Gerritt Kemp was planning to commit on May 18th, his birthday, but he wanted to take at least one other official visit besides his planned trip to Duke on the weekend of June 7th. So the Dacula, GA native pushed back his decision to allow for a trip to Ole Miss on May 31st before traveling to Durham, NC with his family this past weekend.
Despite the delay in decision date, Kemp stuck with his original plan to pledge to the Blue Devils, becoming the first Wide Receiver to join Duke’s 2025 class. At 6’3″, 185 pounds, Kemp has the athleticism and build to be an instant impact guy on the college level. After earning nearly twenty offers during his recruiting process, including from Georgia, Michigan State, NC State, and others, the effort from the Blue Devils’ coaches and the relationship developed between the two parties ultimately won him over.
“Everytime I stepped on campus I felt at home even before I was offered,” he told TheDevilsDen.com prior to making his announcement. “It really just gave me a sense of security on campus as well as the people there.”
Wide Receivers Coach Zohn Burden led the charge for Kemp, as he was retained from the previous staff and continued making the Hebron Christian Academy standout his priority at the position.
“(Coach Burden) really connected with my younger brother as he has kids himself,” Kemp explained. “The letters I was getting from them weren’t just for me there was always one for everyone in my family and it really helped making me feel like we were adopted into their family.”
A couple of meetings with Manny Diaz after he took over the Blue Devils’ head coaching job this past December ultimately sealed the deal.
“My second meeting with their head coach really made me feel wanted and he really made me and my family feel special which is a big thing for me as I love my family dearly. Their tenacity within my recruitment and their personnel really made me feel like I was wanted and had a plan to make it to the next level and have a great career after my playing career.”
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