The 2025 Detroit MLK offense is looking like the most balanced unit since the Dante Moore era.

Dukes is an elusive back through and through. Excels at making defenders miss. Can quickly and subtly adjust in tight space, or beat defenders near the boundary. Unless you have multiple defenders honing in on Dukes, he’s probably earning more yards than expected.

King is always an incredible team. This year, they’ve got a great chance at another Championship.

Vision.

Dukes’ highlights are filled with moments of excellent vision.

That said, vision oftentimes goes hand in hand with IQ and efficiency. Inside runs, outside runs, open field- Dukes does an incredible job of scanning the field, sensing defenders, and avoiding them. Specifically, he has a few highlights where he stays behind his blocks just long enough before hitting top speed, and others where he slows down just a little to bait a defender into over-pursuing, where he then explodes forward. Great instincts, great IQ, and that’s the #1 reason why (in my opinion) that he’s a Division 1 prospect.

Dukes had a breakout Junior season after his Sophomore season was cut short.

I watched Dukes twice this past season, during the first and last week of the season. In both week 1 and the State Championship, Dukes had a few truly standout highlights. Especially outside of the tackles, I’m consistently extremely impressed with his vision. He can get past some very athletic defenders, then turn up field for a huge gain. I will say that his contact balance could use some work, but that’s about it.

Athleticism: B+
IQ: B-
Strength: D
Receiving: B
Blocking: C

Dukes had a breakout Junior season after his Sophomore season was cut short.

I watched Dukes twice this past season, during the first and last week of the season. In both week 1 and the State Championship, Dukes had a few truly standout highlights. Especially outside of the tackles, I’m consistently extremely impressed with his vision. He can get past some very athletic defenders, then turn up field for a huge gain. I will say that his contact balance could use some work, but that’s about it.

Athleticism: B+
IQ: B-
Strength: D
Receiving: B
Blocking: C

The converted running back has taken to his new role nicely! He was a steady yards getter for King all season long, and both times I saw him play he showed a ton of potential that projects to the next level. He runs with his pads down, typically blowing right through arm tackles and out of position defenders. Once he hit the second level, he had no issues turning on the jets and outrunning some angles and getting extra yardage or busting for a big touchdown. Dukes is going to be one of the best returning RBs in the entire state and it will be interesting to see what other college interest he is able to draw.

Dukes had a solid game against a really, really good defense. He finished the game with 93 yards and 2TDs on 14 touches.

Dukes did his usual thing but without a ton of explosive plays. He was bottled up pretty good for most of the game, but Dukes just kept on making athletic plays in tight space. Most of the time, he’d juke a defender or two before being tackled for a short gain. In the 3rd quarter, he found the smallest bit of space and exploded upfield for a 14-yard TD.

I’m pretty confident that Dukes will have another good offseason, then parlay that with an even better senior season.

Dukes was a beast when I got to see him. He runs extremely hard, bounces off tackles and has a mean stiff arm. I liked his vision and ability to bounce to the next hole when one closed up. There were a few times where I thought for sure he was going to be swallowed up by the defense, just to see him bust through and drag some defenders with him. He was one of the best running backs I saw all year long.

Another prospect from the Xenith Kickoff Classic, Michael Dukes Michael Dukes 6'1" | 195 lbs | RB Detroit MLK | 2026 State MI , came out and had a great game against Cleveland Heights. I always knew he had great athletic testing numbers and it was obvious on tape that he was talented. Though, before this game, I honestly doubted his abilities.

Those doubts were put to bed quickly. Michael played like Jahmyr Gibbs, being incredibly productive in space. He consistently found the edge, ran through arm tackles, and made some moves on a few very athletic defenders. He was a rankings riser, and I definitely think of Michael as a MAC prospect.