The Duke football program will enter the 2026 season with tons of question marks.
Coming off the most successful season for the program in decades, one in which head coach Manny Diaz led the Blue Devils to their first ACC Championship since 1989, they were hit with a slew of misfortune through the transfer portal.
With hours to go before the transfer portal entry window was set to close, star quarterback Darian Mensah and star wide receiver Cooper Barkate announced their intentions to enter, and both headed to Miami.
This left Diaz and Co. in a spiral, searching for any replacements they could find in hopes of keeping the program afloat for the 2026 season.
Duke is bringing in some intriguing talent and some names that could burst onto the scene in 2026. One receiver the Blue Devils landed from the portal isn’t garnering a ton of attention right now, but could replace what Barkate was with the team in 2025.
Jared Richardson Could Become Duke’s WR1
In addition to Barkate, the Blue Devils also lost Que’Sean Brown (Virginia Tech) to the portal, leaving tons of room for new faces to take over the receiving corps. Two intriguing portal additions the Blue Devils made at the receiver position are Javen Nicholas from Charlotte and Jared Richardson from Penn.
Richardson has the tools to turn into a true top option for expected starting quarterback Walker Eget.
Similar to Barkate, Richardson joins the Duke program by way of the Ivy League. At 6’2″ and 215 pounds, he was extremely productive in 2025 as one of the top players at the FCS level.
The Blakeslee, PA native tallied 80 receptions for 1,033 yards and 12 touchdowns on 12.9 average yards per catch. He led the Ivy League in receptions and receiving touchdowns while finishing second in yards, en route to a unanimous First Team All-Ivy League selection.
What Richardson Brings to the Table
With good size, Richardson is an explosive athlete with big-play ability. Eget is a QB who likes to get the ball downfield, and mixed with offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer’s fast-paced, air-raid offense, Richardson can fit well.
The wide receiver room is wide open in Durham, and Richardson, who was a main offseason target for the Blue Devils, could make some noise fairly quickly. With so much to be decided from a roster standpoint, it’s tough to project his true role. Still, there’s no doubt the potential is there for Richardson to have a big senior year with the Blue Devils.
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