Duke football head coach Manny Diaz believes Nate Sheppard is playing as good as any running back.
The Duke Blue Devils go into this bye week at 4-0 overall and are finally ranked in the latest coaches' poll. Manny Diaz's team has to be feeling good about themselves moving forward, winning all of their non-conference games so far, plus are off to a 1-0 start in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
The meat of their ACC schedule begins next week when they travel to Atlanta to face off against Georgia Tech.
One reason why Duke has been able to go 4-0 so far is due to running back Nate Sheppard who has led the Blue Devils' offense. Sheppard has been fantastic this year, rushing for 644 yards which is first in all of college football. He also has six touchdowns this year, pacing the way for the offense.
Sheppard has been the best back in college football this season along with Florida's Jadan Baugh. But just how good has he been?
Diaz had nothing but praise for Sheppard during a recent appearance on the ACC Network last week. He went on to say that the "level he's playing at right now is as good as any running back that I've ever seen."
Woah.
That's certainly high praise from the head coach to Sheppard and he should know as he's seen him up and close this season. Sheppard has been fantastic and there's no signs of him slowing down any time soon. He's also getting some more national respect after another good performance.
Sheppard has climbed into the Heisman rankings on On3, which has him now ranked No. 8 in their poll. He's behind Jeremiah Smith, Kamario Taylor, Trinidad Chambliss, Darian Mensah, Jadan Baugh, Malachi Toney and Keelon Russell.
With Sheppard now receiving some more national attention, the pressure could be on for him to deliver. But that likely wont be an issue for Sheppard as he's shown consistency all season long.
It will also be fun watching Sheppard and Baugh go back and forth in terms of rushing statistics. Both players have led their respected offenses and both teams are 4-0 on the year. They are clearly the top two running backs in college football this season and seeing them continue to play well is a great thing.
Now, let's see how far Sheppard can help take this Duke team as they have aspirations of getting back to the ACC title game and repeating as champions.
