The eight defensive backs highlight Duke's 20-man recruiting class, geared to helping fill out the team's 4-2-5 defensive scheme.
Breon Borders
Cornerback
Statesville, N.C.
6’1”, 175 lbs.
Borders was all over the field during his senior season at Statesville High School, recording 91 tackles and 5.0 tackles for a loss, intercepting six passes, forcing three fumbles and recovering two more. He was one of Duke’s first commitments of the class of 2013, giving the Blue Devils a verbal in April 2012 and had received interest from Clemson, North Carolina, Notre Dame, South Carolina and Virginia Tech. —Daniel Carp
Phillip Carter
Safety
Folsom, Calif.
6’1”, 195 lbs.
Carter made impacts on both sides of the ball at Folsom High School, catching 40 passes for 662 yards and 12 touchdowns during his senior season and recording 91 tackles and intercepting two passes in the defensive backfield. Most of his offensive production came in his team’s first game, a 68-28 rout of Woodcreek High School, when Carter made 10 catches for 317 yards and five touchdowns. He will play safety at Duke, joining a number of his fellow signees who hope to aid the Blue Devils in the defensive backfield after a rocky end to the 2012 season. —Daniel Carp
Evrett Edwards
Cornerback
Woodbridge, Va.
5’11, 175 lbs.
Edwards is easily the most highly-touted player in Duke’s 2013 recruiting class. Playing in one of the most difficult high school football leagues in the region, Edwards helped his high school team reach the quarterfinals of the state playoffs. An early enrollee, the lockdown cornerback should compete for snaps right away in the secondary given his 4.42 speed in the 40-yard dash. Since landing his commitment last spring, the Blue Devil coaching staff was able to fend off a bevy of high-major football schools—including Penn State, Maryland, Illinois, Pittsburgh and North Carolina, among many others, still recruiting him while committed—to get him to Durham. —Brady Buck
Bryon Fields
Cornerback
Charlotte, N.C.
5’10”, 163 lbs.
Providence Day School product Brandon Braxton was a pleasant surprise for Duke in his first season in the defensive backfield. His high school teammate Bryon Fields will hope to make a similar impact in his first season with the Blue Devils. Fields showed his versatility on offense, defense and special teams during his high school career, but will hope to aid Duke’s secondary, which allowed nearly 50 points per contest in the team’s final five games of 2012. Fields gave Duke a verbal commitment in October and only held offers from the service academies—Army, Navy and Air Force—as well as a number of top FCS programs like Appalachian State and Georgia State. —Daniel Carp
Chris Holmes
Safety
Spotsylvania, Va.
6’2”, 187 lbs.
Holmes was originally slated to play football on another corner of the Triangle, but decommitted from N.C. State following the firing of head coach Tom O’Brien and gave the Blue Devils a verbal commitment New Years Day. He starred on both sides of the ball for Chancellor High School, playing both wide receiver and defensive back during his high school career. Holmes reeled in 25 catches for 317 yards and four touchdowns during his senior season, but will play safety for head coach David Cutcliffe in Duke’s 4-2-5 defensive scheme. Regardless of which side of the ball he plays on, Holmes has an undeniable nose for the football and hands to match. Holmes also held scholarship offers from Clemson, Illinois, Michigan and West Virginia, to name a few. —Daniel Carp
Jake Kite
Safety
Roanoke, Va.
6’1”, 180 lbs.
To put it simply: Kite was born to be a football player. The hard-hitting safety has a knack for running the alley and stopping the run. The Roanoke, Va. product has been committed to Duke since last spring. Choosing Duke over a scholarship offer from N.C. State, the reliable tacker with exceptional football instincts is recovering from shoulder surgery this winter and spring, but should be ready to go for the Blue Devils come training camp. Cutcliffe will love his 4.49 40-yard speed on the defensive side of the ball in the coming years. —Brady Buck
Quay Mann
Cornerback
Rocky Mount, N.C.
5’9”, 184 lbs.
One of four players in this recruiting class to enroll at Duke for the Spring semester, Mann is a local product that hails from Rocky Mount, N.C. The 5-foot-9, 184-pound cornerback clocked a time of 4.42 in the 40-yard dash last spring at a combine. He is one of a number of defensive backfield products that may have a chance to contribute immediately in Duke’s 4-2-5 defensive scheme. —Brady Buck
**Deondre Singleton
Cornerback
Lawrenceville, Ga.
6’0”, 175 lbs.
The cornerback from Lawrenceville, Ga. is rated a three-star player by Scout.com. He registered 47 tackles, 14 pass breakups, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries in his final prep season. The speedster picked Duke over a scholarship offer from Penn State, where he was recruited by former Blue Devil head coach Ted Roof. —Brady Buck
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