Duke football defensive coordinator Tyler Santucci is a new guy, who really isn’t new

Technically the new guy on Duke’s football staff, Tyler Santucci’s familiarity with his fellow coaches makes that designation unrecognizable.

Hired as Duke’s defensive coordinator last January, Santucci arrived having worked with Blue Devils head coach Mike Elko at Wake Forest, Notre Dame and Texas A&M over the past nine years.

Santucci and Duke safeties coach Lyle Hemphill were on the Wake Forest staff together in 2019 after three seasons together at Stony Brook from 2011-13.

Santucci and Duke defensive ends coach Harland Bower coached together at Texas A&M (2021) and Notre Dame (2017).

Santucci and Duke cornerbacks coach Ishmael Aristide coached together at Texas A&M in 2020.

So when he walked into Duke’s Yoh Football Center to start work, it was more a reunion than a welcome party.

At age 34, Santucci is young to be working as a defensive coordinator, though. That’s where his philosophy helps him, along with all that familiarity.

“I do think that, no matter where you’re at in this profession,” Santucci said Thursday, “there’s still a piece of you that has got to make sure everybody understands what your agenda is. That you are for the team, you are for the staff and there is no agenda outside of trying to build respect within the staff.

“Just understanding who I am. I’m still the same guy when I was with Coach Hemphill as his GA (graduate assistant) at Stony Brook.”

While that was only 12 years ago, Santucci’s duties are far different now.

He’ll be calling plays for a Duke defense that finished fifth in the ACC in points allowed per game (22.1) and fourth in rushing defense, allowing 120.9 yards per game under previous defensive coordinator Robb Smith.

That defense helped Duke to a surprising 9-4 record, including a 30-13 win over UCF in the Blue Devils’ first bowl appearance since 2018.

Duke secured 26 turnovers (16 fumble recoveries, 10 interceptions) last season, second only to Louisville’s 30 among ACC teams.

That stood out most when Santucci reviewed game film of his new team.

“This was an opportunistic defense that made people pay when the ball was on the ground,” Santucci said. “To get the ball back for the offense is the goal. If we can continue to do that and build upon that, that is one piece of it. We have to continue to disrupt the football like we did a year ago.”

Though Duke’s top two tacklers from last season, safety Darius Joiner and linebacker Shaka Heyward, are done with college football and preparing for NFL careers, the Blue Devils return eight starters on defense.

The defensive line is filled with returning starters in defensive ends Vincent Anthony Jr., and RJ Oben plus defensive tackles DeWayne Carter and Ja’Mion Franklin.

That’s a great base for Santucci to start from as he plots more Duke success this season.

“When we talk about the three levels of our defense, everything starts up front,” Santucci said. “Those guys up front just need to continue to be steady. There’s a steadiness and a comfort with those guys. They’ve played a lot of football.”

At linebacker, Cam Dillon and Tre Freeman started the Military Bowl game when Heyward was out. Both have returned.

In the secondary, Joiner and starting cornerback Natrone Young have exhausted their eligibility. But Chandler Rivers is back for his sophomore season at cornerback along with junior safety Brandon Johnson and senior safety Jaylen Stinson.

Duke added two graduate transfer defensive backs in Myles Jones (Texas A&M) and Al Blades Jr. (Miami). Terry Moore, a sophomore, is now at safety after playing running back last season.

The post-spring transfer portal window will allow the Blue Devils to look for more depth in the secondary.

Midway through spring practice, Santucci is pushing the veteran defense to an even higher level of play.

“Even with returning starters,” he said, “there’s just so much that you can get better at in this game, whether that be physically, mentally, from a football IQ standpoint and understanding situations at a higher level to really understand objectives. What is the offense trying to do? What are we trying to do to combat that? So I like where we’re at. We just have a long ways to go. I think our guys understand that.”