Just like projected NFL Draft picks Laken Tomlinson and Jamison Crowder, another graduating Duke football player plans to continue his career with a new team.
The Blue Devils’ kickoff specialist last season, Jack Willoughby, will be suiting up for reigning national champion Ohio State in the fall. Willoughby made an unofficial visit to Columbus and met with head coach Urban Meyer Sat., April 4 en route to Indianapolis to watch Duke men’s basketball play in the Final Four.
“I made a list of every team in the country that I would want to play for in the big conferences and then started to narrow down based on who had a senior kicker graduating or who could use someone like me to step in and compete for kicking duties,” Willoughby said. “I reached out to a bunch of coaches and ultimately Ohio State was the best fit from a football and an academic standpoint.”
The Princeton, N.J., native chose Ohio State in part because of the possibility of winning the job as the team’s primary field goal kicker in addition to being the kickoff specialist. Ohio State started freshman kicker Sean Nuernberger last season, who made just 13 of his 20 field goal attempts and never attempted one over 50 yards.
“Ohio State had a senior kickoff specialist last year, who graduated. He was great for them and has left big shoes that I’m excited to try to fill,” Willoughby said. “They also have a talented young field goal kicker who was a true freshman last year and will be back for his sophomore year. But I know that Ohio State is very committed to winning and to putting the best players on the field, so I know that I’ll get a fair chance to compete to kick field goals. If I’m that best player, then I’ll play and if I’m not, then I won’t play. That’s all I can ask for.”
After beating Alabama and Oregon to win the inaugural College Football Playoff, the Buckeyes enter the upcoming season as the preseason favorite to win the national championship again. They return star running back Ezekiel Elliot as well as three quarterbacks—Braxton Miller, J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones—all of whom found themselves on Heisman watch lists at some point last season.
Willoughby expressed his excitement for competing for a national championship and the culture change he expects transitioning from a program on the rise to one of the most storied programs in college football history. Instead of the 26,000 fans at Wallace Wade Stadium, he’ll be kicking in front of NFL-size crowds.
“It’s something that you can [try to] mentally prepare for, but until you step out on the field with 108,000 people in the crowd, you probably don’t really know what you’re stepping into,” he said.
Before deciding that he wanted to make use of his fifth year of eligibility, the economics and statistics double major and Angier B. Duke Memorial Scholarship recipient went through consulting recruitment and was offered a position at McKinsey & Company in New York City. He will be deferring his offer and instead earning a one-year master’s degree. The senior indicated that he had overwhelming support throughout the process, which made his decision much easier.
“My parents have been very supportive throughout the whole thing,” Willoughby said. “Also, Alex King, who did a similar thing a few years ago, transferring from Duke to Texas to punt, was really supportive and helped me get my feet on the ground. And then I can’t speak enough about how supportive [Duke head coach David] Cutcliffe has been and the whole Duke staff with letting me continue to work out and use the facilities and speaking on my behalf.”
Willoughby walked onto Duke’s team as a freshman after earning all-state recognition as a soccer player at the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey. He beat out All-ACC placekicker Ross Martin with three games left in the 2013 season as the kickoff specialist and will be remembered for successfully kicking an onside kick at the end of the first half of the 2013 Chick-fil-A Bowl against Texas A&M.
Willoughby went on to play in all 13 games of his senior season, starting 12 and winning the kickoff role in the middle of the first game. In the regular season, he averaged 65.4 yards per kickoff with a 4.01-second average hang time and, in 69 total kickoffs, had 20 kicks returned short of the 20-yard line and 25 touchbacks. He also kicked and recovered a surprise onside kick against Wake Forest and made three tackles on the season.
Nick Martin contributed reporting.
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