Tag: Manny Diaz

Duke football lands another transfer portal commitment from Sam Houston State safety

Duke added to its strongest position group on Saturday morning with a transfer commitment from Sam Houston State safety Caleb Weaver.

The Duke Blue Devils remain on the lookout for 2025 talent in the transfer portal, and head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] added to his strongest position group on Saturday morning.

Caleb Weaver, a defensive back from Sam Houston State, announced his commitment to the program through social media.

Weaver, a Class of 2021 product, played 34 games for the Bearkats over the past three seasons. He finished the 2024 campaign with a team-leading 97 total tackles, four interceptions, and six more pass deflections.

Duke allowed 6.0 yards per pass attempt this season, tied for 12th among FBS defenses, with 15 passing touchdowns allowed and 12 interceptions. A veteran secondary comprised of four upperclassmen, led by All-ACC cornerback [autotag]Chandler Rivers[/autotag], helped constrict opponents downfield, but Diaz will need to rebuild for next season. Rivers will have another year of eligibility, but the NFL could come calling after his all-conference campaign, and safety Jaylen Stinson and cornerback Joshua Pickett both just wrapped up their last Duke season.

Diaz and his staff already pulled Tulane quarterback Darian Mensah from the portal last week, and Dartmouth defensive lineman Josiah Green and Oklahoma Sooners wideout Andrel Anthony Jr. have both committed since Wednesday.

Duke football lands former Dartmouth defensive lineman from the transfer portal

With the college football transfer portal in full swing, the Duke Blue Devils landed another player from the Ivy League.

The college football transfer portal has been open for multiple weeks now, and Duke coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] and his staff remain in pursuit of some 2025 talent. On Wednesday, the Blue Devils continued their recent Ivy League pipeline with a commitment from a defensive lineman.

Josiah Green, a former Dartmouth starter, announced his commitment to the Duke program on Wednesday afternoon.

“Thank you for everything (Dartmouth),” Green wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “Time for the Next Chapter!”

A grad transfer with 30 games of experience, Green will play out his final season of eligibility next fall. The 6-foot-1, 280-pound lineman was one of five unanimous members of the First Team All-Ivy squad after he accumulated 49 tackles, 9.0 TFLs, and three sacks.

Green won’t be the first Ivy Leaguer to join Duke through the transfer portal. Just this past season, former Princeton linebacker Ozzie Nicholas led the Blue Devils with 89 total tackles. The program also brought in Harvard grads Scott Elliott and Anthony Nelson ahead of the 2023 season, and both of them started six games that year.

Duke linebacker announces his decision to enter the transfer portal

A three-star member of the 2024 Duke football recruiting class announced his decision to enter the transfer portal on Sunday.

Duke linebacker Montreze Smith, a three-star freshman from the 2024 recruiting class, announced his decision to enter the transfer portal on Sunday.

“I want to thank Duke University, my coaches, teammates, and the entire athletic staff for the incredible opportunity to be part of this program,” Smith wrote in a social media statement. “Representing Duke both on and off the field has been an honor, and I am truly grateful for the support and relationships I’ve built during my time here.”

Smith, a Georgia native, was 247Sports’ No. 79 linebacker in the Class of 2024 and the sixth-highest Duke football signee in [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag]’s first freshman class. He appeared in four games this season, recording one tackle against Elon in the opener, and he’ll have four years of eligibility left.

The Blue Devils had 12 other linebackers on the 2024 roster, but each of the team’s three leading tacklers (Ozzie Nicholas, Alex Howard, and Cam Bergeron) at the position just spent their final year with the program. Redshirt juniors Tre Freeman and Nick Morris Jr. should be back for next year, but the position could be one of interest for Duke in the portal this offseason.

Duke football coach Manny Diaz earns ‘A’ grade from USA TODAY Sports for his debut season

USA TODAY Sports released its first-year coaching grades for college football on Thursday, and Manny Diaz (predictably) earned top marks.

Duke football coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] didn’t just put together one of the best debut seasons in program history in 2024. He put together one of the best seasons in program history period, and USA TODAY Sports writer Paul Myerberg recognized him for that on Thursday.

