Oct 18, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA;Duke Blue Devils defensive tackle Aaron Hall (99) at the coin toss before the first half of the game against Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

One Duke Football Coach Making a Difference on the Defense

Originally posted on Duke Blue Devils on SI
By Michael Canelo | Last updated Oct 24, 2025 10:00 AM ET

The Duke Blue Devils football team has been impressive this season. They are right in the thick of things this season in the ACC. Many people did not see that coming, but here they are as one of the top teams in the conference.

Duke is looking to bounce back from their disappointing loss last week to ACC rival Georgia Tech. It was a game that Duke believed they would have won, and they did dominate most of the game. The only problem was that Duke made mistakes that were very costly.

But now they will learn from them and be better the rest of the season. It is going to be a tight one for whatever team reaches the ACC Championship game, but Duke still has a shot.

Duke coach Harland Bower has played a huge role for this team on the defensive side of the ball. This season, the Duke defense has been better, and they are playing at a high level. They want to continue that all the way to the end of the season and want to make sure teams know they can stop anyone at any time.

Duke's Harland Bower

"Amidst a 4-3 start to the season, the Duke defensive ends have been some of the strongest contributors to a Blue Devil group gaining momentum," said Caleb Dudley of The Chronicle.

"At the midpoint of the season, senior pass rusher Vincent Anthony Jr. was tied for sixth in the nation with 6.5 sacks and was recently named the No. 6 best defensive player at midseason according to ESPN. Outside of Anthony, Duke also ranked 10th in time to pressure, at 3.19 seconds, after its first six games according to Pro Football Focus."

While Anthony and fellow pass rusher Wesley Williams get a lot of the attention, it’s their tutor Bower who enables them to play freely on Saturdays. As one of the longest-tenured coaches on staff — Bower and receivers coach Zohn Burden are the only holdovers from the days of Mike Elko — his contribution to the Duke program has kept the defensive line humming weekly.

It was a winding journey for Bower to reach Duke, one he called typical of coaches nationwide. After a solid high school career in New Jersey, the defensive lineman became a team captain by his final year at Georgia Southern.

After being encouraged by one of his coaches in Statesboro, Ga., Bower joined the coaching staff at a laundry list of schools: Texas A&M, South Alabama, Notre Dame, Central Arkansas, Troy, Rutgers, Murray State and Georgia Military College. That journey finally came to an end when he followed then-Texas A&M defensive coordinator Mike Elko to Durham.

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This article first appeared on Duke Blue Devils on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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