Duke names graduate transfer Walker Eget as starting quarterback for opener against Tulane

Duke is turning to San Jose State graduate transfer Walker Eget as its starting quarterback.

The Blue Devils announced Eget had won the starting job on Tuesday, coming with less than two weeks until the Sept. 5 opener against Tulane at home. He won a position battle that had redshirt freshman Dan Mahan mentioned as a top contender going into preseason camp.

“Both guys have a different set of skillsets that we can frame our offense around,” coach Manny Diaz told reporters in a Zoom call Tuesday morning. “But when it all came down to it, it was just about consistency, which is normally just what you expect from an older guy of keeping the same level day after day.”

Eget had spent five seasons and made 18 starts at San Jose State. He threw for 3,051 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2025 before going down with a late-season knee injury that required surgery, with his recovery adding a variable to the position battle.

“Every time that there was a benchmark of monitoring his health and his ability to take the next step, he passed it every single time,” Diaz said.

Duke won its first outright Atlantic Coast Conference championship since 1962 last year behind Darian Mensah, who transferred to preseason league favorite and seventh-ranked Miami.

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