The Duke Blue Devils finished their 2014 season with a 9-4 record, which concluded with a loss to Arizona State in the Sun Bowl.

In the last three seasons, the Blue Devils have won 25 games under the direction of head coach David Cutcliffe. The 2015 season will return 12 starters, but 13 members of the two-deep depth chart will not be in that mix.

“We like our team. We like their work ethic. We just have to go see what we can do on the field at this point. Our guys are working hard in the off-season, which is a great thing to see,” Cutcliffe said.

One of the biggest tasks at hand for Duke football is replacing starting quarterback Anthony Boone. He was the winningest quarterback in Blue Devil history, and his replacement is redshirt junior Thomas Sirk. Behind Boone, Sirk did not see any action on the field especially after rupturing his Achilles tendon in the spring of 2013.

In the spring game, Sirk completed 12 of 28 passes for 83 yards, rushed 19 times for 30 yards, and had two touchdowns. Redshirt sophomore Parker Boehme will be competing for the job behind Sirk this season.

“Right now Thomas Sirk is our number one. Parker Boehme is our number two, and Parker had a great spring,” said Cutcliffe. “I’ve just gained more and more confidence in both of them. I trust both of them in every aspect of who they are, which is fun as the coach. They’re talented. They throw it well.”

At wide receiver, the Blue Devils must replace key playmaker Jamison Crowder, who has caught more passes in Duke history than anyone besides Conner Vernon. Duke also lost Isaac Blakeney to the NFL for the 2015 season. Duke will return junior wideout Johnell Barnes, senior receiver Max McCaffrey, and redshirt senior tight end Braxton Deaver.

“We got a receiving corps, and I think that our depth is better,” said Cutcliffe. “I thought from practice habits and overall drill performance, which is a lot of what spring practice is, our receivers led the way for our team. So I was pleased with their work.”

Although the Blue Devils still have depth at receiver, they may rely more on the running game in 2015 since they return some of their powerhouse running backs. Redshirt junior Jela Duncan, sophomore Shaun Wilson and senior Shaq Powell should all make an impact in the backfield this season. In the Sun Bowl, Powell accounted for over half of Duke’s offensive yards, while Duncan led the Blue Devils in rushing yards in the 2012 regular season.

Wilson also set a school record for number of yards in a single game when he racked up 245 yards on 12 carries in Duke’s win over Kansas last season.

However, the offensive line has some holes to fill, especially since four-year starter right guard Laken Tomlinson left. The Blue Devils still have redshirt seniors Matt Skura at center and Lucas Patrick at guard, while veterans Cody Robinson and Tanner Stone are competing for Tomlinson’s spot. Sophomore Gabe Brandner will start at left tackle.

One of Duke’s biggest strengths going into 2015 will be their secondary. The Blue Devils will return all five starters including redshirt senior All-ACC and All-American safety Jeremy Cash. Redshirt junior safety DeVon Edwards will also be back.

Edwards is an All-ACC and All-American return specialist, and he will continue to be both a disruptive member of the secondary and return game next season.

“Those guys have great energy and tempo,” said Cutcliffe.

On the defensive line, the Blue Devils only have one returning starter, senior tackle Carlos Wray. Duke does have talented athletes to fill the voids left on the line, but they are young and inexperienced. Redshirt freshman tackles Edgar Cerenord and Quaven Ferguson and redshirt sophomore tackle Mike Ramsay will compete for game time behind starters A.J. Wolf and Wray.

At defensive end, Duke has senior Kyler Brown, the younger brother to linebacker Kelby Brown, starting alongside redshirt senior Britton Grier. As a linebacker, Brown had 73 tackles and a sack in 23 games, but he recently made the switch to defensive end. Grier also transitioned from linebacker to defensive end after 2013 but only has three tackles. Competing for time at defensive end will be senior Deion Williams who also was previously a linebacker.

“The more we study it, the more we like what we’re seeing,” said Cutcliffe. “We have some guys coming in here this summer to join us that could impact us. So I think that’s another great part of what we’re looking at from a depth standpoint.”

Duke has moved a lot of linebackers to fill the defensive end positions, but they will need to replace standout linebacker David Helton for the 2015 season. Helton has led the ACC in tackles the past two seasons. In 49 games and 32 career starts, Helton had 347 tackles. Luckily for the Blue Devils, Kelby Brown will return in the fall after suffering from an injury that kept him out during the spring. Brown is an All-ACC linebacker who has 242 tackles and 23.5 tackles for loss in his 32 career games.

Duke plays their first ACC opponent on Sept. 26 when they take on Georgia Tech, and their biggest test will come when they play the three ACC opponents they lost to in 2014, back-to-back from Oct. 24 – Nov. 7. The matchups against Miami, Virginia Tech and North Carolina will test Duke’s inexperienced quarterback and defensive front.