‘We’re talented there’: Duke running back Mataeo Durant is important, but he has help
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.
Mataeo Durant enters his senior season as the unquestioned leader, not only in Duke’s running backs room, but on the offense as a whole.
A preseason all-ACC selection, Durant will be a key focus for Duke’s co-offensive coordinators, Jeff Faris and Re’quan Boyette, as they look to build a strong offensive team on the foundation set by the running game Durant can help provide.
Last season, Durant led Duke with 817 rushing yards while sharing time with Deon Jackson, who is now in the NFL. Durant’s 6.8 yards per carry as a junior show he’s consistently able to produce.
“Mataeo is our best player on our football team so we have to get him the football,” Faris said. “He’s going to be involved in a lot of what we do.”
That said, depth at running back has always been important to Duke’s coaching staff. Having a back who can take every third series or so raises the odds of Durant being available for more carries during the season because he’ll be healthier.
On that point, Duke has sophomores Jaylen Coleman and Jordan Waters behind Durant with a pair of freshmen backs, Jaquez Moore and Trent Davis, with big futures who are adjusting to the college game.
“We’re talented there,” Duke coach David Cutcliffe said. “I feel good about where we are at running back.”
Waters is the most playing experience in college. In 11 games last season, he carried the ball 16 times last season, averaging a health 6.3 yards per attempt. He also played four games in 2019 which allowed him to maintain his redshirt season.
Coleman played in nine games in 2019, carrying 15 times for 42 yards. But he suffered a ruptured Achilles’ tendon during spring practice and had surgery on March 2, 2020.
He was able to recover and play in two games late last season so he got a bit of experience was still able to redshirt under NCAA rules.
During preseason camp this month, he’s shown he’s all the way back from the injury. For a guy like Coleman, who was a 100-meter dash state champion while at Porter Ridge High School in suburban Charlotte, getting his speed back was of the utmost importance.
“That was definitely an emphasis during my rehab and protocols and stuff,” Coleman said. “Still day to day getting it back but I feel confident to where I can easily outrun a defender when I need to.”
During August practices and scrimmages, both Waters and Coleman got repetitions with the first team in addition to Durant. The plan was to limit Durant’s carries in those settings to keep him fresh for the season.
Coleman took advantage, rushing nine times for 80 yards in Duke’s initial scrimmage on Aug. 14. That same night, Waters fumbled twice on his carries. Even though both were recovered by the offense, fumbling is certainly something the coaches won’t tolerate after Duke’s 39 turnovers last season.
Still, as preseason camp turns into focusing on the season-opening game at Charlotte on Sept. 3, Waters and Coleman both remain in the running for the No. 2 slot on the depth chart behind Durant.
After what he went through from both injury and isolation standpoint in 2020 while rehabbing during a pandemic, Coleman is grateful to be part of the group.
“It’s absolutely amazing,” Coleman said. “Just great being out there with the guys. For me, it was really hard not being able to play last year. Just getting my feet wet and getting ready for the season, I feel really good about where I’m at right now and going forward.”
Projected Duke running back depth chart
| STARTER | Height | Weight |
| Mataeo Durant (SR) | 6-1 | 195 |
| RESERVES | ||
| Jaylen Coleman (SO) | 6-1 | 205 |
| Jordan Waters (SO) | 6-1 | 210 |
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This story was originally published August 29, 2021 at 5:30 AM with the headline "‘We’re talented there’: Duke running back Mataeo Durant is important, but he has help."