By Brian Murphy, WRAL

Durham, N.C. — In his first season, Duke coach Manny Diaz led the Blue Devils to nine wins.

Now, he’s extended that success to the recruiting trail.

The Blue Devils signed 27 high school players Wednesday, the first day of the signing period. The class is ranked No. 33 by 247Sports between Arkansas and Colorado and just behind traditional ACC powers Clemson (30) and Florida State (31).

Diaz called it the “highest-rated recruiting class in program history.” Duke’s recruiting classes have ranked in the 50s the last three years.

Diaz said the program success in the last three season — the Blue Devils are 26-12 over that time, including 9-3 this season under Diaz — helped.

“To be able to equate Duke with winning, everyone knows you’re getting the elite academic experience, so I think the fact those two things go hand-in-hand, we kind of felt that momentum in the spring,” Diaz said.

The class includes three four-star players: tight end Bradley Gompers, defensive end Bryce Davis from Greensboro, and defensive end Bariate Kara.

Davis flipped from his commitment from Clemson to Duke in August.

“Whatever the recruiting services say about him, our opinion of him is even higher — not just as a player, but as a person,” Diaz said of Davis, who is ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the state by 247.

Diaz said the ability of Duke to win recruiting battles for the 6-foot-5 Gompers, who he called maybe the best prospect in Pennsylvania, and Davis will have long-lasting impacts for the program.

“To see Duke win those recruiting battles, to see Duke win versus Clemson and Georgia for Bryce, there are going to be future Bryce Davises in the state,” Diaz said. “I told Bryce this when he committed to us. You’re not just affecting your life. There’s some ninth-grader in the state of North Carolina, who doesn’t even know he’s going to be that guy. But he knows who Bryce Davis is and he knows who Bryce signed with today.”

The class includes three other North Carolina high school players in Hickory wide receiver Jamien Little, Burlington quarterback Dan Mahan and Wake Forest wide receiver Kavon Simmons.

The Blue Devils also signed seven players from states that border North Carolina.

About half the class is expected to enroll early, Diaz said.

“The class is a statement of intent,” Diaz said. “Not just in terms of the quality that I mentioned, but the quantity. The sheer number, having 27 guys, when we’re going into an era with 105 roster limit, means a quarter of our football team going into next year is going to be in high school as we speak right now. That shows that we want to be a developmental program.”

Duke signees

Tommy Rupley, DE (Acton, Mass)

Sampson Onuoha, DE (London, England)

Nathan Kutufaris, OL (Springfield, Pa.)

Kaleb Lanier, CB (Decatur, Ga.)

Andrew Pellicciotta, S (Malvern, Pa.)

Bryce Davis, DE (Greensboro)

Jaivon Solomon, WR (Gray, Ga.)

Jamien Little, WR (Hickory)

Bradley Gompers, LB (Pittsburgh, Pa.)

Bariate Kara, DT (Loganville, Ga.)

Dan Mahan, QB (Burlington)

Ma’khi Jones, S (Newark, N.J.)

Maliki Wright, S (Orlando, Fla.)

Qeanu Johnson, WR (Hamden, Conn.)

Will Felder Jr., LB (Willingboro, N.J.)

Evan Scott, OL (Augusta, Ga.)

Cole Allen, OL (Jackson, Miss.)

Julius Columbus, DT (Gainesville, Ga.)

Asher Wasserman, LB (Hamden, Conn.)

Kolbe Harmon, CB (Brentwood, Tenn.)

Kavon Simmons, WR (Wake Forest)

Jamin Brown, OL (Gadsden, Ala.)

Elliott Schaper, LB (Austin, Texas)

Roman Fina, OL (Tuscon, Ariz.)

Daniel Boyd, OL (Las Vegas, Nev.)

Kai Jacobowitz, OL (Carlsbad, Calif.)

Nate Sheppard, RB (Mandeville, La.)

Source: wralsportsfan.com