Duke running back Nate Sheppard has created some more problems for a Blue Devils' opponent.
Duke running back Nate Sheppard has quietly had a big start to the 2026 college football season. We say quietly regarding the lack of national attention he has received so far.
Through the first three games of the season, Sheppard has 528 rushing yards which leads all running backs so far. He also has five rushing touchdowns which is tied for seventh. At 6.4 yards per carry, Sheppard has been a force so far and Duke's biggest weapon.
He also has opponents keying in on him.
As opponents are prepping to face Duke, they are making sure to account for Sheppard and even game planning around him. That's been the case in terms of coaches working on tackling in the week leading into the game. And it happened again on Saturday.
After Stanford's loss, head coach Tavita Pritchard met the media and it didn't take long for him to bring up Sheppard and the impact he had on the game:
Yeah, first, Nate Sheppard's a great back. He came in leading the country in all-purpose yards and rushing, and so kudos to him. And at the same point in time, we have a lot of belief in the way that we tackle, the way that we teach tackling. And without having watched the film, my guess is that whether it was losing leverage or wrapping up, this is a guy that you have to leverage with your defense, and you have to get him to the ground, and you got to wrap him up. And there were some spots where we fell short of that, and that's the disconnect, and that's where we have to take a step.
Both Tulane and Illinois echoed similar thoughts about Sheppard and his ability to break tackles to rack up more yards.
As the season goes on, Duke will look to continue to feed off of Sheppard and what he can do as a running back. He will be the focal point of the offense and maybe just then he will start to be in the national spotlight more and more.
Duke will host William & Mary on Saturday in Durham.
