DURHAM, N.C. – The 2014 edition of the Duke Blue Devils football team will be captained by Anthony Boone, Kelby Brown, Jeremy Cash, Jamison Crowder and Laken Tomlinson as announced by head coach David Cutcliffe on Thursday.
The selections were made by all members of the defending Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Coastal Division-winning team as its prepares to open the season against Elon on Aug. 30.
Boone was chosen as a team captain for the second straight year, following a season during which he became the first quarterback in Duke history to guide the team to wins in his first 10 starts.
In 33 career games (12 starts), he has thrown for 3,089 yards with 19 touchdowns while rushing for 425 yards and 11 touchdowns.
This preseason, Boone was named to the preseason Watch Lists for the Manning Award, Maxwell Award and O’Brien Award.
Brown was the returning starting linebacker at the Mike position before suffering a season-ending knee injury during preseason camp in early August.
In 2013, he was a First Team All-ACC selection by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association (ACSMA) after claiming 114 tackles, 11 hits for lost yardage, one sack, two interceptions and two forced fumbles, while pacing the league with 10.38 tackles per game.
Brown was named to the preseason Watch Lists for the Bednarik Award, Butkus Award, Lombardi Award, Nagurski Trophy and Lott IMPACT Trophy.
Cash is the returning starter at the Strike safety position after receiving honors as a Second Team All-American by USA Today last season.
In 2013, Cash was on the field for a team-high 1,120 snaps and averaged close to 10 tackles per game during ACC regular season contests registering 121 tackles and 9.5 hits for lost yardage and four interceptions.
During the preseason, Cash has been on the preseason Watch Lists for the Bednarik Award, Nagurski Trophy and Thorpe Award as well as the ESPN, Lindy’s, Athlon Sports, Phil Steele and USA Today All-ACC squads.
Crowder was named to the 2013 All-America Second Team as a punt returner by the Football Writers Association of America, Sports Illustrated and Phil Steele.
He was also a First Team All-ACC selection as a wide receiver by the ACSMA and the league’s head coaches.
Crowder finished 2013 with a Duke single-season record 108 receptions.
He matched or broke Blue Devil marks with 1,360 receiving yards, 7.79 catches per game, and 14 multiple-reception games – 13 of them with at least five receptions, four with at least 10 receptions, and seven 100-yard receiving games to go along with two punt returns for touchdowns.
Crowder has been named to the 2014 preseason All-America teams by Sporting News, Athlon Sports, Phil Steele and USA Today.
Tomlinson is the returning starter at right guard and is a preseason Second Team All-America pick by Athlon Sports and Phil Steele.
In 2013, Tomlinson was named to the ESPN All-Bowl Team after helping the Blue Devils compile 661 total yards and 48 points against Texas A&M in the 46th annual Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta, Ga.
Tomlinson was an integral component of Duke’s offensive front that ranked first in the ACC in sacks allowed per passing attempt (27.8).
He was also part of a Blue Devil offensive unit that established school single-season records for total first downs (298), offensive yards (5,966) and points (459).
Tomlinson has been placed on the Watch Lists for the Lombardi Award and Outland Trophy during the preseason.