Tag: Jonathan Brewer

Manny Diaz calls the Virginia Tech victory his team’s ‘worst performance to date’

Despite the Blue Devils defeating Virginia Tech on Saturday, head coach Manny Diaz sounded quite critical of the tape this week.

The Duke Blue Devils picked up their eighth win of the season on Saturday, handing the Virginia Tech Hokies a 31-28 loss in front of the Wallace Wade Stadium crowd, but head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] still saw areas for improvement on film.

In fact, during Diaz’s Monday press conference, he ranked it below all three of Duke’s losses.

“Of the 11 games we have played so far this year, it was, in my mind, our worst performance to date,” Diaz said. “We did so many things that in a normal game or normal circumstance would get you beat.”

Duke ended up with 396 yards of offense, mostly thanks to a pair of lightning-strike touchdowns from fifth-year wideout Eli Pancol on the first four plays from scrimmage. Quarterback [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] found Pancol for 86-yard and 77-yard scoring plays on the first two drives, but the Blue Devils also turned the ball over four times and converted just two of their 11 third downs.

Murphy’s ball security looked pretty stunning compared to his recent form. The first-year starter tossed the ball to the defense three times before halftime, his second three-interception game this month. However, in his other five battles against ACC opponents, Murphy’s only thrown one pick.

“We’re an aggressive offense anyways and we’ve been aggressive the last six weeks,” offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer said. “I think we’ve done a pretty good job at not putting the ball in jeopardy at times or trying to force things. We made a few mistakes and tried to push the ball into some territories it shouldn’t have been pushed to.”

Those three interceptions created 10 points for the Hokies, letting Virginia Tech take the lead late in the second quarter. While the record will only show a victory on the books, the head coach fell back on a familiar phrase to describe his thoughts.

“We talk all the time about success versus excellence,” Diaz said. “We were successful, but we were not excellent. We were way below our standard.”

Duke offensive coordinator says ‘things are starting to slow down’ for Maalik Murphy

Offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer offered a promising vote of confidence for Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy’s progress on Monday.

It wasn’t long ago when it felt like the biggest complaint Duke football fans had about the offense stemmed from the pocket.

Quarterback [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag], a former Texas Longhorn in his first year as a starter, opened the ACC schedule with 484 yards and three touchdowns in three games. He completed fewer than 51% of his passes and averaged fewer than 5.5 yards per attempt over that run, a stretch he concluded with 70 yards on 24 attempts against the Florida State Seminoles.

Over the past three games, however, the offense has looked like a new unit, and Murphy’s play has been a critical reason why. The first-year Blue Devil racked up 865 yards against SMU, Miami, and NC State, including his first career 300-yard game against the Hurricanes. He’s thrown eight touchdowns in the last 12 quarters to bring his season total to 22, just two shy of a longstanding single-season school record.

His completion percentage jumped up to 61.7%, and he’s averaged 7.2 yards per attempt over this recent run of form.

“He’s been more comfortable in what we’ve been doing,” offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer said on Monday. “I think for him, he’s feeling confident in the speed of the game. Things are starting to slow down for him.”

Brewer, who also joined the Duke program this offseason, thinks fans should keep Murphy’s inexperience before this season. He only started two games at his old school, and the former four-star prospect is just 20 years old.

“We just have to keep remembering that this is his first year being the guy and really playing,” Brewer said. “Things are starting to slow down and he’s starting to see things more clearly in that world.”

Duke offensive coordinator says 2-point attempt vs SMU came within one foot of working

Duke offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer confirmed what fans saw with their own eyes on Saturday: the 2-point play was almost perfect.

In case any Duke football fans needed a reminder of how close the Blue Devils came to upsetting the SMU Mustangs on Saturday night, offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer made the margin very clear during his Monday press conference.

Brewer said he and the offense worked on the play design for the climactic 2-point attempt as early as the third day of offseason practice. Eli Pancol, who caught a 25-yard touchdown pass on the previous play to set up the conversion, and tight end Jake Taylor ran a mesh concept, running crossing routes at each other from opposite sides of the field in hopes of getting at least one defender lost in the traffic.

“It’s pretty much what you would want to call versus a man coverage,” Brewer said. “We just didn’t execute. We didn’t have guys rub the mesh the right way and set up the mesh the right way.”

Murphy, who needed to scramble to his right after the SMU defensive line broke into the pocket, tried to find Pancol, but with Mustangs cornerback Jaelyn Davis-Robinson running with the wideout in stride, the ball sailed just past Pancol’s reach for an incompletion.

“It’s those details, those small details, that come back to haunt you because it’s the difference between probably about a foot. If he (Pancol) has a foot of separation between the defender and himself, he probably catches the ball and we win the game.”

Brewer, in his first year at the helm of the Duke offense, made it very clear which party deserves any blame for the mistake.

