Duke football coach Manny Diaz and the Blue Devils filled an important hole in the coaching staff on Thursday when they announced Chris Foster as the team’s new running backs coach.
Foster has spent two decades coaching backfields around the nation, starting with Gardner-Webb back in 2004. He worked with the Northwestern Wildcats for the last two years, facing off against the Blue Devils in both seasons.
Northwestern senior Cam Porter ran for 94 yards and two touchdowns in the Week 2 overtime loss to Duke. He and sophomore Joseph Himon II combined for 758 yards and eight touchdowns on just 178 carries in 2024, averaging 4.3 yards per tote.
Diaz and the Blue Devils will bring back senior Jaquez Moore and sophomore Peyton Jones for the 2025 season, and Duke added former Appalachian State back Anderson Castle from the transfer portal. Jones rattled off 317 yards and three scores as a change-of-pace back in 2024, and Moore finished the 2023 season with 674 yards and six touchdowns before injuries derailed his senior campaign.
Duke’s former running backs coach Willie Simmons left the program to become the head coach at Florida International University.
