After coming off a historic season in school history, the Duke Blue Devils are looking to repeat in 2014 with another 10-win season along with a second consecutive ACC Coastal Division Title. Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, the road to back-to-back ACC Championship games just got more difficult as starting tight end Braxton Deaver tore his right ACL in a team scrimmage Monday afternoon. David Cutcliffe and company had already lost the biggest piece to their defense for the entire 2014 season in linebacker Kelby Brown with an ACL tear, and will now be without a pivotal offensive weapon with Deaver on the shelf for 2014 as well.
In a statement released by Duke, head coach David Cutcliffe said, "This certainly seems redundant after Kelby's injury last week, but again our thoughts and prayers lie with Braxton and his family with this news. While we'll miss his presence on the field, the priorities with Braxton right now shift to his health and spirit. We do know that Braxton will continue to be a valued member of our program going forward."
Deaver, who is a redshirt senior, can petition the NCAA for a sixth season of eligibility after already missing the 2012 season with a torn ACL. The loss of Deaver leaves yet another huge hole for David Cutcliffe to fill with the season less then two weeks away.