Myerberg released his first-year coaching grades this week, and Diaz understandably earned an ‘A’ after the Blue Devils ended with nine regular-season wins.

Diaz and his players only lost three times, but they overcame four fourth-quarter deficits to finish near the top of the ACC standings. Duke scored three late touchdowns to storm back from 20-0 against the North Carolina Tar Heels, took SMU to overtime before the Mustangs eventually finished undefeated in conference play, and erased a 17-3 Wake Forest lead in the finale.

Duke won 17 games under former head coach Mike Elko over the past two seasons, so there was groundwork for the former Miami head coach’s success. But Diaz’s first season was still just the eighth time the Blue Devils have won nine times in a season in school history and the fourth such season since 1941.

Only four other coaches earned an ‘A’ or higher, with Indiana’s Curt Cignetti granted an ‘A++’ after he led the Hoosiers to the College Football Playoff.

Duke football hosts top-ranked transfer portal quarterback for a visit

The Duke Blue Devils lost quarterback Maalik Murphy to the transfer portal on Monday, but a potential replacement came to Durham on Tuesday.

Duke quarterback [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] won’t return to Durham for the 2025 season, but head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] and his staff might have a lead on his potential replacement.

ESPN senior writer Pete Thamel reported that former Tulane quarterback Darian Mensah scheduled a Tuesday visit with the Blue Devils, the first program he’s visited since entering the portal.

As of Tuesday morning, Mensah is 247Sports’ No. 3 overall transfer quarterback prospect. The redshirt freshman and former three-star prospect saw the field for the first time this season and looked remarkably productive, throwing for 2,723 yards and running for 132 more with 23 total touchdowns. He completed 65.9% of his passes and averaged 9.5 yards per attempt, only throwing six interceptions while tossing multiple touchdown passes in eight different games.

Mensah made waves ahead of this season when he beat out former Oregon Ducks quarterback Ty Thompson, a former top-100 prospect from the Class of 2021, for Tulane’s starting job. He guided Tulane to a 9-4 record and an appearance in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game.

Duke football picks up third Class of 2026 commitment from a South Carolina wide receiver

The Duke Blue Devils added their third commitment from the Class of 2026 on Monday, a 6-foot-4 wide receiver from South Carolina.

The Duke Blue Devils notched their third commitment from the Class of 2026 on Monday when Jude Hall, a 6-foot-4 wideout from South Carolina, announced his decision on social media.

The Christ Church Episcopal School product is not currently ranked by 247Sports, but at 6-foot-4 and 185 pounds, he clearly possesses the physical tools to play outside at the collegiate level. According to MaxPreps, he led the Cavaliers with 57 receptions for 795 yards and five touchdowns in 11 games, and he caught nine touchdowns as a sophomore in 2023.

Duke’s receiver depth was one of its best qualities in 2024, but the position group will experience a firm overhaul over the next two seasons. [autotag]Eli Pancol[/autotag] and [autotag]Jordan Moore[/autotag], who combined for 1.539 yards and 16 touchdowns, both just finished their senior season. Sahmir Hagans will be a redshirt senior in 2025, and Old Dominion transfer Javon Harvey just used his final season of eligibility.

Hall joins four-star offensive lineman Sean Stover and three-star defensive lineman Ayden Cain in Duke’s current 2026 recruiting class.

Duke football draws the Ole Miss Rebels for the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in January

The Duke Blue Devils are headed to Jacksonville for a battle with the Ole Miss Rebels in January’s TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.

For the first time in program history, the Duke Blue Devils will play a bowl game in Jacksonville.

After the team’s 9-3 season under new head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag], Duke drew the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl for a postseason battle against the Mississippi Rebels from the SEC.

The Blue Devils overcame three two-score fourth-quarter deficits in 2024, including a 20-point comeback against the North Carolina Tar Heels and a 14-point comeback against Wake Forest in the final game. Redshirt sophomore quarterback [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] threw a program-record 26 touchdown passes, including a walk-off score to Jordan Moore on the final play against the Demon Deacons, and Duke swept UNC, Wake Forest, and NC State for the first time since 2013.

