⚡ CFB Dashboard

If you're looking for a major change for Duke from Week 1 to Week 2, here it is: The passing game looked better in Champaign. Jeremiah Hasley believes it can look even better still. Coming off Duke's 31-27 victory over Illinois, the veteran tight end pointed to a growing comfort within the offense, particularly the way the running game helped create opportunities through the air. When asked about his connection with Walker Eget on Tuesday, Hasley welcomed the progress without suggesting the two had reached their limit. "Oh, there's always room for improvement," Hasley said during weekly media availability. "We got a lot more comfort in this past game, especially in the passing game, especially with the opening in the pass game from the run." The production reflected that improvement. Eget completed 15-of-21 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns, while Hasley contributed three of those receptions for 53 yards. It meant Duke got meaningful production around Nate Sheppard rather than asking its running back to carry nearly the entire offensive load. That was one of the most encouraging developments in our Illinois takeaways published on Sunday. The question now is whether Duke can make that efficiency repeatable, beginning with Saturday's ACC opener against Stanford. Hasley sees the answer in continued work together. "It's about timing, really, whether it's in the pass game or the run game," he said. "So just more reps, the timing of it, it will all improve as the season goes on." He pointed to last season's offensive development as a reason for his confidence. "I think that happened last year in our offense that we started off slow and ended up being one of the best in the country," Hasley said. Hasley's optimism also extends beyond his own connection with Eget. Duke's use of 12 and 13 personnel was part of the offensive plan entering the season, he said, with the tight end room's talent and understanding of its assignments allowing the staff to put multiple players from the position on the field. For Hasley, the appeal is not simply getting more tight ends into the formation. It is having a group capable of executing what the offense asks of it, including "plays that are somewhat complex but we think are simple." Asked whether this was a particularly good time to play the position, Hasley did not need much convincing. "No, you're not wrong at all," he said. "Whenever the boys are out there in 12, 13 personnel, it's always a blast and we're having fun doing it. So we're enjoying it." Saturday offered a useful example of Hasley's value beyond helping Duke establish the run. His 35-yard reception on the opening possession of the third quarter helped set up the touchdown that put the Blue Devils ahead for good. When discussing Duke's identity, however, Hasley focused less on his own contribution than on how the offense handled the situation. The Blue Devils needed points before halftime and got them. After Illinois failed to score on its final possession of the half, Duke took the ball to begin the third quarter and scored again. For Hasley, understanding those opportunities was part of what made the win representative of the program. "For Duke, it's just playing the situations right," he said. Looking ahead to this weekend, Hasley is not asking Duke to forget what it has accomplished. But he is asking the Blue Devils to understand what those accomplishments demand next. He described entering conference play as an opportunity to defend a championship, with opponents coming after the Blue Devils because of what they achieved a year ago. "So we have to attack the week regardless of who the opponent is," Hasley said. "Like we're out there trying to, you know, defend our title. So that's the mindset each and every week. And that's the mindset that we have going into this week as well against Stanford." For a fifth year player, part of that responsibility is making sure younger teammates approach the work with the same attention to detail and urgency. Hasley described that as something the program's leaders must actively pass along, rather than assume everyone already understands. "Instead of thinking in the future of what we could be, we have to stay in the present moment," he said, "which is trying to beat Stanford."