Welcome to the 2024-25 school year! I hope everyone had a wonderful first week of classes.
Inside is our second annual football preseason print edition, a collection of in-depth features, graphics and predictions for the first year of head coach Manny Diaz’s tenure with the Blue Devils. Our football beats have been working extremely hard this summer to put together these articles, and we conducted some special interviews with exclusive access to players, coaches and staff. This is a unique collection of articles that is sure to make you ready for football season, so check them all out!
Last year was quite a roller coaster, and The Chronicle was there to cover all of the biggest moments from the season. As someone from a college football town, I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing Duke become a quasi “football school” for the past couple of year, and the energy from team this year is no different.
If you are reading this and want to be part of our staff in any capacity — writing, photography, graphic design — please come to our open house this Sunday at
3:30 p.m. and our first sports meeting Friday Sept. 6 at 5 p.m., both in our office at 301 Flowers Building.
I am so honored to lead an incredible paper in such an important time for collegiate athletics, and I can’t wait to see what this year brings. As always — my inbox is always open.
Thank you.
rsj15@duke.edu
VOL. 120 Sports Masthead
Editor: Ranjan Jindal
Managing Editors: Sophie Levenson, Dom Fenoglio
Blog Editor: Martin Heintzelman
Assistant Blog Editors: Abby DiSalvo, Rodrigo Amare
Photo Editors: Anabel Howery, Alex
Long
Check out our website at: www.dukechronicle.com
DUKE FOOTBALL SEASON PREDICTIONS
What will Duke’s record be?
I have Duke making its third straight bowl game with a positive start to the Manny Diaz era. There are a lot of unknowns about the Northwestern game — and the unorthodox environment in an early season game could trip up Duke. That said, I also think the Blue Devils could start 5-0, and go to Atlanta likely ranked in the AP poll.
My biggest question for the Blue Devils is how they compete in tough home conference matchups against SMU, Florida State and Virginia Tech. I could see Duke coming out on top of one or two of these — especially against the Mustangs — if it plays its A-game, which could transform the trajectory of the season. The road matchups against Miami and N.C. State are difficult, and I am very high on the Hurricanes this year. Wake Forest on the road to end the season is not a cakewalk, but if Duke beats who it should beat, a better record is not out of the question.
-Ranjan Jindal
I see Duke’s season as somewhat of a rollercoaster. The non-conference slate is largely favorable, and while Northwestern cannot be overlooked, I think the Blue Devils are more talented on paper than the first four teams they play. Furthermore, I’m predicting a win over North Carolina to open ACC play. The Tar Heels have yet to name a starting quarterback, and their defense remains questionable.
That puts Duke at 5-0 in my predictions to start the season — a dream start for head coach Manny Diaz. From there, however, the competition jumps. Georgia Tech,
Florida State, SMU, Miami, N.C. State and Virginia Tech all rank above Duke in the ACC preseason poll, and while I think each game will be competitive, I have a hard time finding more than one win over that stretch. A win down the road against Wake Forest rounds out the Blue Devils’ seventh win under Diaz’s first season at the helm and ensures that they head to their third straight bowl game. -Dom Fenoglio
Who will be Duke’s offensive MVP?
Maalik Murphy: Murphy has the talent to be one of the best quarterbacks in the ACC this year. Whether or not the former Longhorn realizes his potential will probably come down to the play of a rebuilt, transferheavy offensive line and a receiving core reliant on veteran wide receiver Jordan Moore. Even if the Blue Devils struggle against the best teams in the conference throughout this season, I still think Murphy will be the best player on Duke’s offense and excel in Brewer’s pass-happy offensive scheme. Murphy’s arm talent is beyond that of any Blue Devil quarterback in recent years, so expect numerous jaw-dropping passes and highlight-worthy touchdowns from the Inglewood, Calif., native. -Rodrigo Amare
Who will be Duke’s defensive MVP?
Chandler Rivers: The last MVP to be named for the Blue Devils came at the Birmingham Bowl, where cornerback Chandler Rivers earned the honor after a shutdown performance. I expect that trend to continue this year, as the returning starter has another year of experience
under his belt and should be in for a big junior year. He will likely be tasked with guarding every team’s best receiver, but I think the Beaumont, Texas, native is more than capable. -Caleb Dudley
TreFreeman:I think 2024 will be the year of Tre Freeman. He is a preseason All-ACC selection at linebacker and still has plenty of room to grow. Freeman has impressive game smarts, along with being an excellent tackler and strong run-stopper. With a new defense that hinges more on those big plays behind the line of scrimmage, look for him to shine. -Martin Heintzelman
What will Duke’s best win be?
Georgia Tech: After an eventful Week 0, Georgia Tech has emerged as a team to watch in the ACC, knocking off presumptive favorite Florida State in Dublin to kick off the season. As a result, Duke’s Oct. 5 matchup with the Yellow Jackets looms much larger. However, I think the Blue Devils will come in with an impressive record of 5-0 and add one more to that tally when they head to Atlanta, taking down Georgia Tech and becoming bowl eligible. -Dudley
Miami: The Blue Devils have a lot to prove this season, and Miami looms large on their schedule. A win against the Hurricanes would be challenging, but not impossible — especially since Miami has yet to prove that it can maintain its power for a full season. Diaz also goes into this game with something to prove. He led
Miami back to national prominence seven years ago before head coach Mario Cristobal tossed him aside in a sputtering third season, so you can bet this game is already circled on his calendar. When the Blue Devils take on the Hurricanes after a string of likely losses, I think they’ll be hungry enough to throw down an upset reminiscent of last year’s season opener against Clemson. -Abby DiSalvo
What will Duke’s worst loss be?
Miami: While Duke convincingly defeated Miami two years ago at Hard Rock Stadium, these Hurricanes — and Blue Devils — are completely different teams now. Miami sports one of the most talented rosters in the ACC, with quarterback Cameron Ward a solid Heisman candidate and star edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. bolstering the defense. When adding the fact that this contest represents the most difficult in a brutal in-conference stretch for the Blue Devils, it’s tough to see Diaz earning a revenge win against his former squad. -Tyler Walley
N.C. State: There will be fewer road environments more hostile to Duke than Carter-Finley Stadium come November. N.C. State is a good team with something to prove after losing in the Pop-Tarts Bowl last year, and the Blue Devils will be high on the Wolfpack’s hit list. With the energy at a high level and a relatively inexperienced Duke team coming into Raleigh, this one has the makings of a discouraging defeat.
-Heintzelman
‘The guys in this locker room’: Duke’s returners motivated to
finish what they started
By Caleb Dudley Associate Editor
After the clock hit zero on Duke’s regularseason finale against Pittsburgh Nov. 25, time began to move at a blurring pace.
A few days after then-head coach Mike Elko’s postgame press conference where he reinforced the Blue Devils’ strong future, he boarded a midnight jet to College Station, Texas, to become the new head coach at Texas A&M.
While the team still had to prepare for a Birmingham Bowl matchup against Troy, dominos started falling every which way. Multiple members of the coaching staff pledged to join Elko and the Aggies, while several players announced their
intention to enter the transfer portal, such as star quarterback Riley Leonard and safety Brandon Johnson.
But rather than dissent spreading among fans and players alike, a movement sprouted on the internet proving just how connected the team had become despite a rollercoaster season. The hashtag #KeepDukiesatDuke2024 began to circulate on X — even spread by players including linebacker Tre Freeman and cornerback Chandler Rivers — with a goal to get some of their teammates back for another season.
For some of the major targets of this initiative such as running back Jordan Waters and defensive tackle Aeneas Peebles, these efforts fell short. However, not every player who entered the portal ended up landing at
a new home. For three major contributors, every road led right back to Durham, giving new head coach Manny Diaz three cornerstones to work with in addition to the strong returning cast.
