Duke starting QB and backup both enter portal | Lane Kiffin thinks this is due to ‘…a really dumb system’
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss finds itself approaching the Gator Bowl with its quarterback room solid for the upcoming January 2nd game. Rebel starter Jaxson Dart announced Monday he will play in the bowl game. Duke, the Rebels’ opponent, is not so fortunate, as their starting quarterback and a backup have now announced they are hitting the portal.
On Monday night, Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy entered the portal. Then, Tuesday reports came out that Blue Devils’ sophomore quarterback Grayson Loftis is also entering the portal.
Duke starting QB Maalik Murphy plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, he told ESPN. Murphy led Duke to a 9-3 record and set the school record with 26 touchdown passes. He threw for 2,933 yards in his lone season at Duke. pic.twitter.com/kCJE1TttiN
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 10, 2024
Duke QB Grayson Loftis is entering the transfer portal, per @ShaneBurnham52
Loftis has played in 10 games for Duke, starting 5 in 2023. He has 3 years of eligibility remaining pic.twitter.com/2sgaELRxOl
— NCAA Transfer Portal (@RivalsPortal) December 10, 2024
Duke now has four quarterbacks remaining on its roster. The Blue Devils have redshirt sophomore Henry Belin IV, sophomore Donald Tomlin and two graduate players, Cole Kennon and Rent Montie. Neither Kennon, Montie, nor Tomlin have seen any action this season. Belin IV has seen very limited action in three games this season.
In a Gator Bowl zoom call with media Tuesday, before the announcement that Loftis would also be joining Murphy in the portal, Duke head coach Manny Diaz spoke about the QB situation, indicating Loftis and Henry Belin IV were his two options. With Loftis now gone, one would assume Belin IV would be the next one to step in.
“We don’t have (Maalik Murphy) for the game, so we’ll get Grayson and Henry ready to go,” Diaz explained “Feel good about both of those guys and move on from there,” he added.
Whoever is at starter for Duke will be facing a fierce Ole Miss defense that looks to have most of its starters available.
“We’ll look at what they do and our best way to match up,” Diaz said.
“What they do on defense is outstanding. Historic performance in terms of creating negative plays. The chaos index is going to be off the charts. Whoever lines up at quarterback against these guys is going to have a tough day. We’ll put a plan together, whether it’s one or two of them. It’ll be whatever we think gives us the best chance to win the game.”
Duke head coach Manny Diaz
As for Belin, he is a a 6-foot-3, 220-pound redshirt sophomore who has spent the 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons with the Blue Devils.
Here is Belin IV’s 2024 bio per the Duke website:
Returning quarterback … in five career games (one start), has completed 18-of-32 (.563) pass attempts for 275 yards with three TDs and one INT … has added 11 rushes for 12 yards (1.10) with one score … went a perfect 8-of-8 for a career-best 118 yards against Lafayette with one TD in 2023 … has earned two 100+ yard passing games (118 against Lafayette in 2023 and 107 against NC State in 2023) … recorded four passes of 20+ yards, including a career-long 69-yard TD pass to WR Jalon Calhoun against NC State in 2023 … rushed for a career-high 28 yards on five attempts against the Wolfpack in 2023 … scored lone rushing TD against Lafayette in 2023 … has played 109 career snaps.
Lane Kiffin on a ‘really dumb system’
Even before Coach Kiffin was aware that the Blue Devils’ second string QB was also transferring, he commented on the system that allowed Murphy to leave with a bowl game on the horizon.
“It really is a really dumb system. Think of what we’re talking about and what coach (Diaz) has had to address — a quarterback going into the portal. The season’s not over yet and there’s a free-agency window open… Think about the NFL and getting ready for the AFC, NFC playoffs and postseason and players are in free agency already. It’s a really poor system. We just try to manage best we can through it. Hopefully some day it’ll get fixed.”
Lane Kiffin
Game Info
Ole Miss and Duke will kick off in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on January 2nd at 6:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on ESPN.
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn's love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
