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Football
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Football
Sam McGrath
- Title:
- Defensive Quality Control
- Email:
- sam.mcgrath@duke.edu
- Phone:
- (919) 684-2635
Sam McGrath joined the Duke coaching staff in July of 2015 and is in his first year as an assistant coach of the linebackers after being elevated in January of 2021. Prior to that, he spent three seasons in a defensive quality control role, while also serving three years as a graduate assistant coach, working primarily with the linebackers.
McGrath worked closely with assistant coach Lanier Goethie in 2020, where the duo mentored a youthful linebackers unit. Shaka Heyward, during his first full year in a starting role, led the team and was 12th in the ACC in tackles with 80 (7.3 per game). The Hoschton, Ga., native finished behind defensive ends Chris Rumph II and Victor Dimukeje in tackles for loss as well with 8.5 on the year. Heyward posted two games with double-digit tackles, including a 12-tackle performance in a victory over Charlotte. He also recorded a muffed punt for a touchdown and a safety in Duke’s game at Georgia Tech.
McGrath also helped coach Rocky Shelton II and Dorian Mausi during their first full year seeing significant action. Shelton II started eight games alongside Heyward and compiled 35 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and one interception. Mausi made three starts but saw action in all 11 games. The Detroit, Mich., native finished his rookie season with 29 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and one quarterback pressure. He also returned a blocked punt 32 yards for a touchdown midway through the year.
In 2019 while helping with the Blue Devil defense, McGrath saw Duke rank third in the ACC in pass defense, allowing just 199.0 passing yards per game. The Blue Devils’ pass defense efficiency rating ranked fifth in the league and 40th nationally as well. Safety Dylan Singleton, a team captain, finished second on the team and 11th in the ACC with 87 tackles.Â
In 2016, 2017 and 2018, McGrath’s primary focus was with the linebackers, where Duke produced a pair of award honorees in Ben Humphreys and Joe Giles-Harris. Humphreys was an All-ACC selection in 2016 and 2018 while Giles-Harris garnered All-America accolades in 2017 as well as first team all-league honors in 2017 and 2018. Giles-Harris became Duke’s first linebacker with two First Team All-ACC honors since Mike Junkin in 1985 and 1986.
Depth was key to Duke’s 2018 defensive unit as the squad lost four defensive starters throughout the course of the campaign, including Humphreys and Giles-Harris for the Walk-On’s Independence Bowl. The Blue Devils shut out the Owls in the second half in Shreveport, La., marking the sixth time during the season Duke blanked a team in a half, and secured their third consecutive bowl victory. Despite the multitude of injuries, Duke finished with consecutive years of holding opponents to 201 or fewer passing yards a contest for the first time since 2004-05.Â
In 2017, the Blue Devil defense proved to be one of the best in the ACC, ranking among the league’s leaders in both scoring defense (third) and total defense (fourth).
During his first year at Duke, McGrath assisted a defensive unit that produced a trio of 100-tackle performers with linebacker Dwayne Norman (114), safety DeVon Edwards (101) and safety Jeremy Cash (101). Led by Cash, the 2015 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, Duke was the only team in the league with three players over the 100-tackle mark, and one of only two nationally, joining Tulsa.
A native of Longmeadow, Mass., McGrath previously worked at Wagner College (2014) as an outside linebackers/safeties coach, at Stevenson University (2013-14) as a graduate assistant coach and at Fairleigh Dickinson University (2012) as an outside linebackers coach and assistant special teams coordinator.Â
McGrath graduated from Brown in 2012 and earned a master’s degree from Stevenson in 2014. He earned a master’s degree in Christian studies from Duke in 2017.Â
McGrath is married to former Duke diver Abby Johnston, who won a silver medal in the synchronized three-meter springboard competition at the 2012 London Olympics and participated in the 2016 Rio Olympics as an individual 3-meter diver. The couple have two daughters, Rosemary and Elaine.
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