In all of the low expectations that have been set for Duke football this preseason, the biggest came on Tuesday when sophomore running back Nate Sheppard was not mentioned on the Doak Walker Award watch list.The Louisiana native seemed to take the slight personally, taking to Twitter/X to show his true feelings about the snub.
pic.twitter.com/qeJSxQ3rej — Nate Sheppard (@NateShep20) August 18, 2026 Sheppard was one of the breakout stars for the Blue Devils last season, rushing for 1,132 yards and 11 touchdowns, breaking several Duke program records in the process. And in contrast to quarterback Darian Mensah and wide receiver Cooper Barkate, who both left to play for ACC rival Miami, Sheppard turned down several offers from other programs to stay in Durham.The running back will certainly use this as extra motivation heading into the season, where he will be Duke’s featured back in an offensive system that, according to starter center Matt Craycraft, will focus on the run."I think, at the end of the day, we want to run the ball a lot more this year," Craycraft said. This article originally appeared on Duke Wire: Duke RB Nate Sheppard responds to Doak Walker watch list snub