All-ACC safety Jeremy Cash to return for senior season

DURHAM, N.C. – Two-time All-America safety Jeremy Cash will return to Duke for his final season of eligibility in 2015, head coach David Cutcliffe announced on Thursday.  Cash graduated from Duke this past December with a degree in psychology and is currently pursuing a graduate degree in liberal studies.

A 6-2, 205-pound native of Miami, Fla., Cash has earned All-America honors in each of his two seasons with the Blue Devils while helping Duke to a two-year record of 19-8, the 2013 ACC Coastal Division championship and consecutive bowl game appearances.

In 27 career games at Duke, Cash has compiled 232 tackles, 20.0 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, six interceptions, 11 pass breakups, seven QB pressures, six caused fumbles and two fumble recoveries.  He has reached double figures in the tackle column 10 times including a career-high 14 stops against both Georgia Tech and Troy in 2013.  Additionally, Cash has posted six or more tackles in 23 games with the Blue Devils.

As a team captain in 2014, Cash recorded 111 total tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 quarterback sacks, two interceptions, seven pass breakups, five QB pressures, four caused fumbles and one fumble recovery en route to earning second team All-America honors from both the Walter Camp Foundation and Football Writers Association of America.  He is the only defensive back in the nation to record 100-plus tackles, 10.0-plus tackles for loss and 5.0-plus sacks this past season.

In the ACC, Cash ranked third in caused fumbles per game (0.31), eighth in tackles per game (8.54), tied for 12th in sacks per game (0.42), tied for 18th in passes defended per game (0.69) and tied for 18th in tackles for loss per game (0.81).  He twice earned ACC Defensive Back of the Week honors following performances against Miami and Georgia Tech.

The Blue Devils are coming off last season’s 9-4 campaign which included a second place finish in the ACC Coastal Division and berth in the 81st Hyundai Sun Bowl against Arizona State.  Cash will spearhead a 2015 defense that returns six starters – including all five in the backfield – from a unit that ranked among the ACC leaders in scoring defense (4th; 21.8), pass efficiency defense (4th; 115.2), opponent third down percentage (4th; .344), fumble recoveries (4th; 10) and sacks per game (7th; 2.23).