Duke picks four players as captains
Three of Duke’s captains have been in Durham for a while and the fourth has made a strong first impression.
Duke announced its captains for this season will be quarterback Darian Mensah, offensive guard Justin Pickett, defensive end Wesley Williams and defensive tackle Aaron Hall.
Pickett and Hall are both entering their fifth and final seasons at Duke. They redshirted in 2021 and have emerged as pillars of the offensive and defensive lines, respectively. They’re two-time captains, having also held those roles last year.
Williams is a fourth-year player who has a year of eligibility remaining after this one. Mensah is the redshirt sophomore quarterback who joined the program in January after transferring from Tulane.
“That shows you what the locker room believes about those guys,” coach Manny Diaz said on Monday. “We had a lot of guys that could have been captains this year. Despite having a young team, we’ve got really strong leadership in our upperclassman group.”
Last year’s incoming transfer quarterback, Maalik Murphy, was also a captain. He transferred to Oregon State.
Wide receiver Jordan Moore is the only one of last year’s captains who isn’t playing college football this season.
Duke’s season starts Thursday night against FCS-level Elon. The Blue Devils beat Elon 26-3 in last year’s opener.
