The Duke Blue Devils are facing one of their more significant injury reports ahead of a rivalry bout this weekend.
Duke (4-1, 1-1 ACC) will meet archrival North Carolina (3-2, 1-1 ACC) at Wallace Wade Stadium, looking to bounce back from its first loss of the 2026 season against Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Meanwhile, the Tar Heels are coming off a road win over Pittsburgh.
The Blue Devils have looked like the better team throughout the first few weeks of the regular season, but Carolina has looked like a legit defensive team. However, both the Blue Devils and Tar Heels are dealing with a few significant injuries heading into the rivalry contest.
Here's the latest Duke injury report, and how Manny Diaz and his staff could potentially respond.
OUT vs. North Carolina
WR Jamien Little
WR Blake Rohrer
QB Lawrence Gardner
WR Qeanu Johnson
LB Elliott Schaper
K Cosme Salas
OL Kai Jacobowitz
OL Reagan McCranie
OL Roman Fina
Earlier this week, linebacker Elliott Schaper and starting kicker Cosme Salas were both ruled out for the remainder of the 2026 season, two big blows for the Blue Devils' defense and special teams.
Freshman kicker Gavin Strange will step in for Salas, who went 1-for-2 on field goals against the Yellow Jackets last weekend. Strange nailed his first career attempt from 35 yards, but missed a game-tying field goal to send the contest to overtime from 33 yards. This is the second year in a row that Schaper has been sidelined due to a season-ending injury, and it's a depth hit to Duke's linebacker corps.
However, the linebacker position is one of the best on the team, and Duke still has heavy hitters in the room. Nick Morris Jr., Luke Mergott, Bradley Gompers, and Kendall Johnson have been impactful this season for Diaz and Co., though losing Schaper for the rest of the campaign certainly hurts.
QUESTIONABLE vs. North Carolina
RB Nate Sheppard
OL Matt Craycraft
CB Evan Smith
Obviously, Duke losing Sheppard would be a monumental blow, and it would be a huge test for this team if it had to operate offensively for an entire game without its superstar running back. Diaz and his staff will likely do whatever they can to make sure Sheppard can play this weekend, but if he can't, CJ Campbell and possibly freshman Jayvian Tanelus would step in as the lead backs.
Craycraft was a bit of a surprising addition to this week's injury report, and that would be a big loss for the offensive line. Walker Eget has only been sacked once this season, and Craycraft has been a consistent starter for the Blue Devils for years. If he can't go, 4-star freshman Sean Stover could step in.
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