The Duke Blue Devils and head coach Manny Diaz are already seeing the impact of the program’s 2025 recruiting class.

Diaz’s class featured multiple talented prospects, including four different four-star prospects on 247Sports’ Composite. But, to the surprise of many, there was one freshman who had an immediate impact for the Blue Devils’ incredible run last year.

According to PFF, Duke’s star running back, Nate Sheppard, was the second-highest rated freshman at his position throughout the 2025 college football season.

Sheppard, a former four-star running back, was one of the top prospects in Diaz’s 2025 recruiting class. And while many believed that the young offensive weapon would have an impact in his first college season, nobody was prepared for him to immediately become a factor last season.

In his first three games, Sheppard was limited in his efforts, recording only 15 carries for 127 rushing yards. However, the highly-touted freshman carved out a role in the passing game during his third game, racking up four receptions for 21 yards and one touchdown against the Tulane Green Wave. This prompted him to receive an increased workload for the remainder of the 2025 season.

The decision to give more playing time to Sheppard would ultimately prove to be the correct move for Diaz and the Blue Devils.

Sheppard would go on to finish his freshman year with 1,132 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on 200 carries, which paved the way to land a PFF grade of 89.5. Out of his 14 games played last year, Sheppard had eight games of 75 or more yards on the ground, along with three games of 100 or more rushing yards.

In addition to his strong efforts on the ground, Sheppard also ended the year with 37 catches for 286 yards and one touchdown.

His ability to be a force in both the pass and run game will allow him to be a key piece of the Blue Devils’ offense for years to come, and will also make him one of the best running backs for the program in recent memory.

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