On Nov. 30, just five days after the regular-season finale, starting safety Jaylen Stinson announced his intention to enter the transfer portal. His decision came right on the heels of Peebles’ and Leonard’s, signaling that a possible roster overhaul may be on the horizon for the Blue Devils. The Opelika, Ala., native racked up 88 tackles over the course of the season, and also had a fumble recovery in the season opener against Clemson that Duke fans will likely remember for years to come. After 31 career starts, Stinson went to look for greener pastures.
ample time at Duke and likely wanted a change of scenery for his final year of eligibility, which he eventually would find just down the road at N.C. State. But Moore’s decision came as a gut punch to fans who were hoping that the Blue Devils would be able to weather the storm of the offseason with just a few losses, as the junior seemed to be passing up a clear role as Duke’s RB1.
I felt like having three head coaches in four years was kind of crazy, at the time.
Jaquez Moore
Running back
“Just with a culture change, it’s a lot of doubt in the air. So I did test the waters just to see what was out there, where my head was,” Stinson said.
Roughly a week later, another major blow came, this time hitting the running back room. In the span of one day, Duke lost both of its leading rushers from the 2023-24 season, as Jaquez Moore and Waters announced their intention to go portaling. Waters was more understandable, as the veteran had spent
“Just a lot of uncertainty with what was going to be next. I felt like having three head coaches at the same school in four years was kind of crazy, at the time,” Moore said.
The final major defensive piece to enter the portal was edge Ryan Smith, whose announcement came the night before Duke’s bowl-game matchup with Troy. The senior became the third defensive lineman to get into the portal during the offseason, joining R.J. Oben and Peebles, leaving the position group practically decimated after the graduation of stalwart tackles DeWayne Carter and Ja’Mion Franklin.
While players began to make their exits, Duke also began to make additions. Diaz’s hiring came first; he was brought in after leading a top defense at Penn State during two years with the Nittany Lions. After his Dec.
See RETURNERS on Page 14
Morgan Chu | Photography Editor
Running back Jaquez Moore celebrates in the end zone in last year’s game against Pittsburgh.
ABOVE: Courtesy of Duke Athletics
Graduate lineman Eric Schon goes through a drill in practice.
CENTER: Anabel Howery, Sports Photography editor
Texas transfer Maalik Murphy takes a rep.
TOP LEFT: Courtesy of Duke Athletics
The offensive line, made almost entirely of tranfers, runs onto the field.
BOTTOM LEFT: Courtesy of Duke Athletics
Defensive tackle Kendy Charles was a key transfer for head coach Manny Diaz.
Rebuilding the Blue Devils: Transforming Duke football with the transfer portal
By Rodrigo Amare Assistant Blue Zone Editor
For a moment, it looked like Duke football’s massive gains from the past two years could be wiped out in just a few days.
Following Mike Elko’s sudden departure from the program, nearly a dozen Blue Devils announced they would enter the transfer portal and leave Durham. With no head coach, and then with a new one, every passing day bore the risk of talented players transferring out of the program. New head coach Manny Diaz had to act swiftly to prevent his new team from falling apart.
“Any time there’s a coaching change, [players] don’t know what’s going on,” Diaz said at ACC Kickoff. “There are a lot of rumors, and especially in this era with the portal, there’s a lot of uncertainty. Players have a right to leave in a way they just wouldn’t have thought about four or five years ago. So you have to quickly connect with them.”
With the combination of the NCAA’s 2021 transfer legislation, which allowed college athletes to switch teams without having to sit out an entire season, and the proliferation of name, image and likeness opportunities for marketable players, mobility in college football has reached an unprecedented level. The portal incentivizes disgruntled athletes to leave their current schools for better opportunities both on and off the field.
Consequently, Diaz immediately scheduled meetings with 15 or 20 of Duke’s veterans, asking them a single question.
“What can we do better? A lot of good has been done over these last 24 months, but what can we do even better?” Diaz asked his players.
He explained that rather than trying to pitch himself, he wanted to hear from his team, “because great leaders listen.” Diaz’s approach clearly made an impact. In a twist contrary to the modern game’s trend of rampant player mobility, several Blue Devil stars who initially entered the portal decided to withdraw and return to Duke.
However, Diaz’s job was not just convincing existing players to stay. Although the transfer portal poses challenges for coaches who must protect their program from teams who might pilfer their most talented stars, it also allows them to act offensively and quickly rebuild by signing experienced veterans and potential superstars alike. The Blue Devils’ new head coach passed this second test with flying colors.
‘People want to be at Duke’
During the 2024 offseason, 18 players from around the country transferred to Duke, demonstrating Diaz’s command of the portal.
Perhaps the most important transfer came in the form of Texas quarterback Maalik Murphy. A former four-star recruit and potential NFL prospect, Murphy committed to the Blue Devils Dec. 22 after being heavily sought out by at least ten schools. The Inglewood, Calif., native projects as one of the most talented Blue Devil quarterbacks in recent memory.
A few years ago, bringing a signal-caller of Murphy’s caliber and potential to Durham would have been unthinkable. The fact that Diaz captured Murphy’s signing is a testament not only to his ability to capitalize on the portal, but also on how much the Duke football program has grown over the past few years.
“He just let me know about the opportunity I had here,” Murphy said of his early talks with Diaz. “Being able to come in and earn and work for the starting quarterback job and lead this team to more wins than they had the previous year. That’s all I can ask for from a head coach.”
Murphy’s reasoning for choosing the Blue Devils was one shared by many of this year’s transfers, including defensive tackle Kendy Charles, who comes to Durham after four impressive years at Liberty.
“I wanted to go to a school where I could challenge myself and be a differencemaker, help the team win and showcase my talent at the highest level,” Charles told The
Chronicle. “I felt like coming to Duke was that on and off the field. The opportunity that the Duke logo brings to you as a player is incredible.”
Some newcomers highlighted the university’s elite academics as another reason to bring their talents to Durham, which Diaz believes gives the Blue Devils an advantage in the portal and on the recruiting trail.
“People want to be at Duke,” Diaz said at ACC Kickoff.
several players pointed to strength and conditioning coach David Feeley’s arduous offseason program and intense summer conditioning as a particularly difficult adjustment for new transfers.
The
opportunity that the Duke logo brings to you as a player is incredible.
“The parents of our student-athletes want their sons to be at Duke. They want them to graduate from Duke and I think that’s where we’re a little bit uniquely poised than some of these other schools who, their recruiting pitch is football, and we can sell so much more.”
Kendy Charles Defensive lineman
“I’ve been very impressed,” Charles said. “I’ll be very transparent. When I first got here, I really struggled with the intensity, the detail aspect of [the workouts] and their urgency. There’s no wasted time, no wasted movements. Feeley is an incredible strength coach, probably the best in the country. I’m in the best shape of my life right now [and] it’s all credit to him and his program.”
Eric Schon spent four years bolstering Holy Cross’s offensive line before transferring to the Blue Devils as a graduate transfer and enrolling in the Fuqua School of Business.
“I wanted to find a place that allowed me to pursue a master’s degree, specifically along the business track,” Schon said.
The Barrie, Canada native noted that while he “was also looking for a place that was gonna be a good fit, had good culture and was going to allow [him] to continue to grow as a person … the most important thing was being able to further [his] education in a really meaningful way.”
‘To play in a whole different way’
Duke football’s incoming transfers largely agree that their transition to a new environment has been greatly facilitated by their incredibly supportive teammates and coaching staff. At the same time, many have also noted that transferring definitely poses significant challenges.
As Charles aptly put it, “change is hard. Any type of change is hard.” Both Diaz and
Schon echoed Charles’ sentiments, adding that Feeley’s “attention to detail is something [he’s] never been able to experience before,” and that Feeley “is so deliberate with his coaching and his program. There is no stone or leaf that goes unturned.”
While Charles noted that he came to Durham partly because of Diaz’s reputation for building stout defenses, learning Diaz’s scheme has been more difficult than expected.
