Dylan McDuffie (born February 19, 2000) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

for the

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of the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

. In 2021, he was named to the All-MAC Second Team by Pro Football Network and All-MAC Third Team by the MAC Coaches and Pro Football Focus after rushing for over 1,000 yards and scoring 12 total touchdowns for the Bulls. In high school, he earned All-Western New York honors as both a running back (2016) and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

(2017), and was selected as a finalist for the 2016 Connolly Cup (awarded to the best high school football player in

Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all sources agree WNY in ...

). In 2022, he entered his name into the transfer portal twice before deciding to transfer officially in April. He played the 2022-23 season for

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Football Program represents the Georgia Institute of Technology in the NCAA Division 1 Collegiate Competitors in the sport of American football. The Yellow Jackets college football team competes in the NCAA Div ...

, starting the season in a committee situation before eventually falling out the rotation completely. After the season he decided to transfer to use his last year of eligibility as a grad transfer.

High school career

Growing up in the

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

area, McDuffie attended and played football at Sweet Home High School in Amherst, New York for his freshman, sophomore, and senior seasons. He transferred to Saint Francis High School in

Athol Springs, New York Athol Springs is a hamlet in the town of Hamburg in Erie County, New York, United States. Notable people The family of feminist activist Katharine Martha Houghton Hepburn owned property in Athol Springs. Athol Springs is the birthplace of retire ...

for his junior season before returning to Sweet Home for his senior year. He played both running back on offense and linebacker on defense in high school, earning all-star recognition at each position. In 2016, as a junior, he earned All-Western New York Second Team honors after accumulating 1,255 rushing yards, 25 receptions, 290 receiving yards, 14 rushing touchdowns, and three receiving touchdowns as he led Saint Francis to the Monsignor Martin final. Further, he was a 2016 Connolly Cup finalist (which was won by his cousin) and also named Western New York’s best high school football player by the Riverside Athletic Club. In the summer of 2017, between his junior and senior years, he was invited to and attended The Future Phenom Showcase and the

Rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

3 Stripe Camp, showcase camps for top high school players, held in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, respectively. In six games as a senior in 2017, he recorded 840 rushing yards, 14.4 yards per carry, 11 rushing touchdowns, and three receiving touchdowns, despite battling an ankle injury throughout the season. With a defensive performance that included 73 tackles, he earned a 2017 All-Western New York Honorable Mention selection as a linebacker. In his high school career, McDuffie recorded 4,261 rushing yards and 54 touchdowns. In addition to the aforementioned awards and recognition, his high school career resume also included Catholic League MVP, All-Catholic First Team, WGRZ Offensive Player of the Year, and Ray Kearney Offensive MVP. As a

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three-star recruit prospect, and the No. 30 overall prospect in the state of New York, in the Class of 2018, he received over a dozen college football scholarship offers, in addition to interest from several other programs, including the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

and

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

, where he took unofficial visits. He ultimately committed to attend and play football for the University of Buffalo Bulls of the Mid-American Conference in Buffalo, New York. McDuffie also ran

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

and played

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in high school.

College career

2018-2020

McDuffie started his college career at Buffalo by serving as a reserve to

Jaret Patterson Jaret Patterson (born December 23, 1999) is an American football running back for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Buffalo and signed with Washington as an undrafted free agent in 2021 ...

and Kevin Marks Jr. before his breakout 2021 season in which he earned the starting running back role. In 2018, as a true freshman, he appeared in four games, recording 14 carries for 70 yards in a reserve role behind Patterson. McDuffie ultimately redshirted his freshman season. In 2019, he appeared in 10 games at running back and on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

as a redshirt freshman. He ran for 150 yards and 6.5 yards per carry on 23 rushes, as well as scored a receiving touchdown. In 2020, he appeared in one game and logged one carry.

2021

McDuffie entered his redshirt junior season as the backup to Marks. However, after outperforming Marks in the early portion of the season, McDuffie took over Buffalo’s starting running back role en route to a 1,000-yard and 11-touchdown season that earned him all-conference honors and garnered national attention. He was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Week after his 143-yard, one-touchdown performance in Buffalo’s Week 7 win over Ohio. Two weeks later, in Buffalo’s game against Bowling Green, he ran for 166 yards on 34 carries, both career-highs, and two touchdowns, tying his career-high. On November 23, he eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark on the season after rushing for 67 yards against

Ball State Ball State University (Ball State, State or BSU) is a public research university in Muncie, Indiana. It has two satellite facilities in Fishers and Indianapolis. On July 25, 1917, the Ball brothers, industrialists and founders of the Ball C ...

. He finished the 2021 season as the Bulls’ leading rusher with 206 carries, 1,049 rushing yards, 123 receiving yards, 11 rushing touchdowns, and one receiving touchdown. With four 100-yard rushing games in 2021, he joined his uncle, Chris McDuffie, as one of only 23 Bulls players to record a 100-yard rushing game in program history since 1999. He ranked fourth in the MAC and 43rd in the nation in rushing yards, as well as sixth (tied) in the MAC and 46th (tied) in the nation in rushing touchdowns. He was named to the 2021 All-MAC Second Team by Pro Football Network (PFN) and All-MAC Third Team by both the MAC Coaches and Pro Football Focus. Following the 2021 season, McDuffie entered the

transfer portal The NCAA transfer portal is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) application, database, and compliance tool launched on October 15, 2018, to manage and facilitate the process for student athletes seeking to transfer between member ...

, becoming the “second high-profile player” (joining

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Kyle Vantrease Kyle Vantrease (born August 20, 1998) is an American football quarterback. Early years Vantrease attended Stow–Munroe Falls High School in Stow, Ohio Stow is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 34,483 at the 20 ...

) from Buffalo to enter the portal. However, on January 31, 2022, after considering offers from

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, and

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, he withdrew his name from the transfer portal, and will return to Buffalo for his redshirt senior 2022 season as the team’s starting running back.

2022

In 2022, McDuffie transferred to Georgia Tech. In week 2 against Western Carolina he carried the ball for a season high eight carries for 25 yards and a touchdown. McDuffie ended the season with 45 rushing yards on 22 carries.

2023

McDuffie transferred again to

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

where he would be reunited with former Buffalo head coach Lance Leipold. In his first game as a Jayhawk, he would rush for 40 yards on six carries and one touchdown against Missouri State. In week 6, McDuffie would rush for a season high 91 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns against Central Florida.

Statistics

Personal life

Three of McDuffie’s uncles (Chris, Steve, and Ted McDuffie) also played football at Buffalo. Ted was the Bulls’ leading tackler (98), as well as recorded the most passes defended (10), for the 1997 season. He is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in social science interdisciplinary studies. He is first cousins with

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

inside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

, Isaiah McDuffie. In December 2021, he hosted a holiday toy drive, in conjunction with the

Boys and Girls Club Boys & Girls Club may refer to: * Boys & Girls Clubs of America * Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada * Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Clubs, Bronx, United States * Essex Boys and Girls Clubs, in Essex and East London, England * The Boys' and Girls' Clubs A ...

of Buffalo, to benefit local children and families. Per an interview with

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

7 WKBW Buffalo, he cited the time he spent at various Boys and Girls Clubs in Buffalo as a child as driving factor behind his decision to host the event.

References

External links

Buffalo Bulls bio

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets bio

Kansas Jayhawks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDuffie, Dylan 2000 births Living people Buffalo Bulls football players Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football players Kansas Jayhawks football players Players of American football from Buffalo, New York Players of American football from New York (state) American football running backs