- Clarkston Hines holds the Duke's record in receiving touchdowns with 38 and is in the College Football Hall of Fame.
- Mike McGee is also in the College Football Hall of Fame, and during his college career, he won the Outland Trophy.
- Daniel Jones was the MVP in two straight bowl games in 2017 and 2018 before becoming the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
The Duke Blue Devils football program was established in 1888, and since then, they’ve won 17 conference titles and one division title, and they are 8-8 in bowl games. If you were to have bet on their moneyline football odds across their bowl games since 2018, you’d be 3-0 along with them as they beat Temple in the Independence Bowl (2018), UCF in the Military Bowl (2022), and Troy in the Birmingham Bowl (2023).
Right now, you can bet on the Blue Devils’s college football odds weekly at the BetMGM online sportsbook.
Here, I’ve looked back at their history to rank the best seven Duke players.
7 Best Duke Blue Devils Football Players
| Rank | Player | Position | Duke Blue Devils Years |
| 1 | Clarkston Hines | WR | 1986-1989 |
| 2 | Mike McGee | G/LB | 1957-1959 |
| 3 | Daniel Jones | QB | 2016-2018 |
| 4 | Thaddeus Lewis | QB | 2006-2009 |
| 5 | Ben Bennett | QB | 1980-1983 |
| 6 | Anthony Dilweg | QB | 1985-1988 |
| 7 | Mike Junkin | LB | 1983-1986 |
1. Clarkston Hines
Hines played for the Blue Devils from 1986 to 1989, and while there, he set school records in receptions (189), receiving yards (3,318), single-season receiving yards (1,149 in 1989), receiving touchdowns (38), and single-season receiving touchdowns (17 in 1989).
All those records, except for the receiving touchdowns and single-season receiving touchdowns, were eventually broken in the early 2010s, but he left an indelible mark on the program.
He was a unanimous All-American, first-team All-American, ACC Male Athlete of the Year, ACC Player of the Year, and three-time first-team All-ACC.
Clarkston Hines was the first player in @ACC history to lead the league in receiving yards for three consecutive seasons. In 1989, he was named ACC Player of the Year while playing for @DUKEFOOTBALL. Which HOF coach did Clarkston play for? 🧐 #DukeGang pic.twitter.com/6d2Neo8utx
— College Football Hall of Fame (@cfbhall) March 21, 2020
He is in the Duke Sports Hall of Fame and is an ACC 50th Anniversary Team member.
Hines is enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.
2. Mike McGee
A guard for Duke from 1957 to 1959, McGee won the Outland Trophy, was a first-team All-American, ACC Player of the Year, ACC Athlete of the Year, and a two-time first-team All-ACC recipient.
After his playing days, he played a few seasons of professional football, but he pursued coaching. He was the head coach of East Carolina and Duke before moving into an athletic director role with Cincinnati, USC, and South Carolina.
He’s enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.
3. Daniel Jones
Fans of the NFL today will know Jones as the quarterback of the New York Giants, who was drafted No. 6 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, but before that, he was the best quarterback the Blue Devils have had.
Jones is devoid of any major accolades at the college level like All-American nods, but over his career there, he racked up 8,201 yards (fifth), 52 passing touchdowns (third), 9,524 total yards (second), and 69 total touchdowns (second).
Though he was at Duke from 2015 to 2018, he redshirted his freshman season and left for the NFL after just three years.
As for the accolades Jones did receive, they include the 2017 Quick Lane Bowl MVP and 2018 Independence Bowl MVP.
He was the highest-drafted Duke player at No. 6 overall since linebacker Mike Junkin went No. 5 in the 1987 NFL Draft.
4. Thaddeus Lewis
Lewis is the most accomplished Duke quarterback, playing there from 2006 to 2009.
Over that time, he racked up 10,065 passing yards, 67 passing touchdowns, 9,987 total yards, and 76 total touchdowns.
These are all school records.
Lewis, a two-time second-team All-ACC recipient, also set the school record for most consecutive attempts without an interception (206).
In his final season with Duke, he completed 61% of his passes for 3,330 yards, 20 touchdowns, eight interceptions, and also ran in four scores.
He was undrafted but remained in the NFL in various backup roles from 2010 to 2017, playing for over half a dozen teams.
5. Ben Bennett
Bennett played at Duke from 1980 to 1983. While there, he amassed 9,614 passing yards, 55 passing touchdowns, 9,061 total yards, and 57 total touchdowns.
When he left the school, he held the all-time record in passing yards and passing touchdowns, and that held until Lewis broke them in the late 2000s.
Bennett was a third-team All-American, two-time ACC Player of the Year, two-time first-team All-ACC, and was the ACC Rookie of the Year.
As a senior, he averaged more than 280 passing yards per game and threw just one interception.
6. Anthony Dilweg
Dilweg didn’t really get a shot at any extended playing time until his senior season. He was the starter, and that season (1988), he completed 287 of 484 passes (59.3%) for 3,824 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions. He also had two rushing touchdowns.
He holds the single-season record in passing yards, passing touchdowns, and total yards. He also ranks second in single-game passing yards with 475 in 1988 against Wake Forest. He held the record for just one season. It was broken in 1989 by Dave Brown, who had 479 against North Carolina.
In his final season, he was first-team All-ACC, the ACC Player of the Year, and the MVP of the 1989 Hula Bowl.
7. Mike Junkin
I mentioned Junkin earlier as the No. 5 pick in the 1987 NFL Draft, and he went there for good reason.
While at Duke, he was second-team All-American, two-time first-team All-ACC, and recorded 513 tackles, the all-time record in program history.
Junkin also holds the single-season record in tackles with 188 in 1986 and is tied for the second-most in a single game with 25.