“I tell myself everyday I have to forget how to play the position,” Charles said. “The way we play here demands you to play in a whole different way. You have to play with great detail and with violence at all times. We want tackles for losses. We want sacks. We want to create negative plays. And that’s what we take pride in.”
On the other hand, Schon immediately faced the difficult task of building chemistry with his new teammates on the offensive line. With stalwart linemen Graham Barton and Jacob Monk drafted to the NFL, nearly half of the Blue Devils’ projected starters
New tempo, new rules: Duke football’s offensive scheme under Jonathan Brewer
By Tyler Walley Associate Editor
For the third time in the last four seasons, Duke football will begin its season with a new offensive coordinator, and this time, the change is sure to be fast-paced amid important additions to the NCAA rulebook.
Jonathan Brewer, who previously served as SMU’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in the 2023 season, joins a Duke offense that is nearly unrecognizable from last year.
Regardless of the offense’s volatility, Brewer looks to boost the Blue Devils’ hopes in 2024 with his form of play-calling: the tempo offense. This aggressive style revolves around the play clock. In this offense, plays are often run almost immediately after the clock begins, skipping the huddle and running straight up to the line of scrimmage. Not only does the tempo offense force a quick defensive response, it also disorients and even exhausts opposing defenses.
a condenser for the offense and complicator for the defense.
“We’re super simplistic in what we do [on offense] and how we train our guys, but we present complicated formations for the defense at a fast rate,” Brewer said in an interview with The Chronicle.
“Typically, what that does is simplifies the defense. When you’re playing fast, the defense probably only has about three calls they go to.”
We’re super simplistic in what we do ... but we present complicated formations for the defense at a fast rate
Jonathan Brewer Offensive coordinator
Brewer also emphasized the importance of executing the tempo offense. This much was apparent during Duke’s Blue and White game in the spring, where Brewer’s fast-paced offense earned some success but ultimately couldn’t prevail against the Blue Devils’ defense.
successfully, the result mystifies defenses while the offense is no worse for wear.
“We have traditional sets where receivers aren’t presenting something funky or complicated for the defense,” he said. “It’s kind of the base of the offense. It starts there, and from there it goes [to] the world of stacks, bunches, motions … all the weird, complicated things for a defense to have to decipher.”
The use of pre-snap motion to confuse defenses is widely known in the football world; for example, the San Francisco 49ers of the NFL utilized motion in 76.4% of their plays during the 2023 season. It is a simple yet sometimes highly effective system: When receivers run around before the ball is snapped by the center, defensive backs cannot anticipate their routes as easily.
Touching the ‘hot stove’
As SMU’s offensive coordinator last season, he led a unit that ranked eighth nationally in points per game, while Mustang quarterback Preston Stone averaged 15.5 yards per completion. In the 2023 season, SMU averaged 24.4 seconds per play, the 30th-fastest in NCAA Division I football. However, despite the success of his offenses, Brewer has been humble about his pedigree.
“It’s not the ‘Brewer offense,’ it’s the ‘Duke offense,’” he said in an Aug. 5 media availability.
As an expert on tempo, Brewer describes this type of offense as highly effective. He notes how the tempo offense is less focused on individual plays and more concerned with being adaptable to any defensive scheme. Additionally, he describes tempo as
“The trick is getting it going… you have to be really good at getting positive yards on first and second down,” Brewer said. “You have to be good at converting on third down [and] using tempo after that. What [the Duke offense] has to do is make them pay for when they gamble and come after us. We have to be able to execute and take advantage of that.”
Of course, the tempo offense is not impenetrable. Counters exist for the defense, such as exacting a high degree of physicality on run plays. Brewer noted how defenses can recover from tempo by slowly substituting their players onto the field.
“What I’ve seen out of defenses in the last five years of college football is that they’ve done a really good job of eliminating [explosive plays] and keeping everything in front of them,” Brewer said. “Your quarterback has to be able to just take things that are there.”
Brewer discusses the construction of his offense with a “from-the-ground-up” approach, with complex formations masking basic concepts. When his tactics are used
Brewer coached for SMU at a time where the program saw quality pass-catchers such as Kylen Granson, James Proche and most notably Rashee Rice, who earned a firstteam All-AAC nod in 2022 after a 1,300yard campaign.
At Duke, Brewer’s top wideout will be graduate student Jordan Moore, who Brewer referred to as a “special player” at an Aug. 5 media availability. Moore was perhaps Duke’s best position player during the 2023 season, hauling in 62 catches for 835 yards and eight touchdowns, all team highs. He will look to gain even more production as
the Blue Devils and Brewer will push the ball down the field.
“I think the scheme is a lot more simple,” Moore said at ACC Media Day. “It’s easy to come in and learn it so we can play as fast as possible.”
Brewer spoke highly of redshirt sophomore quarterback Maalik Murphy, who was named the Blue Devils’ starting signal-caller Aug. 19. Murphy previously played at Texas under head coach Steve Sarkisian, who, like Brewer, uses pre-snap motion and several basic concepts like the run-pass option to disrupt defenses. While he did not start as a Longhorn, it appears that the Inglewood, Calif., native has earned his starting job through his adaptation to the Blue Devils and Brewer’s offense.
“What I saw at the end of our last scrimmage is a guy that is on his way to mastery of what we do on offense,” Brewer said. “You see him make mistakes, and then he corrects those mistakes. We use the ‘hot stove’ adage in the quarterback room… it’s okay to touch the hot stove, but you got to learn, ‘okay, I’m not going to do that again.’” Brewer also pointed out the adjustments that Murphy, who played in seven games for Texas in 2023, has undergone since transferring to Duke.
“[Duke has] a different type of offense than he had at Texas, [which involved] play-action, max-protect … we have versions of that, but we also have a little bit of an Air Raid mentality which
Courtesy of Duke Athletics Offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer on the field during one of Duke’s fall practices.
gives the quarterback a lot of options,” Brewer said. “[Murphy’s] got to be able to progress and read things and get through things fast. What you saw from [Murphy] when he got here this spring is somebody who hadn’t been exposed to that kind of open passing game.”
“I’m thankful to be in an offense that moves this fast and plays at the tempo we do,” Murphy said in an Aug. 21 media availability. “The coach we have calling the plays is going to be special.”
Murphy earned the starting quarterback role over fellow redshirt sophomore Henry Belin IV and sophomore Grayson Loftis, both of whom started in Leonard’s absence last season.
Brewer noted that regardless of his own plans, Duke’s offensive gameplan will be constructed around its quarterback.
“We do what our quarterback likes to do,” Brewer said. “When [Murphy] was named the starter, we said that he’s the guy to lead our team and lead our offense that is geared toward him. It would be the same if [Loftis] or [Belin] were in there; everything would gear towards what they do well.”
Alongside Brewer’s new tactics, the game as a whole has received important modifications since last season ended in January. The offseason introduced several new rule changes to college football, one which allows players and coaches to communicate between a headset and a player’s helmet.
“It’s almost a new world,” Brewer said of the rule change. “Instead of just looking at a signal or a play being run in off the sideline or off a wristband, [the quarterback] can
hear me and I can have little reminders for him in that world.”
Brewer noted that the rule change would not allow quarterbacks to completely rely on the headset, noting how sideline-to-player communication is shut off with 15 seconds remaining on the play clock.
“All I’m doing is just giving [the quarterback] an idea,” Brewer said.
I’m thankful to be in an offense that moves this fast and plays at the tempo we do. The coach we have calling the plays is going to be special.
Maalik Murphy Quarterback
“We program our quarterbacks throughout the week [so that] it’s easy for me to translate. They can see the same thing that I’m seeing [from the box].”
“Games will be helpful, because you can only do so much [against] the things you see every day from your defense,” Murphy said. “It’s a different feeling when you’re playing against an actual opponent … on the game field in Wallace Wade.” In addition to the new helmet communication rule, college football added automatic two-minute timeouts at the end of each half. Like the former, this rule is an analog of the NFL’s current rule and will present new opportunities for college offenses. Brewer noted how the twominute warning has added new scenarios for the Duke offense to address.
