Once the Stamford High quarterback and now a Blue Devil wide receiver, Troy Duncan has made the Duke Division I Football Program as a walk-on.

During his time as a Black Knight, Duncan had his ups and downs.  As an SHS junior, he hoped to carry his team to a winning record, but fell short of achieving it.  After a rocky junior showcase, he wanted to turn things around in his final high school season.

Duncan’s struggles continued during his senior year, resulting in him being benched only a few games into the season.  Although Duncan was taken off the field, he continued to lead his team as captain as they finished off the season.  Duncan’s senior year wasn’t all that bad, though, considering he was admitted into Duke.  He was known on the field as well as in the classroom, holding his academics to a high standard.  He ended his four years of high school with a whopping 3.98 unweighted GPA, and decided to continue his education at Duke.

Early in his freshman year of college, he felt as if he was missing something and realized that his football career wasn’t over.  He attempted to beat the odds and walk onto Duke’s football team.  Duncan again faced adversity and came out on top, and he can now call himself a Duke Blue Devil.

The head coach of the Black Knights and Duncan’s grade 5 teacher, Jamar Greene, received a call last week from Duke’s head coach delivering the good news about his former player.  “He’s been getting straight A’s since grammar school,” Greene said, adding that Duncan had had a dream of attending Duke. When one of the Duke coaches called him on Labor Day to inform him, Greene said, “I was so happy for this fine young gentleman.”

Speaking about his accomplishments, Duncan said, “I want to say don’t let someone else tell you what you can and can’t do.  You’re the only one that knows what you’re capable of, and you miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.”  Duncan added, “I’d like to thank the people that helped me get here, whether it be friends, coaches, teachers.  I couldn’t have done it without you all; you have my gratitude.”