Duke has named San Jose State transfer Walker Eget its starting quarterback ahead of the Blue Devils' season opener against Tulane on Sept. 5.
Eget missed spring football after undergoing offseason surgery on his right knee, but he was healthy for fall camp.
Duke coach Manny Diaz said Tuesday that Eget's consistency as a sixth-year veteran was the difference in winning the job over highly regarded redshirt freshman Dan Mahan.
"The team believes that we can win with both guys," Diaz said. "Both guys have a different set of skill sets that we could frame our offense around, but when it all came down to it, it was just about consistency. The team, just given our offseason, needed a starting quarterback. I think they're happy now that they know that Walker is the No. 1."
Eget had spent five seasons and made 18 starts at San Jose State. He threw for 3,051 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2025 before going down with a late-season knee injury that required surgery.
He applied for and was granted an NCAA waiver in February to be eligible for the 2026 season. Duke added him via the transfer portal following Darian Mensah's departure for Miami.
Eget's recovery from offseason surgery added a variable to the position battle at Duke.
"Every time that there was a benchmark of monitoring his health and his ability to take the next step, he passed it every single time," Diaz said.
Duke won its first outright Atlantic Coast Conference championship since 1962 last year behind Mensah.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