“Essentially, you could go into the game in the last three minutes [with] four timeouts,” he said. “It’s changed all the endof-game scenarios we’ve had to practice, not only in the spring and summer, but in the fall too. [We] just mimic these kinds of scenarios coming up, like ‘hey, what would we do in a four-minute drive here?’”
When Duke football begins its season Aug. 30 against Elon, Brewer’s offense will be tasked with turning its practiced schemes into scoring. While the Blue Devils have lost a large chunk of their skilled offensive players, the Duke faithful can hope that the new coordinator’s expertise and pedigree will counteract lost talent. With a big-arm quarterback in Murphy captaining the ship, one thing is for sure — the Brewer offense, Duke offense or whatever people call it will have its fair share of thrills in 2024.
Courtesy of Duke Athletics
Jonathan Brewer speaks with sophomore quarterback Grayson Loftis.
‘A Ph. D. in excellence’
By Ranjan Jindal Sports Editor
Stopping Michael Vick was the task.
In an all-ACC contest at the turn of the millennium, Florida State was looking for its second National Championship in the Bobby Bowden era. Vick, Frank Beamer and the Virginia Tech Hokies stood in the way.
Vick did his thing — totalling 225 passing yards and nearly 100 on the ground — but defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews’ Seminole defense stepped up when it mattered. They shut out the Hokies in the fourth quarter en route to a 46-29 victory, granting another title to the Hall of Fame head coach.
the world and college sports. Amato, the linebackers coach at Florida State, was impressed with Diaz’s computer acumen.
“The first time I asked him to break down film, he did a great job,” Amato told the Miami Herald. “I asked him how long it took. He said, ‘Five or six hours.’ I knew then that he was serious. We were switching from films to tapes. I was the only full-time coach who knew how to turn the dadgum computer on, and Manny showed me how to do it.”
There was no plan. I just knocked on the door at Florida State and said, ‘Hey, I’ll help in any way I can.’
Manny Diaz Head coach
Working under Andrews as a volunteer in the recruiting office was a young Manny Diaz, who, after graduating from Florida State in 1995, left a job at ESPN and returned to his alma mater to pursue his passion for coaching. He also had experience as sports editor of Florida State’s student newspaper, and although he enjoyed the journalism field, he realized it was not where he wanted to be long-term.
“My wife gets a lot of credit, because she was the one that really encouraged me to make a leap,” Diaz told The Chronicle. “There was no plan. I just knocked on the door at Florida State and said, ‘Hey, I’ll help in any way I can.’ So it was not a good plan.”
Nonetheless, Diaz certainly took advantage of this opportunity, learning from the best in the business while completing fairly mundane tasks. He licked envelopes and mailed VHS tapes like any typical office aid.
“If you do small jobs well, and people see you do a small job well, then they give you some slightly bigger jobs, and you’re in the trust of people and that’s where it all comes from,” Diaz said.
Because the collegiate staffs were so small at the time, Diaz had a first-hand look at what is now one of the most decorated coaches rooms in college football.
“I was one of 15 in the staff room. Bobby Bowden at the end of the table. You’ve got Mickey Andrews and [linebackers coach] Chuck Amato to your right. You have Mark Richt as the offensive coordinator to your left. Holy cow, what a room of people to learn from,” Diaz said at ACC media days.
With ESPN and Bowden’s Florida State as Diaz’s first two employers, the young professional understood valuable lessons about attention to detail and what it takes to be great at the highest level, a key lesson for Diaz when he was “young and very malleable.”
“My first five years out of college, I was basically at the industry standard of two places,” Diaz said. “So it was like a Ph.D. in excellence, really. I didn’t even know how good I had it until I went to other places and saw why people lose.”
At ESPN, Diaz had worked with highlight tapes and film, which proved consequential in the technological revolution taking on
In 2000, Amato was hired as N.C. State’s head coach. Diaz earned his first positional leadership role in 2002 as the Wolfpack’s linebackers coach, and that started a rapid rise through the coaching ranks for the talented defensive mind.
‘A pinch me moment’
The Diaz family is no stranger to starting from the bottom and earning their way to success. Their story is nothing short of remarkable.
Diaz’s paternal grandmother, Elisa, immigrated from Cuba while her husband was there as a political prisoner. She came with only a dime in her pocket so she could call her brother in Miami to pick her up. Elisa’s son, Manny Diaz Sr., sat on her lap as they traveled to the U.S.
Manny Diaz Sr. worked in law, representing defendants in high-profile cases. In 2001, he ran successfully for mayor of Miami; in his two terms, he supervised a real-estate boom in the city that received national recognition. U.S. News and World Report honored Manny Diaz Sr. as one of America’s Best Leaders, and he was named Urban Innovator of the Year by the Manhattan Institute.
The younger Diaz learned the value of work ethic from his family, noting that “like many people coming to the country with nothing,” his family’s success “is the American story, the American dream.” He also learned important skills from his dad, finding his passion for what it truly means to be a leader.
“Anytime that you’re a public figure, you’re going to open yourself up to criticism in a way, and you can’t allow that to deviate from what your vision is,” Diaz said. “Ideally, it’s to make something better, whether it’s making the city better or making a program better. So yeah, [he] was certainly a great role model for me.”
Diaz is part of a growing trend of Hispanic coaches in Division I college football. But that representation wasn’t there when Diaz was a child.
“I think it’s just the ever-changing dynamic of America,” Diaz said. “I think it’s going to become more and more common as our country continues to evolve and to grow. That’s a good thing, because ultimately, how good you do a job should be based on how you do a job.”
From a young age, Diaz was enamored by athletics. He grew up in Miami in the 1980s, and he called it a “football-crazy city,” because the only professional sports team was the NFL’s Miami Dolphins — who went to two Super Bowls that decade.
“My parents joke that I learned how to read by reading the sports pages,” Diaz said. “I also had the wherewithal to understand that after high school [playing] was probably going to stop for me,” Diaz said. “The question for me was always, what’s the next best thing to playing, and that’s really what I’ve been pursuing ever since.”
After working his way up the coaching ranks to become Miami’s defensive coordinator, Diaz was chosen to serve the city in a different capacity than his father. College football fans might remember the “turnover chain,” Diaz’s brainchild to incentivize his defenses to force offensive miscues. But the swag was backed up by results; after leading the elite Hurricane defense to one of the nation’s best from 2016-18, Diaz got a special opportunity.
Just two weeks after Diaz accepted his first head coaching job at Temple in December 2018, Miami head coach Mark Richt abruptly retired, and Diaz was offered Richt’s job. It was a dream situation — in the city where his grandmother found refuge, the city that his dad transformed, the city where he grew up and which fostered his love for sports. Four generations of the Diaz family, from
on Page 15
Anabel Howery | Sports Photography Editor Head coach Manny Diaz coaches the team during its spring game.
See DIAZ
‘The best job in college football’
By Dom Fenoglio Sports Managing Editor
The end of the workout is a chaotic symphony of sweat.
Barbells ring out as they clang to the floor, joined by a chorus of motivational screams and exasperated breaths. The radio is barely audible over the cacophony drowning out the room. But everything goes silent for a moment when the team hears the familiar sound of a bell.
Players drop their weights, abandon their sets and immediately run over to crowd around graduate running back Star Thomas. The New Mexico State transfer — who has only been at Duke for a few months — is going for a personal best on the power clean.
This is not the first time a player has rung the bell this practice, and like his teammates before him, Thomas cleans the weight with ease.
Too easy for director of football performance David Feeley.
He calls out for Thomas to increase the weight, and the team responds with a roar. Feeley leads Thomas into the hallway, and the rest of the players form a tunnel for him to run through. He enters, sets his feet and completes the lift. The room explodes.