“It’s one of those things that showed up earlier in the game and we didn’t get it corrected,” he continued. “And that’s on us as coaches.”

Duke football coach Manny Diaz wants the Blue Devils to focus on mistakes after SMU loss

Manny Diaz said on Monday that he wanted the Duke football team to focus on self-inflicted errors from the SMU loss rather than bad luck.

For a sport played on a massive field, it’s funny how often football games get settled by a matter of inches.

Duke came within one play of beating the ranked SMU Mustangs multiple times on Saturday night, and a few bad breaks got in the way of their upset effort. The Blue Devils’ 30-yard field goal attempt on the last play of regulation, which would have won the game, got blocked when Mustangs defensive end Jahfari Harvey jumped over the line and got his hand up in time.

Duke later opted for a 2-point conversion attempt on the first overtime possession, and quarterback Maalik Murphy’s pass to Eli Pancol sailed by for an incompletion. A replay angle on the broadcast showed more contact from SMU defensive back Jaelyn Davis-Robinson than fans would have liked.

Just don’t expect Duke head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] to blame the loss on either of those two plays.

“You should never rationalize away a loss,” Diaz said during his Monday press conference. “Because what’ll happen is, given the unusual set of circumstances that happened on Saturday night, you’ll try to find something that’s outside of your control as to why you lost.”

Diaz, who was hired by the Blue Devils this offseason after spending 2022-23 as the Penn State Nittany Lions defensive coordinator, said the film showed mistakes from the offense, defense, and special teams that could have changed the outcome.

“Everyone who had a role in the game on Saturday night could have played better and could have ensured our victory,” Diaz said. “That’s us taking accountability, that’s us taking control.”

The three Duke football keys to victory against Middle Tennessee State

Before Duke’s Saturday game against Middle Tennessee, our Bryant Crews broke down three keys to a Blue Devils victory.

[autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] and his Duke Blue Devils have made the trip from Durham to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, as they prepare themselves for their final non-conference test of the season against the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders.

Diaz and a few members of this Duke staff are no strangers to Murfreesboro. Diaz landed his first-ever defensive coordinator role there, a four-year stint from 2006-09, and he worked with multiple of his current assistants in that time.

Diaz’s tenure at MTSU catapulted him into SEC and Big 12 jobs, eventually leading to his first head coaching gig at Miami. Saturday will likely be an emotional day for Diaz, but Duke is one win away from going 4-0 before they turn their attention to their biggest rival, the North Carolina Tar Heels, next weekend.

Duke has the talent advantage, but the Blue Raiders aren’t a pushover. Duke will need to play a clean game, or they could certainly end up on upset alert.

A win is never guaranteed, but here are three key players who would help Duke put itself in position to leave Tennessee with its fourth win of the season on Saturday.

Where’s the balance?

Duke’s best method of attacking defenses in 2024 comes through the air. Partly, that’s to be expected, right? Jonathan Brewer, Duke’s offensive coordinator, has his roots firmly planted in the Air Raid system from his time at SMU under Sonny Dykes, another Air Raid disciple.

However, being an Air Raid team doesn’t mean running the ball is off the table, and Duke could and should find lanes to run the rock against an MTSU team that likely spent all week preparing for this passing attack. If Duke can use the run effectively, the Blue Devils should be able to put a team currently giving up 159 rushing yards per game on its heels.

Stay solid

Duke’s best defensive unit is its veteran secondary. It’s the most experienced position group on the defense with four starting upperclassmen and, pound-for-pond, probably the most talented group as well.

Like Duke, MTSU is looking to pass the ball. The Blue Raiders have thrown for more than 300 yards per game so far this season. The primary target for the Blue Raiders, Auburn Tigers transfer wide receiver Omari Kelly, leads his new team with 14 catches for 285 yards and three touchdowns. Tight end Holden Willis also has double-digit catches (12) and should not be taken lightly.

Duke has the corners to match up and the safeties to avoid getting beat deep, but if that unit has a bad day, there’s a real chance Duke will lose this ballgame.

Keep Maalik Murphy locked in

Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy has been a terrific transfer for the Blue Devils. He has completed 64% of his passes for 801 yards, eight touchdowns, and only three interceptions. He can still improve, and he knows that, but the talent has been showcased, and he gives Duke a chance to win every time he steps on the field.

The only downside to his performance so far has been the spurts at which the consistency of his play fluctuates. He’ll be dangerous for two drives and then wildly inaccurate for a third, which sometimes lets the whole offense stagnate and lose control of games. Then, Murphy will suddenly reel it in and look like a truly gifted talent once again.

The highs and lows are hard to deal with, but until Duke finds that consistency, Murphy may not be able to showcase how talented they are, and that could cost them a game or two. So far, they’ve managed, but they’ll need to mitigate that during their second true road game of the season.

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.