Ole Miss started the year with playoff aspirations under head coach Lane Kiffin, and a 5-1 start to the season kept the Rebels in the thick of the hunt. An overtime loss to the LSU Tigers and a stunning road loss to the Florida Gators knocked them down to 9-3, however, and even a late win over the Georgia Bulldogs couldn’t move them back into the field.

The bowl game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, January 2, and fans can watch on ESPN.

Manny Diaz finishes second in ACC Coach of the Year voting after Duke’s nine-win season

After a nine-win debut season with the Duke Blue Devils, Manny Diaz earned three votes for ACC Coach of the Year.

Duke football coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] picked off a few program milestones in his first season with the Blue Devils, and three voters nominated him as the ACC Coach of the Year at the conclusion of the regular season.

SMU’s Rhett Lashlee dominated the results with 64 votes after the Mustangs won all eight conference games in their first season with the ACC, but Diaz was the only other coach to earn at least three selections.

Diaz and the Blue Devils took Lashlee and the Mustangs to overtime in Week 9, one of just three Duke losses this season. The program won its first five games for the first time this century thanks to a 20-point comeback over the North Carolina Tar Heels, and the Blue Devils swept their three in-state conference rivals for the first time since 2013.

Diaz, a defensive coach by trade, helped oversee one of the conference’s most destructive units. The Blue Devils surrendered 22.2 points and 344.3 yards per game, ranking third and fourth among the conference, and they racked up the second-most tackles for loss in the FBS with 110.

Where are the Duke Blue Devils on the USA TODAY Sports college football re-rank?

Check out where the Duke Blue Devils landed on the USA TODAY Sports college football re-rank after their 9-3 regular season.

The Duke Blue Devils couldn’t quite break into the top 25 in the US LBM Coaches Poll after their ninth regular-season win in Week 14, but USA TODAY Sports writer Paul Myerberg thinks head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] is leading a top-25 team.

Myerberg released his updated ranking of all 134 college football teams on Monday, and the Blue Devils crept up two spots to 22nd after their 23-17 comeback over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, one spot below the Colorado Buffaloes.

The Blue Devils don’t have a top-25 win on their resume, but if fans include their last-minute field goal to force overtime against Northwestern, Diaz and his team have come from behind in the fourth quarter four times in 2024. Quarterback [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] completed 16 of his 20 passes in the second half, running for a touchdown before launching a 39-yard scoring throw to Jordan Moore on the final play.

With Syracuse’s upset over Miami, the ACC title game race got thrown into chaos at the buzzer. After a 9-0 start to the season, the Hurricanes won’t even make the trip to Charlotte after a pair of late losses, instead crossing their fingers for an at-large College Football Playoff berth.

Myerberg slotted Miami at No. 16 in his updated rankings, a full ten spots behind the SMU Mustangs (No. 6) at the top of the conference. The Clemson Tigers (No. 17) will head to the title game despite three regular-season losses, but no other ACC team finished above Duke on Myerberg’s list.

Duke football finishes the 2024 season with more fourth-quarter comebacks than losses

With their thrilling win over Wake Forest, the Duke Blue Devils ended the 2024 regular season with more fourth-quarter comebacks than losses.

The Duke Blue Devils scored three touchdowns in the final 16 minutes of Saturday’s game against Wake Forest, including a 39-yard strike from quarterback [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] to star wideout [autotag]Jordan Moore[/autotag] on the final play, for a 23-17 comeback victory over the Demon Deacons.

With a 9-3 regular-season record now cemented, Duke achieved a pretty staggering feat with its late surge in Winston-Salem. The Blue Devils came from behind in the fourth quarter four different times in 2024, including a last-minute field goal against Northwestern in Week 2 and a 21-point surge against the North Carolina Tar Heels back in Week 5, to give them more comebacks than losses in the regular season.

The Wildcats game was technically tied until a Northwestern field goal with 11:39 left on the clock, but even without including that game, the numbers are tied at three apiece. That doesn’t even include the SMU game in Week 9 when Duke scored two late touchdowns to force overtime, only losing after a failed 2-point conversion on the first additional possession.

For those doing the math at home, head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] ended his first season in Durham with a winning record when trailing after three quarters. Duke won three of its five such games this season, only surrendering a late lead once to Georgia Tech.