That level of intensity — even just 10 days before the first game of the season — is the standard for a Feeley workout. A year ago at this time, then-redshirt sophomore Sahmir Hagans broke a program lifting record just days before the team took down then-No. 9 Clemson.
Feeley joined the Blue Devils when former head coach Mike Elko arrived in 2022, and he has been credited by players and coaches alike with creating and sustaining the program’s culture.
The weight-room guru’s relationship with head coach Manny Diaz goes back even further, though. The two first met when Diaz briefly held the title of Temple head coach, and Feeley’s name was the first one brought up by Diaz at his introductory press conference in Durham.
Adapting to Feeley’s program is not for the weak — he’s happy to say that. “The road to easy street,” an homage to the famous quote by coaching legend John Madden, is printed on every player’s workout T-shirt (an idea from graduate wideout Jordan Moore). But when players see the hard work pay off, like last year’s impressive draft class, they are grateful for Feeley’s anything-but-gentle coaching tactics.
There’s a reason Diaz wanted to make sure Feeley would stay when the new head coach took the job at Duke. It’s the same reason players constantly mention him when talking about their personal growth, and it’s a major part of the program’s transformation over the last two years. Feeley is the glue, the engine, the heart and the soul of Duke football.
Building relationships
When Diaz accepted the head coaching job at Temple in December 2018, he had decisions to make about his coaching staff. One of those decisions was in the
weight room with Feeley, the incumbent strength and conditioning coach. Asking around the program, Diaz heard glowing reports from players and coaches alike.
Diaz was so convinced of Feeley’s talent that when he was offered the Miami head coaching job a few weeks later, he asked Feeley to come with him.
You have to go through it. It’s gotta be hard, dark times of working really hard before you can smile.
David Feeley Director of football performance
“I was absolutely speechless. I was so floored,” Feeley told The Chronicle. “I was like, wow, I have only met this man, and I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about him for a couple of weeks. He’s pulling me up to the Power 5 level. I owe that man everything, I really do.”
A couple years later, Diaz put in a good word about Feeley to Elko, and he ended up in Durham. Two years after that, it was time for Feeley to return the favor.
“David called me and asked me if I’d be interested in the job when it opened,” Diaz recalled at ACC Kickoff. “And I said, ‘Well, that depends.’ He says, ‘depends on what.’ I said, ‘would you stay?’”
“[Feeley] did not stay because of Manny Diaz, he stayed because of our locker room, he stayed because of our players,” Diaz continued. “And what could entice me to want to be the head football coach at Duke more than that endorsement from Feeley, knowing the type of guys that we get to coach every day?”
The story that connects Diaz and Feeley is remarkable, and emblematic of how the trainer fosters relationships. During a workout, Feeley darts around the weight room, stopping to critique players’ form, give them some motivation or help spot a rep. Every interaction is personal; he knows exactly what button to push, whether it be an inside joke, encouraging words or a playful insult.
It’s easy to see the joy on his face while he works and how quickly it spreads around the room. So even when his tone shifts and he goes from friend to coach to drill sergeant, players hang on his every word. During fall camp, Diaz coined the term “church of Feeley,” to describe the almost religious way players have faith in the strength coach’s training methods.
“The church of Feeley changed my life, man. I came in here, I was a little scrawny, little pudgy dude, and not to say that I’m all hard-bodied now, but it’s changed my life,” redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Wesley Williams said. “And also, I think the real church of Feeley is callusing the mind, going through those developmental lifts, and then all offseason, going through what he calls Spartan Fridays, and just doing a whole bunch of crazy stuff that seems pointless. It’s so that when you’re on that third-down rush to win a game, you know that you got this, you’ve been through harder.”
“I’ve been very impressed,” transfer defensive lineman Kendy Charles said. “I’ll be very transparent. When I first got here, I really struggled with the intensity, the detail aspect of [the workouts] and their urgency. There’s no wasted time [and] no wasted movements. Feeley is an incredible strength coach, probably the best in the country. I’m in the best shape of my life right now [and] it’s all credit to him and his program.”
Building muscle
The day-to-day grind that comes with Feeley’s offseason program isn’t pretty, and at times it can be hard to find motivation without on-the-field opportunities. Feeley leans into that; for him, those struggles make the reward that much sweeter.
“You have to go through it. It’s got to be the muck. It’s got to be hard, dark times of working really hard before you can smile,” Feeley said. “[The players] don’t want to smile until they’re there on a podium in December.”
In a workout, that can mean failing a rep, pushing the body past its limits and, most importantly, training the mind to be stronger than any obstacle it faces. Feeley mentioned his admiration for Diaz’s focus on mental health, and also places it at the forefront of his own work.
Players take lead at various points of a Feeley workout, calling out the cadence for an exercise, spotting their teammates and making sure nobody is slacking in between sets. Feeley calls these “leadership opportunities,” and
Courtesy of Duke Athletics Director of football performance David Feeley addresses the team during a workout.
‘Like being Spiderman’: The secret lives of the Blue Devil mascots
By Martin Heintzelman Blue Zone Editor
My quest to figure out who exactly was behind the mask started Feb. 11, 2024. That was the date of the Duke vs. North Carolina women’s basketball game in Cameron Indoor Stadium, and I was covering the game for The Chronicle. It was a thrilling 68-60 comeback win in overtime for the home team, and I was writing my story as quickly as I could. Someone, however, kept distracting me.
Every time the Blue Devil walked past me, he unplugged my laptop. The screen would flicker, pulling me out of my focused state. No matter what I did or how profusely I begged to be left alone, he would yank the cord out. The writer sitting next to me got a kick out of it, but it still bothered me for weeks after the buzzer sounded.
Not because it was a particularly big deal — it was more the principle of the matter. Someone, presumably someone I knew, was messing with me in anonymity. At that moment, I made it my goal to figure out who it was.
Fortunately, the Blue Devil’s identity was revealed at the end of the year, when then-senior Gavin Foley, a biomedical engineering major with a minor in chemistry, walked at graduation wearing the signature blue cape of the mascot. I later confirmed that he had been the one causing trouble at the game.
That incident, along with a few similar interactions I’ve had both as a journalist and a fan at games got me thinking: What is it like to be in the suit? What do the Blue Devils experience? I reached out to Foley to chat, and also got in contact with
a current student who dons the outfit for games, public appearances and the occasional commercial.
That individual elected to remain anonymous due to the nature of their work and the high level of secrecy that is stressed to Blue Devils throughout their time at Duke. Both mascots had plenty of novel insight to share, along with anecdotes of close calls, crazy experiences and commentary on the strange, hyper-exclusive club that those select few students to whom the cape and muscle suit belong.
Becoming the Blue Devil
Foley is somewhat of an anomaly in the world of Blue Devils, having only played the role during his senior year. His girlfriend, cheerleader and fellow 2024 graduate Kendall Satcowitz, connected him with head cheer coach Matt Feye and encouraged Foley to try out. One benefit in particular finally pulled him in.
“[Feye] said that when you graduate, you get to wear the cape on your back as you walk across the stage. And upon hearing that there were no other seniors, I really wanted to be the only one wearing a cape,” Foley said.
“Where else do you get to become someone else and bring so much joy?” said the anonymous Blue Devil. “When people see the mascot, it’s like, ‘Oh, shoot. Look who’s here! And can we get a photo?’ It’s just so special.”
Secrets kept
Foley and the other student disagreed about exactly who was allowed to know that they wore the costume, although both emphasized the importance of keeping their second identity hidden from the general public. Foley had a harder time keeping it a secret as a senior busy with job applications, group projects and every other thing that takes away from a student’s time. He ended up having to tell his housemates, along with his parents and some project partners.
“It’s kind of like being Spider Man, it’s hard to keep from the people you end up living with … And then the rest of my guys, I actually kept it a secret until either one of my other friends ratted me out, or until spring,” Foley said. “Some of them didn’t know until after I had revealed it.”
