Duke quarterback Riley Leonard will miss an "extended period of time" after suffering a toe injury in a Week 8 loss at Louisville, according to ESPN. Adding to the Blue Devils' injury troubles, backup quarterback Henry Belin IV is also dealing with an upper-body injury. True freshman Grayson Loftis made his first career start on Thursday against Wake Forest as result of the situation, guiding Duke to a 24-21 victory against the Demon Deacons.
While there is no definitive timeline on a return for Leonard, it's possible that he could be sidelined for the remainder of the season. It is not immediately clear if Loftis, who had thrown just five passes in his career before finishing 7 of 19 passing for 86 yards with a touchdown and interception against the Demon Deacons, will continue to start amid Leonard's absence or if Belin could return to action and take over that role.
Duke (6-3, 3-2 ACC) is still in the hunt for a spot in the ACC Championship Game, though the Blue Devils are in a logjam of teams sitting at two losses in conference play and would need help after losing to Florida State and Louisville. Duke has remaining games at North Carolina, at Virginia and at home against Pittsburgh in the regular season.
Leonard previously suffered an ankle injury late during the team's Week 5 loss against Notre Dame. After a bye, he was sidelined for the Blue Devils' Week 7 win against NC State before returning to action in Week 8 against the Seminoles. Leonard helped the Blue Devils race out to a 5-1 start to the year. Across seven starts, he's passed for 1,102 yards and three touchdowns with three interceptions. He has also rushed for an additional 352 yards and four scores.
