Tag: 2024 Duke Football Season

Duke safety Jaylen Stinson says he ‘left a lot on the table’ during 2023 season

Despite 88 total tackles, Duke safety Jaylen Stinson said he “left a lot on the table” in 2023, a mistake he and Manny Diaz hope to correct this year.

You’d be forgiven for thinking Duke safety Jaylen Stinson left the 2023 season satisfied with his play.

The veteran Blue Devils defensive back finished with 88 total tackles, the second-most on the roster, and he broke up six passes and picked off another. All of that adds up to, in theory, an exceptionally satisfying season for the senior.

Instead, during a media session at the ACC Football Kickoff on Wednesday, he lamented some missed opportunities.

“Just looking at my film from last year, I left a lot on the table,” Stinson said.

Stinson said Manny Diaz, the new coach hired this winter, told him the same thing, and that honesty about his tape made him more motivated for 2024.

“He watched film on me, he knew that I left a lot on the table. I was honest with myself to know I left a lot on the table,” Stinson said. “And he’s going to help me perfect my game and just do the little things to make that happen.”

Stinson clearly values Diaz’s input. He mentioned just minutes before that the new Blue Devils coach played a big role in Stinson’s decision not to transfer, including a personal phone call during his first day in Durham.

Duke football coach Manny Diaz tabs David Feeley, stability as keys to program culture

Manny Diaz said on Wednesday that the key to his transition has been keeping as many Blue Devils in place as possible, including one key staff name.

New Duke football coach Manny Diaz knows the Blue Devils don’t need a ton of work. After all, he’s walking into a locker room with 17 wins over the last two seasons.

During ACC Football Kickoff on Wednesday, Diaz stopped by ACC Network and talked about how he wanted to keep as many key people within the program as possible.

“The best thing we have at Duke is our people,” Diaz said. “And to keep the nucleus of the team last year together, which we were able to do for the most part.”

He also praised one specific Duke staff member: Director of Football Sports Performance David Feeley.

“The whole key has been keeping David Feeley,” Diaz continued. “If you ask all of our players, they believe that he is the key to the success the last couple years.”

Diaz already worked with Feeley in Miami. While Diaz coached the Hurricanes from 2019-21, Feeley worked as the director of strength and conditioning for football.

Overall, Diaz felt like a lot of the groundwork for a good football program already exists in Durham. Why try to fix what isn’t broken?

“You hear coaches talk all the time, ‘We have to establish a culture in year one,’ it was already established,” Diaz said. “Because your culture is what you do for each other.”

Duke safety Jaylen Stinson explains how new coach Manny Diaz persuaded him to return

Duke safety Jaylen Stinson entered the transfer portal in November but withdrew in January. He explained on Wednesday how Manny Diaz swayed his choice.

Jaylen Stinson nearly played his final game in a Duke uniform already.

Last November, with the Blue Devils locker room reeling after former head coach Mike Elko left to take the Texas A&M job, the safety announced that he would enter the transfer portal. Six weeks later, however, he withdrew his name and decided he would return to Durham for one last season.

During Duke’s press conference at the ACC Football Kickoff on Wednesday, Stinson explained how new coach Manny Diaz lured him back into the program.

“When Manny got to come to the front and just talk us and tell us his plan and what he had planned for this team, it just built confidence,” Stinson said. “We knew he wanted to do the right thing with us and we could trust him as a coach, and I knew he would take this program in the right direction.”

Stinson also said Diaz called him up personally on his very first day in Durham, something that meant a lot to the veteran defensive back.

Stinson finished with 88 total tackles last season, the second-most on the team, and he intercepted one pass and broke up six others.

Maalik Murphy, Grayson Loftis talk about friendship during Duke quarterback competition

Just because Grayson Loftis and Maalik Murphy are still competing for Duke’s starting quarterback job doesn’t mean the two harbor any resentment.

Having two quarterbacks is a luxurious problem in college football, but the noise that comes with it can create problems for anyone. Whether Texas transfer [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] or the returning Grayson Loftis starts the season in the pocket, there will inevitably be arguments among the stands in Wallace Wade Stadium, at least early on, that the other should be on the field instead.

Just don’t expect either of them to hold it against each other.

Murphy and Loftis both sat down with ACC Network during Wednesday’s ACC Kickoff and talked about their relationship as they compete for the QB1 spot in Durham. According to them, it’s been civil and friendly from the day Murphy arrived on campus.

“Coming in, the first thing he (Murphy) said was like ‘We’re here to push each other and get better and just be a big family’,” Loftis said. “If you miss a throw, he might throw a jab, but if you make a great throw, he’s going to be your biggest fan.”

Murphy said Loftis motivates him to improve on the field and in the weight room, and the duo enjoys training together despite the lingering question.

“Whenever our rack partner switches up, I get sad,” Murphy said. “Because I want Grayson as my rack partner…He pushes me and gets the most out of me, and that’s all I can ask for as another quarterback in the room.”

Duke quarterbacks say new Blue Devils offensive coordinator wants to be fast and explosive

“The foundation of our offense is having fun, being explosive, and pushing the ball downfield,” Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy said on Wednesday.

With former starting quarterback Riley Leonard now at Notre Dame, Duke football fans already knew they’d need to adjust to a new quarterback in 2024. However, there’s been less focus on how new offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer might impact the offense.

During a Wednesday appearance on ACC Network during the ACC Kickoff event, quarterbacks [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] and Grayson Loftis briefly talked about the offense they’ve adjusted to all offseason.

“It’s a lot different than what we used to do,” Loftis, a returning sophomore who started a couple of games for the team last year, said. “It’s a lot less terminology. It’s a little more geared to play as fast as you possibly can…I’ve never learned football like this before.”

Murphy, who transferred from Texas this offseason, brings one of the most talented arms in the country to Wallace Wade Stadium. While he hasn’t officially earned the starting role (he and Loftis split time under center during the spring scrimmage), it sounds like he and Brewer will fit well.

“The foundation of our offense is having fun, being explosive, and pushing the ball downfield,” Murphy said. “Brewer says it all the time, we’re going to win on the perimeter.”

Murphy also emphasized how Brewer wants the team to feel comfortable within his scheme, pointing out one quirk from the Blue & White Game earlier this spring.

“We ran the same play probably, like, 15 times,” Murphy said. “He doesn’t want to overcomplicate anything, he wants everybody to play fast, move fast, think fast.”

Brewer, who also coaches Duke’s quarterbacks, previously worked as the quarterbacks coach at SMU, one of three new ACC programs this season.

Duke offensive lineman Ethan Hubbard enters transfer portal

Former three-star offensive line prospect Ethan Hubbard announced on Wednesday that he’d entered the transfer portal.

Duke offensive lineman Ethan Hubbard entered the transfer portal, he announced through social media on Wednesday.

A three-star prospect from Alabama, the 6-foot-6 lineman redshirted as a true freshman last season. Hubbard was one of 26 three-star enrollees from the Class of 2023 for the Blue Devils.

The departure hurts the Blue Devils at an already thin position. Duke only listed nine offensive linemen on its 2024 spring football roster, and Hubbard’s decision to leave trims the number down to eight. Three of those remaining eight are redshirt freshmen.

With a number of potential options still in the transfer portal, expect new head coach Manny Diaz to seek more options before the team reconvenes in the fall.