Two true freshmen to start vs. Bama

Jalon Calhoun, Jacob Monk to get trial by fire in Atlanta

Duke football has a tough task, opening the season against No. 2 Alabama in Atlanta. That task will be even tougher, with Blue Devils coach David Cutcliffe planning to start two true freshmen on offense in the game.

On a media conference call on Wednesday afternoon,  Cutcliffe confirmed that WR Jalon Calhoun and RT Jacob Monk would start their first collegiate games in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic.

Jalon Calhoun

Calhoun is a three-star recruit out of Greenville, SC. He chose Duke last November, after decommitting from Georgia Tech in June.

The 5-foot-11, 177-pounder replaced sophomore Jake Bobo in the lineup after Bobo broke his collarbone in practice.

Jacob Monk

Monk was a three-star out of Wendell, NC. He appears to have beaten out junior Robert Kraeling, who started all last year. Kraeling is one of three current Blue Devil linemen with 1,000 career snaps.

Calhoun and Monk will be just the fourth and fifth true freshmen to start an opener under Cutcliffe, joining DE Victor Dimukeje (2017), WR T.J. Rahming (2015) and WR Johnny Williams (2008).

The last Duke offensive lineman to start an opener as a true freshman was RT Bryan Morgan, in 2007.