The Duke Blue Devils have landed a potential stud defensive recruit.
The Duke Blue Devils' football program certainly took a surprising hit this winter when quarterback Darian Mensah bolted at the very last minute.
That followed a 2025 campaign in which Duke went 9-5 and captured the ACC championship.
Thanks to Mensah's sudden departure, the Blue Devils' expectations have largely been tempered for 2026, but that doesn't mean Manny Diaz and Co. won't continue improving the organization.
That was made evident when Duke landed a commitment from 2027 defensive end King Kalama.
Kalama — who is a North Carolina native — revealed his decision to take his talents to Durham in a social media post.
The 6-foot-2, 265-pound pass rusher is a three-star prospect and is the the 35th-ranked edge rusher in his class, via 247 Sports' composite rankings.
Those rankings actually seem a bit disrespectful given the season Kalama put together during his junior year at Reagan High School, racking up 88 tackles, 29.5 tackles for loss, nine sacks and a fumble recovery touchdown.
Duke Blue Devils coach Manny Diaz. Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images.Kalama had offers from 11 schools in total, including Kentucky, Louisville, Vanderbilt and North Carolina.
“The coaching staff believed in me early and recruited me hard,” Kalama said, via John Watson of 247 Sports. “I didn’t feel like I fit in anywhere else like I did at Duke.”
Kalama is the first member of Duke's 2027 recruiting class. The Blue Devils are certainly hoping to put together a better group of talent that year than they have for 2026, as they rank just 69th in 247 Sports' recruiting class rankings.
Duke has landed a grand total of 14 players in its 2026 recruiting class, securing commitments from a pair of four-star talents in edge rusher Obinna Umeh and offensive lineman Sean Stover.
Clearly, the Blue Devils are still working their way up when it comes to establishing themselves as a football program, but they have made excellent progress.
Duke has qualified for bowl games in four straight seasons, equaling the longest stretch in school history. It has also gone 18-9 under Diaz, who took over as Blue Devils head coach in 2024.
The loss of Mensah definitely stings, but things are still looking up in Durham.
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