A coaching veteran who has spent time on staffs at three SEC schools, Kurt Roper is in his second season as Duke’s offensive coordinator while directing the Blue Devil quarterbacks.
In 2008, Roper guided quarterback Thaddeus Lewis to an All-ACC citation. Lewis finished the season ranking second in the league in passing yards per game, total offense per game and touchdown passes while becoming just the third Duke quarterback to throw 10 or more touchdown passes in three consecutive seasons.
Duke’s offense also featured All-ACC wide receiver Eron Riley, who signed a free agent contract with the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens after catching 61 passes for 693 yards and eight touchdowns. In addition, the Blue Devils showed marked improvement in the rushing game (+42.2 yards per game) while allowing 23 fewer sacks than the previous season.
Roper joined the Duke program in January of 2008 after serving the previous two years at Tennessee where he coached the running backs. The Volunteers produced 19 wins against eight losses from 2006-07 with one SEC Eastern Division crown and a pair of berths in the Outback Bowl.
Tennessee’s rushing attack in 2007 was featured by Arian Foster, who gained 1,193 yards on 245 carries while scoring 12 touchdowns on the ground. On the Volunteer single-season record charts, Foster’s numbers landed him fourth in rushing attempts, tied for fifth in rushing touchdowns and ninth in yards. In addition, he had five 100-yard rushing games on the year and his 98-yard, three-touchdown performance against Georgia helped Tennessee defeat the then 12th-ranked Bulldogs, 35-14. Foster finished his career with 2,964 rushing yards.
Roper got his start in coaching at Tennessee, serving as a graduate assistant coach from 1996-98 while working with the Volunteer defensive and special teams units. He then followed current Duke head coach David Cutcliffe to Ole Miss and spent six years in Oxford as the Rebels went 44-29 with four bowl game victories. Mississippi enjoyed one of its finest seasons in school history in 2003 when the Rebels went 10-3, captured a share of the SEC Western Division title and defeated Oklahoma State, 31-28, in the Cotton Bowl.
While with Ole Miss, Roper coached the quarterbacks all six years and added the responsibility of passing game coordinator for his final three seasons. Among his pupils was record-setting, All-America signal-caller Eli Manning, the 2003 SEC Player of the Year who was the number one overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft.
In 2005, Roper coached the quarterbacks at Kentucky under head coach Rich Brooks.
In all, Roper has coached in nine bowl games: 1997 Florida Citrus, 1998 Orange, 1998 Independence, 1999 Independence, 2000 Music City, 2002 Independence, 2004 Cotton, 2007 Outback and 2008 Outback.
A native of Ames, Iowa, Roper earned three varsity letters on the gridiron as a defensive back and quarterback at Rice before graduating in 1995. He went on to earn a master’s degree from Tennessee in 1998.
Roper is married to the former Britt Albertson of High Point, N.C., and the couple has one daughter, Reese Leslie, who was born February 8, 2008. His brother, Zac, also is a member of the Duke football coaching staff.
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