Where else do you get to become someone else and bring so much joy?
The
Both Foley and the current student expressed how much it meant to them that they were able to represent Duke in such a unique and important way. The student I spoke to also cited how much fun it is to light up faces when they walk into a room, row of stands or tailgate wearing the costume.
Foley still had to make up stories to protect his identity. He used his housemates to expand his web of lies, or blamed missing games on a shift at one of his jobs as a bartender or intramural sports supervisor. For away games, he would say he wanted to travel to support his girlfriend, who was often there cheerleading.
The anonymous student has found it a little easier to keep it a secret, although
they still said that some of their friends have sorted it out themselves.
“It’s pretty easy to just be like, ‘Yeah, I’m super busy with studying tonight,’” the student told The Chronicle, “ ... your close friends tend to figure it out. Those are the ones who tend to invite you out.”
One character, multiple performers
Part of that mandatory secrecy comes from the need to present the Blue Devil as a singular, cohesive entity. An unknown number of people play the role every year, each of them with a unique background and set of mannerisms, which they must be prepared to throw out the window to help create and support the singular character.
“I could look at any performer and be able to see who it was, just because I know them as a person, and I know how that translates to their movements,” the anonymous student said.
It certainly took some adaptation and learning at first, sorting out what exactly the Blue Devil character did and didn’t do. How he walks, how he behaves in crowds, even how he poses for photos. Specific rules help keep the persona together. Performers are told to avoid taking photos with alcohol visible in them, ensure that none of their skin is visible at the wrists or ankles of the suit, taught to sign the mascot’s specific autograph and, perhaps most importantly, to avoid holding babies whenever possible.
“We cannot hold babies and that has become an issue, because [Duke basketball head coach] Jon Scheyer will sometimes just hand you his kid,” the anonymous Blue Devil said. “I know Gavin [Foley] had to deal with that, because he went to March Madness, and Scheyer would just
ABOVE: Likhitha Butchireddygari Inside Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Blue Devil spurs on the crowd.
RIGHT: Alyssa Ting | Staff Photographer
The Blue Devil always wears a piece of tape on his forehead with a different catchphrase.
LEFT: Morgan Chu | Photography Editor
The Blue Devil engaging with the crowd at Duke’s 2023 Week 1 game against Clemson.
Blue Devil Duke’s mascot
hand him his kid. There’s nothing you can really do to be like, ‘Hey, don’t do that. I know you’re the coach of Duke basketball, but we can’t hold babies.’ But the visibility in the suit is really bad, and the idea of dropping a baby because maybe our gloves are too big, or maybe we can’t see very well is not good, so we can’t hold babies.”
The Otherhood
One thing that the mascot performers touched on was the sense of community they feel, both with their current and former fellow Blue Devils as well as with the mascots of other teams. Foley recalls shooting a series of commercials with fellow Durham mascots
Football Championship and playing 7-on7 football against local kids. The other student described a group chat where ACC mascots share common struggles and funny moments unique to their line of work, as well as an annual secret santa gift exchange between performers.
Even amongst just former and current Blue Devils there is an open line of communication. They’ve come to refer
[Mascots are] sharing tips all the time and all the experiences, because you become each other’s outlets for this big secret.
Wool E. Bull of the Durham Bulls and Eddie the Eagle of North Carolina Central for the Durham Chamber of Commerce.
“The three of us just sat around the office throwing paper at each other. And they filmed us doing stupid skits. I think one of them was me throwing paper at Wool E. Bull while he was trying to do work,” Foley said. “Or we’d be on a Zoom trying to communicate, but we can’t talk, so we’re using our hands. They did a bunch of those. It was very, ‘This is SportsCenter’-esque. It was very fun.”
Foley and the other Blue Devil discussed the camaraderie between the different ACC mascots, all of which are played by students. Foley talked about hanging around with the other mascots at the ACC
the password for the previous one was lost with a graduating performer.
“Everyone cares for each other so deeply,” the anonymous Blue Devil said. “It’s sharing tips all the time and all the experiences, because you kind of become each other’s outlets for this big secret.”
This may be the most unique, exclusive community at Duke. Regardless of when they graduate or what games they perform at, every one of the mascots has a shared experience that nobody else at Duke understands. After conducting these interviews and learning a fraction of the secrets and oddities that this group shares, I know who I’ll be watching just a little bit more closely at football games and tailgates this fall.
The Blue Devil Duke’s mascot
Down in the dirt: An inside look at Brooks Field
By Abby DiSalvo Assistant Blue Zone Editor
The clock hit zero, and the floodgates opened.
Fireworks exploded overhead while students stormed the field in celebration of Duke’s historic 28-7 victory against then-No. 9 Clemson. Sprinting across the sidelines of Wallace Wade Stadium, Blue Devil fans had plenty to think about: AP poll rankings, a culture shift and the debut of Duke football on a national stage.
The grass beneath their feet couldn’t have been further from their mind.
But to those charged with maintaining Brooks Field, storming spelled disaster. The next home game loomed five short days away, and the field needed to stay pristine.
So, after the team made its way to the locker room and the last fan trudged off the turf, Duke’s six-person groundskeeping team worked quickly to fertilize, repaint and regrow grass fibers across 57,600 square feet. When Duke kicked off against Lafayette, the damage had been undone. The field looked flawless.
“I think it speaks to the culture of excellence we have around here,” said Ian Christie, the Senior Superintendent of Landscape Services in Duke Facilities Management, in an interview with The Chronicle. “I thought our field performed and looked the best it’s ever been.”
The challenge underscored Duke’s groundskeeping excellence. Later in the season, the Sports Field Management Association named Brooks Field the 2023 College and University Football Field of the Year. After nearly a decade of innovation, the award secured Duke’s spot as one of the top fields in the nation and reaffirmed what the groundskeepers already knew: Brooks Field is more than a playing surface — it’s a science and it’s a passion.
Research and rhizomes
Being the best in an industry requires breaking the mold, and that’s exactly what Duke’s groundskeepers have done.
During the last few years, the team experimented with different fertilization schedules to reveal ideal levels of calcium, magnesium, nitrate and other nutrients. The groundskeepers also tried different mowing techniques, settling on vertical blades that loosen soil and support dense, lateral growth. Their scientific approach to maintenance allows them to objectively uncover cuttingedge groundskeeping techniques.
“It’s an engineered system, it’s a biological system,” Christie said. “I treat it like an engineer would.”
television crews for College GameDay last season, the group realized they had achieved something great.
“A lot of us are sports fans, and we put a lot of long hours and hard work into this field.” Boyce said. “It’s really rewarding to see the games on television and see our work out there for the world to see.”
Beneath the surface
Christie explains that there’s more to Brooks Field than meets the eye.
A lot of people think we just mow the grass and slap some lines down, but there’s a lot more that goes on behind-the-scenes.
Cooper Boyce, Duke’s Sports Turf Manager, told The Chronicle that most fans don’t realize just how much experimentation goes into groundskeeping.
Cooper Boyce
Duke’s Sports and Turf Manager
“A lot of people think we just mow the grass and slap some lines down, but there’s a lot more that goes on behind-the-scenes,” he said.
On top of fertilization and repainting, a typical week of football practice includes a survey of the field’s weak spots. Christie, Boyce and other groundskeepers communicate with coaching staff to shift practice locations around the field and promote growth in problematic areas.
Issues like pests, fungi and weather also force quick action from the groundskeepers and prompt additional data-driven solutions.
But the groundskeeping team takes great pride in their work, especially as the football team takes its spot on national platforms. When Brooks Field hosted
Its scientific magic begins underground. The playing surface sits atop four inches of gravel and 12 inches of sand — a sophisticated drainage system that keeps the field level and prevents crowning. Next comes the greenery. Unlike 71% of NCAA Division I schools, Duke opts for natural sod over synthetic turf. The hearty variety of bermudagrass that calls Brooks Field home stays green well into late November and provides athletic benefits.
