexander has covered the N.C. State, UNC, Duke and East Carolina beats, and now is in his 15th season on the Carolina Hurricanes beat. Alexander, who has won numerous writing awards at the state and national level, covered the Hurricanes’ move to North Carolina in 1997 and was a part of The N&O’s coverage of the Canes’ 2006 Stanley Cup run.