Duke Running Back Nate Sheppard Leads Nation in Scoring After Five-Touchdown Performance

Nate Sheppard crossed the goal line five times in Duke’s 47-2 victory over Boston College on Saturday, setting a school record for touchdowns in a single game. After his fifth score, the running back assumed the traditional Heisman pose in the end zone. The win secured bowl eligibility for the Blue Devils (6-2, 3-2 ACC) for a fifth straight season.

Sheppard has accumulated 19 total touchdowns this season, a national lead in both scoring and touchdown production. He currently ranks first among Power Four players in all-purpose yards per game with 159.3 and second among Power Four running backs in rushing yards per game at 121.5. His season totals include 972 rushing yards and 302 receiving yards on 31 catches.

Head coach Manny Diaz defended the position ahead of the matchup with Boston College. "I don't know why the running back thing has become so devalued," Diaz told CBS Sports. He argued that Sheppard possesses the ability to affect outcomes, which he believes is the primary criterion for the Heisman award.

The team’s trajectory shifted abruptly in January when quarterback Darian Mensah entered the transfer portal and signed with Miami. Mensah, who had led Duke to its first outright ACC championship since 1962, left an estimated $8 million two-year contract for a larger deal. His top target, Cooper Barkate, followed him to Miami. Sheppard, a second-team All-ACC freshman from Mandeville, Louisiana, received offers from other schools but informed Duke of his intent to stay days before his teammates departed.

"We were supposed to come back, kind of repeat things," Sheppard said regarding the departures. Diaz described the news as chaotic but emphasized that the program is not defined by a single player. Duke replaced Mensah with San Jose State transfer Walker Eget and restructured the offense around Sheppard.

Despite receiving no preseason All-ACC honors after rushing for 1,132 yards in 2025, Sheppard has thrived in the new system. The Blue Devils rank ninth nationally in scoring defense and were picked 10th in the 17-team ACC by media polls in July. Sheppard added 10 pounds in the offseason to enhance his goal-line presence, though he has also expanded his range.

His versatility was evident against Virginia, where he threw the first pass of his career, a 28-yard touchdown to freshman Brody Keefe with 1:14 remaining in a 19-16 win. The play was installed just 48 hours before kickoff. Against Boston College, four of his five touchdowns came from four yards or less, including one from the Wildcat formation. His longest score of the season was a 54-yard run.

Sheppard is one of only four players in the playoff era to reach 1,250 yards from scrimmage and 19 touchdowns in just eight games. He joins Melvin Gordon, Ameer Abdullah, and Ashton Jeanty in that statistical group. He is tied with Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith for the FBS lead with 42 plays of 10 yards or more.

The upcoming schedule offers two major milestones for Sheppard. He needs 28 rushing yards against NC State on Saturday to become Duke’s first player with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. A week later, the team travels to No. 1 Miami at Hard Rock Stadium, where Sheppard’s older brother Will is on the Dolphins’ practice squad and the family lived near the venue when Nate was born.

The coaching situation remains fluid following Florida State’s dismissal of Mike Norvell on Sunday. Diaz, who is 24-11 at Duke with back-to-back nine-win seasons, has entered the rumor mill. Sheppard stated he stayed with the team for his teammates and the coach he committed to two years ago. "Manny Diaz, I believe in his vision. I believe in what he preaches," Sheppard said. His father, Willie Sheppard, noted that the family will defer decisions until the season ends, asserting that the player is currently a Duke Blue Devil.