Everyone out there has the debate between artificial and grass,” Christie explained. “But grass is by far a safer surface for athletes. It’s good environmentally because it filters out all of our water. So I’m a big, big proponent. Football loves it. Fans love it.”
The science backs up his assertion: a review of NFL injury data from 2012-18 finds that players have a higher rate of noncontact injury on synthetic turf — 32% for knee injuries and 69% for foot and ankle — as opposed to natural grass.
Though grass is a far safer option for Duke athletics, it poses groundskeeping challenges that synthetic fibers do not: mowing, watering, fertilization, aeration and
pest control. To manage the field, Christie and his team closely track every aspect of its care and adjust treatment windows by tiny measurable amounts. Even small changes, like fertilizing seven days in advance instead of ten, can have noticeable effects on the field’s appearance.
“Those are the small, intricate details that you have to learn over time,” Christie explained. He and the other groundskeepers have perfected the art of managing the field’s wear and tear. They relish the challenge of games, practices and external events that take a year-round toll on the fragile ecosystem.
“It’s got to be game-ready all the time, so expectations have gone up.” Christie said. “We’re looking to be the best stewards of planet Earth we can, while balancing football expectations.”
Christie uses his diverse academic background to keep the field in tiptop shape. His bachelor’s degree in computer engineering, masters in sports management and turfgrass certificate — along with nearly 12 years on the job — offer Duke’s field a valuable analytical eye. Boyce brings fresh perspective, having joined Landscape Services in 2022 and moved to Sports Turf Manager role in 2023.
Both take the University’s status as a research institution very seriously, noting that it applies to each blade of grass just as it does to the labs on Science Drive.
“I’ll read research papers on grass to be the best, the science is ever-changing” Christie said. “You have to be willing to try things, you’ve got to be willing to raise the bar.”
Just like head coach Manny Diaz’s philosophy, the groundskeepers remain committed to cutting-edge excellence for seasons to come.
ABOVE: Morgan Chu | Photography Editor Fans storm the field after the Blue Devils’ historic win over then-No. 9 Clemson.
RIGHT: Anabel Howery | Sports Photography Editor Duke’s groundskeeping crew works on Brooks Field ahead of a fall practice.
Devil’s Deck
Rachel DeMita
Gameday Host
All-inclusive ingame seating
Duke announced the Devils Deck July 29, a new addition to Wallace Wade Stadium. Located in the horseshoe behind the north end zone, the section will offer all-you-can-eat food and nonalcoholic drinks, yard games, non-reservable seating, access to a bar and a DJ. For an additional $45 — $35 for students — on top of admissions, roughly 1,500 fans can enjoy these unique amenities before and during the game with great views of the field.
The renovations will decrease the official capacity of Wallace Wade Stadium from 40,004 to 35,018. In doing so, the program is hoping that the excitement of the Devils Deck will cause more Blue Devil fans to fill the stadium throughout the 2024 season.
-Luke Jovanovic
Reimagining the gameday experience
Duke brought in content creator and influencer Rachel DeMita to be the new social media gameday host. DeMita gained her large following as the host of her podcast, Courtside Club, which covers sports and pop culture including interviews with athletes and internet celebrities.
After playing college basketball at Old Dominion, DeMita has reported for the NBA, Overtime, NBA 2KTV, Bleacher Report, CBS and more. Courtside Club has reached over 100 million viewers across platforms.
DeMita will attend every home game as the videoboard host and will appear on the team’s social media. She will assist Duke to grow its online presence and increase brand awareness, which could help land primetime games and attract recruits.
-Andrew Negus
Located between Cameron Indoor Stadium and the Duke Team Store, Tribull Plaza is a space for fans to enjoy the gameday atmosphere. The new addition, called Club Blue Devil, will feature a mobile video board displaying other college football games, along with additional food and drink options for fans.
Bull City
-Luke
This opens three hours before kickoff. A rotating set of DJs — known cleverly as the “Devil’s Advocates” — will perform a set at Club Blue Devil prior to each home game. These DJs will continue their music at the aforementioned Devils Deck during the game.
-Ranjan Jindal
DJs and in-game spaces
“That rare breed of establishment that only comes along once in a blue moon: a restaurant whose cuisine doesn’t fit neatly into any established category of its own” — Greg Cox,
Duke football introduced a new secondary logo. The logo depicts the Blue Devil making the “Bull City” hand gesture, a nickname for Durham’s industrial history.
Jovanovic
Anabel Howery | Sports Photography Editor
Courtesy of GoDuke.com
8 hiring, time was of the essence for the new leader of the Blue Devils if he wanted to keep any semblance of the same roster from the previous campaign.
While some staffs prefer to bring in their own guys and try to establish a new culture, Diaz did just the opposite, looking to capitalize on what Elko had begun to build in his two years with the program. This message was evident during the first few days of his coaching tenure, as countless stories emerged of Diaz meeting with players and recruits around the clock to stop the proverbial bleeding that the transfer portal was causing.
guys on this team, and the way we accepted the young guys that came in with all the uncertainty not knowing what was going on, I felt it was right in my heart to stay and seek to finish what I started with the guys I came in with,” Moore said.
While every player’s situation is different, it was clear that this connected nature of the team had some effect on the individuals in the portal.
So that’s ultimately what drives me back, the people, that’s what makes Duke so special.
Ryan Smith Defensive end
“[Stinson, Smith and I] kind of talked about it any chance we would meet up with each other. Like, let’s come back, let’s come back, kind of throw it in the air,” Moore said.
“All the guys already in the portal that came back had a heart to heart. And really, the ultimate decision was: let’s come back and try to finish it out the right way.”
his return, giving the defensive line another versatile weapon. The graduate student was named Duke’s special teams player of the year in 2022, giving new special teams coordinator Gabe Infante an ace. Two weeks later, Stinson followed suit, revitalizing the Blue Devil defense without even having to look outside the program.
“My decision to return, it’s all about the guys in this locker room,” Smith sad. “It’s hard not to play with these guys for my last year. So that’s ultimately what drives me back, the people, that’s what makes Duke so special.”
“Ultimately, just the brotherhood we have here, the coaches we have here. I wanted to run it back, do it one more time,” Stinson said.
on the offensive line are incoming transfers themselves.
“First is our locker room, and the guys that have already done it for Duke, that already have believed in Duke,” Diaz said when asked about the top priority once he stepped on campus. “Whatever turbulence that we’ve gone through in the beginning of this month, we can right that, we can stabilize that and understand that if we keep this team together, we’ve got a platform to build on.”
These efforts began to pay off for Diaz and company immediately. Just three days after he was hired, Diaz was able to reel back in his starting running back, as Moore withdrew his name from the portal and cemented himself as the bell cow for this year’s offense.
“Then I really sat and I thought about it, and just the relationships I built here with the
Roughly a month later, Smith announced
With a new coaching staff and the amount of roster turnover that has become synonymous with modern college football, it can be easy for teams to have completely different identities year after year. However, the strength of the locker room in Durham seems to have skirted this phenomenon for the time being, proving just how connected the group became during the events of last offseason.
“It definitely takes time to build that camaraderie and build that culture amongst the group of guys,” Schon told The Chronicle. “But you have a bunch of guys who are going through the exact same thing. Many of us are taking classes together and doing the exact same program at Fuqua. We had a chance to spend a ton of time together all summer… [which] is vitally important to building that culture, as much as it is playing on the field with each other.”
How quickly and effectively these incoming transfers adapt to their new team will be a determining factor in Duke’s success this season. Murphy, Charles, Schon and the rest must shine in order for the team to power through a tough ACC schedule.
Regardless, the foundation Diaz has built this offseason and his ability to recruit talented transfers will endure far beyond just this season. If one thing is clear, it’s that Diaz and the Blue Devils are ready to face the portal head on, and that ability will prove extremely important to producing lasting success in this new era of college football.
