CHARLOTTE — Duke football’s Riley Leonard, one of the top quarterbacks in the ACC, has high praise for running back Jordan Waters.

“He’s an incredible athlete,” Leonard said Wednesday at ACC Kickoff in Charlotte.

A Fairmont native and recent Duke graduate, Waters enters his final season as the Blue Devils’ top returner at running back. The former Robeson County standout arrived at Duke in 2019 as a 205-pound freshman.

In his first 25 games with the Blue Devils, Waters had 57 carries for 305 yards and three touchdowns. But he had a breakout season in 2022 with 123 carries for 566 yards and eight TDs — the eighth-best total among ACC rushers — as Duke’s top running back.

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That production helped the Blue Devils average 32.8 points and 415 yards per game as one of the league’s top offenses. Now listed at 219 pounds, Waters looks the part as a Power Five running back.

“It’s hard to stop a 225-pound running back that runs like he runs. He’s extremely fast and powerful, so it’s easy to block for someone like that,” Duke offensive lineman Jacob Monk said.

“… Conditioning test, nothing to ‘em. Track, nothing to ‘em. He’s really developed his body a lot in the weight room.”

Stats aside, Leonard said he feels at ease with Waters in the backfield.

“When it comes to pass protection, that’s what I love most about Jordan Waters,” Leonard said with a smile. “He’s not afraid to get his hands dirty and block for me. As a quarterback, that’s one of the most reassuring things that a running back can do.”

In addition to Waters, Jaquez Moore, Jaylen Coleman and Peyton Jones were among the names Leonard mentioned as he discussed Duke’s group of running backs. The dual-threat quarterback is expecting big things this season.

“We’re gonna have a really talented corps of running backs, just like we did last year,” Leonard said.

“All those guys are great when it comes to pass protection and all of them run hard. It’s funny, because they’re all competing against each other, but they’re all best friends, too.”

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: ACC football media days: Duke football teammates praise Jordan Waters