Jake Bobo leads group of Duke receivers hoping to flip the Blue Devils’ fortunes. Can they?
In an 8-part series, the News & Observer and Herald Sun will be examining Duke’s football depth chart position by position as the season opener on Sept. 3 at Charlotte draws near.
Jake Bobo completed his freshman season at Duke catching a touchdown pass from Daniel Jones in the Independence Bowl and enters his senior season teamed with a fourth starting quarterback in four seasons.
With Gunnar Holmberg now under center for the Blue Devils, a sure-handed wide receiver like Bobo gives him a comfort level that puts him in position to succeed.
“Jake Bobo, of course, is a really experienced guy, the leader of that room who has been really consistent for us a lot,” Holmberg said.
Holmberg and Bobo arrived at Duke back in 2018. The 6-5 Bobo played in 13 games that season as his size and pass-catching abilities were too good for the coaching staff to stash him and use a redshirt season.
In Duke’s 56-27 win over Temple at the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana, Bobo hauled in a seven-yard touchdown pass from Jones that capped a 21-point Blue Devils outburst in the third quarter that turned the game into their favor.
Though Holmberg was injured in 2019, he and Bobo already have chemistry from their time together in the program.
“Since freshman year we’ve been on scout together and running with the twos and threes (in practice),” Bobo said. “So the chemistry has always been there.”
Over the past two seasons, Bobo’s play has steadily increased, but Duke’s success has waned. A preseason shoulder injury limited him to eight games in 2019 when Duke went 5-7 with Quentin Harris at quarterback. Bobo again caught 10 passes.
Last season, while Duke’s record plummeted to 2-9, Bobo caught 32 passes in 11 games as the offense struggled with Chase Brice as starting quarterback. He led Duke with 358 receiving yards.
“Jake Bobo has made a ton of big plays for us,” Duke co-offensive coordinator Jeff Faris said.
The hope this season is that with three returning starting wide receivers in Bobo, Jalon Calhoun and Eli Pancol, Holmberg is in a better position to get Duke back to bowl contention. In addition, Jarrett Garner, Darrell Harding and Jontavis Robertson all played in at least 10 games last season.
Behind them, sophomore Malik Bowen-Sims and freshman Sahmir Hagans are making a push in preseason camp.
“We’ve got some really, really good young receivers,” Faris said. “Everybody knows about Jake Bobo, Calhoun, Garner, Pancol. And they’ve done a really, really good job in camp. But like the offensive line, I really like the depth we’ve worked with there. Those guys are really, really pushing at the end of practice.”
With the most playing time of anyone in the receiver room, Bobo is doing his best to lead by example.
“I’ve always been a guy, whether it’s practice, scrimmage or game, that I’m going to be ready to roll when my number’s called,” Bobo said.
At tight end, Duke lost a major piece of its offense when Noah Gray left for the NFL where he was selected in the fourth round by the Kansas City Chiefs. Gray caught 29 passes last season and 105 in his Duke career.
Jake Marwede, a 6-6 senior who caught 13 passes last season, is primed to step in. So, too, is Matt Smith, a promising 6-5 sophomore who would also provide Holmberg with a big target over the middle..
Projected Duke WR depth chart
STARTERS | Height | Weight |
Jake Bobo (SR) | 6-5 | 215 |
Jalon Calhoun (JR) | 5-11 | 190 |
Eli Pancol (JR) | 6-3 | 200 |
RESERVES | ||
Jarrett Garner (JR) | 6-3 | 210 |
Darrell Harding (JR) | 6-4 | 225 |
Jontavis Robertson (SO) | 5-11 | 195 |
Projected Duke TE depth chart
STARTERS | Height | Weight |
Jake Marwede (SR) | 6-6 | 245 |
RESERVES | ||
Matt Smith (SO) | 6-5 | 235 |
Cole Finney (FR) | 6-7 | 250 |
Other Triangle ACC previews
This story was originally published August 23, 2021 at 5:25 AM with the headline "Jake Bobo leads group of Duke receivers hoping to flip the Blue Devils’ fortunes. Can they?."