Redshirt junior safety Jeremy Cash has elected to play out his final season of eligibility at Duke, announcing Thursday that he would hold off on declaring for the NFL draft for another year.
Alongside head coach David Cutcliffe, Cash held a press conference in Duke's Brooks Football Building to publicly announce his decision.
"I just feel there's a lot of unfinished business that we have left here," Cash said. "I would like to continue that success and to build upon what we've done here so far."
Cash informed Cutcliffe of his decision shortly before Duke took on No. 15 Arizona State in the Hyundai Sun Bowl Dec. 27, but admitted that there was a time when he initially leaned toward going pro.
"I knew he was still kind of wrestling, but he did come to a conclusion and my reaction was one of joy," Cutcliffe said. "I'm not being selfish, but we're family and it's always hard to say goodbye."
The Plantation, Fla., native began his career at Ohio State, where he only saw action in five games as a freshman in 2011. Following that season, Cash decided to transfer to Duke to join an unproven secondary. After sitting out the 2012 campaign, Cash started in 2013 and made an instant impact for the Blue Devils, racking up 121 tackles with 9.5 tackles for a loss, two forced fumbles and four interceptions.
He followed up his breakout year with another solid campaign in 2014, amassing 111 tackles with 10.5 tackles for a loss, 5.5 sacks, two interceptions and four forced fumbles. Cash was the only safety in the nation to finish with more than 100 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and five sacks. As a team captain, Cash led a defense that was 20th in the FBS in scoring defense allowing 19.6 points per game—which ranks statistically among the top Blue Devil defenses of the past 25 years.
In his two seasons on the field at Duke, Cash established himself as the defense's go-to playmaker. His achievements did not go unnoticed, as he was named a Thorpe Award semifinalist in addition to being placed on the Walter Camp All-America second team defense and All-ACC second team.
"He could have gone and been a really good NFL player right now," Cutcliffe said.
With Cash back, the Blue Devil secondary will be as talented as ever, as he is joined by a plethora of returning talent. Redshirt sophomore DeVon Edwards joins Cash on the final line of defense as a rover safety and corner for the past two years and was second on the team this season with 133 tackles and led the Blue Devils with nine pass break-ups and 10 passes defended. Breon Borders and Bryon Fields both come back as starting corners and Deondre Singleton will return to play safety along with Edwards and Cash.
At 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, Cash is the perfect size to play safety in the NFL—according to a study done by STATS Inc, the average size of all safeties taken in the 2008-2013 drafts was 6-foot, 208.9 pounds. And with a reported 40-yard dash time of 4.59, he is on track with the 4.62 average the drafted safeties put up at the NFL Combine.
Various drafting models all have Cash among the top 10 strong safeties available, though some indicated he is better served to remain in college for his senior season. Playing the strike position in Duke's 4-2-5 defensive scheme, there are also questions about Cash's coverage skills translating to playing deep safety at the next level.
After having the opportunity to submit his game tape for review by the NFL league offices and receive feedback, Cash indicated he now has a clearer picture for what he will focus on heading into his final season as a Blue Devil.
"I got good feedback [from the NFL]... but honestly that didn't play too much of a role in my decision to come back," Cash said. "I think there are aspects of [leadership] that I can improve on, becoming more vocal and just becoming a prime-time player. To be the maximum—the best of my abilities both on and off the field."
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