Stanford Football Keeps Adding to 2026 Class

A star at Rockwell High School in Rockwell, Texas, Duckworth has primarily played wide receiver in high school but also possesses elite level talent at defensive back, and it's expected that Duckworth will play cornerback in college.

As a junior last season, he made 34 catches for 472 yards and five touchdowns on offense. Despite being limited on defense, he still intercepted a pass and made a sack in 12 games.

Prior to being committed to Stanford, Duckworth committed to Arkansas over offers from Arizona State, Boston College, Memphis, Pittsburgh and SMU among others. But after de-committing in mid-May and visiting The Farm at the end of the month, he felt at home and opted to take his talent to Stanford.

Standing at 6-foot-1 and weighing 165 pounds, Duckworth is on the smaller side, but has good length for a cornerback. But what he lacks in size, he makes up in both speed and agility, possessing an athleticism that will certainly prove valuable to the Cardinal defensive back room.

After this season, the Cardinal will lose a handful of key defensive backs, including Collin Wright and Jay Green, making Duckworth the type of player who can fight for immediate playing time when he arrives.

With good hands, Duckworth playing cornerback full-time figures to be an easy transition. But one thing he needs to work on is being a consistently good tackler, with the ACC being known for its scrappy and high level play.

The Cardinal are facing a big season in 2025--a campaign that can severely dictate their future. Coming off of four consecutive 3-9 seasons and entering the fall with an interim head coach in Frank Reich, the Cardinal are not expected to be competitive this season.

But since general manager Andrew Luck and Reich have taken over, the Cardinal have been hard at work at building towards a successful season, and they have some of the tools to make strides in 2025, setting them up nicely for 2026.

Off for the summer, the Cardinal will begin fall camp in late July and begin preparing for a Week Zero matchup against Hawaii in Honolulu.