Anabel Howery | Sports Photography Editor Safety Jaylen Stinson makes a tackle against N.C. State.
FROM PAGE 8
Elisa to Diaz’s sons, attended his inaugural press conference.
“It was a pinch-me moment,” Diaz said. “You don’t really get to control where you work in this profession … the ability to be able to go back home to coach the team that I was a young boy in the stands rooting for was a very unique experience.”
Although Diaz brought Miami back into the AP poll after a couple years outside of it, he was fired after his third season. The Hurricanes entered the 2021 season ranked No. 14 but stumbled to a 2-4 start. Despite an injury to quarterback D’Eriq King, Diaz’s team bounced back from that start to a 7-5 record.
“I thought we were on the way of building a really strong culture,” Diaz said at his Duke introductory press conference. “We had 12 ACC wins the last two years … so we felt like we were on the way, but … you’re in this profession, you understand what it is.”
It was still a learning opportunity for Diaz, who feels more prepared to lead the Blue Devils after his experience with the Hurricanes.
“I’ve joked it’s like parenting … you think you have some sort of idea of what it’s like until you bring your firstborn home. And it’s like, whoa, where’s the instruction manual for them?” Diaz said. “So after your first year as a head coach, I think you get your sea legs underneath you a lot more.”
‘Duke just checked every box’
Diaz didn’t have much time to dwell on that bump in the road, because as the door in his hometown closed, another one quickly opened.
“I think [Penn State head coach] James Franklin called me an hour after getting fired … the body wasn’t cold at the funeral,” Diaz joked at his Duke introductory press conference. “I do believe that God steers us to where we need to be when we need to be there. Some lessons I learned at Penn State made me a better man, made me a better coach for sure.”
How did Diaz handle losing his job at Miami? By leading the second best defense in the country at Penn State. In 2023, the Nittany Lions led the nation in rushing yards allowed and were third in scoring defense.
Diaz was a finalist for the Broyles Award — given to the nation’s best coordinator — as his name was floated across head coaching searches. However, he turned down multiple offers and waited. Then Duke’s came.
“You recognize you’re probably gonna have one more shot at this,” Diaz said Dec. 9. “So if you’re gonna get another coaching job, you want to make really, really sure … about not just the place you want to be at, but the people who you are aligning yourself with. That’s where I felt like Duke just checked every box.”
“For coaches that have coached at Duke, almost everyone I’ve ever spoken to says it’s their favorite stop anywhere they’ve ever been. Because as a coach … these are the types of kids that you want to coach,” Diaz said at ACC Kickoff.
‘A model of servant leadership’
Diaz’s units are notoriously tough, with stingy defenses that give nightmares to opposing offenses. But there is a holistic aspect to toughness that Diaz prioritizes, a mentality that transcends physicality.
“Everybody thinks about football with physical toughness, and that’s certainly a large part of it, but as important, if not more so, is mental and emotional toughness,” Diaz said. “[I want] a team that never knows it’s beaten and is very resilient, because football is a game of adversity, similar to how life is.”
There’s an element of joy, too, because Diaz wants teams who are “always excited to play,” and “enjoy playing with one another.”
“Our guys work 365 days a year for these 12 occasions. So there’s nothing like seeing them celebrate afterwards,” Diaz said.
The players have been receptive to Diaz from the beginning, even after a tumultuous few weeks in the aftermath of former head coach Mike Elko’s departure. Diaz conducted individual Zoom meetings with players, wanting to maximize his connection with his team as early as possible.
“Some coaches might want to come in and force their agenda without even talking to the players first,” said graduate wide receiver Jordan Moore at ACC Kickoff. “But he was really respectful and really cognizant of our culture and what we think of our program. He was able to implement what he believes and we can fuse it together.”
That humility comes from the Bowden way at Florida State in the 1990s, which has fundamentally shaped the way Diaz views his position.
“Going back to coach Bowden, it’s a model of serving leadership. You are there to serve others, not the other way around,” Diaz said. “People look at leadership positions that everybody’s there to honor your wins and desires, and it’s really the opposite. If you’re doing it the right way, in my mind, you’re there to help everybody else’s dream come true.”
To this day, he remembers the standard set at ESPN and his National Championship team with the Seminoles; he still wants to coach a defense “that Mickey Andrews would approve.” That standard reminds him of Duke’s culture and his vision for this football team.
“Anything that has these four letters attached to it should be excellent,” Diaz said. “That’s a standard that is hard to achieve, but it’s a pathway, and once you dedicate yourself to the path, then there’s really nothing else that matters.”
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said that by the time players take the field, they have already had hundreds of chances to lead their teammates.
“Confidence comes through demonstrated ability. We had our draft picks out of here last year, and I really believe that those guys took a huge mental step in confidence and conviction that they can be really good football players, and we need to continue that here,” Feeley said. “Every time that bell goes off, it puts the player on the spot to perform under pressure. So not only is that weight not going to change or be convinced, but now all their teammates are around, and you’ve got to perform for them.”
Using the example of last year’s trio of draft picks — Graham Barton, DeWayne Carter and Jacob Monk — Feeley’s impact is clear. Not only did each of those players grow stronger, but their mental strength and leadership rivaled their physical prowess.
“All through the pre-draft process and the training process, almost every single thing I did was replicable to what we do right here,” Carter said at his Pro Day last spring. “That’s what we do. We train, we train, we run, we lift heavy. The same fundamentals, everything we built are things that I literally did day in and day out.”
Building culture
Once players pledge to “the church of Feeley” and emerge stronger physically and mentally, a standard begins to form. It’s something every program strives for, an expectation independent of outside noise and completely focused on what happens inside the walls of the facility.
Not only did Feeley create that standard at Duke, he maintained it after a sudden coaching change. Yes, his continuity was important in retaining as much of the roster as possible, but it was also crucial in retaining what the program stands for.
“The whole key has been keeping Feeley. If you ask all of our players, they believe that he’s the key to success over the last couple years,” Diaz said. “I saw it firsthand at Miami. So you hear coaches talk all the time [about] establishing a culture year one, it was already established. Because your culture is what you do for each other and what you do in the offseason. It’s what you do in the weight room, or in the summertime, what you do on the track. I think that put our players at ease.”
Feeley asserts that the team plays as much of a role in building culture as he does. After all, they are the ones in the locker room, on the field and lifting the weights. As much respect as the team has for him, he reciprocates it completely.
“When you treat everybody equally accountable, there’s an enormous amount of trust that goes on in the room,” he said. “We start [building that trust] day one in January, as soon as we’re back. The hardest part was the first two weeks that I was brought on to this job in 2022. They just didn’t know what it was. And then after they figured out what, it took care of itself, because they saw the value in it.”
Therein lies the final piece of the puzzle that explains the enormity of Feeley’s impact. He makes players work
harder than they ever believed they could, and he’s far from sunshine and rainbows. It takes someone wired a little differently to run the program he does, and it takes an especially strong will to come out the other end.
But all of Feeley’s intensity comes from a place of respect and love. When asked what he would be if not a coach, Feeley had a simple answer: lost. And every time he spoke of how he coached or his approach to the weight room, he emphasized what the players deserve — the lofty standard he holds for his own coaching.
“I’ve got the best job in college football because of these players,” he said.
Just before the evening workout starts, Feeley is on a ladder rewriting the previous session’s slew of broken personal records on a whiteboard that hangs in the center of the weight room. He sees a few players talk with the equipment team about designing special tank tops for players who break multiple personal bests in one season. Then he reviews the workout plan he already knows by heart.
At exactly 5:05, he walks out before a sea of players jostling and joking around. Feeley blows his whistle once, and immediately has the team’s complete attention. He gives a brief introduction and blows his whistle again.
The music of the workout starts. Feeley is the conductor.
Anabel Howery | Sports Photography Editor Head coach Manny Diaz fields questions at a press conference.
