Tag: Manny Diaz

Manny Diaz says Blue Devils will get more than ‘a guy or two’ from portal before August

When he was asked if Duke could still pick up a player or two from the portal this past Saturday, head coach Manny Diaz immediately said “It’ll be more than that.”

The 2024 Duke football team is still under construction, and new head coach Manny Diaz is under no illusions about that.

During an interview with ACC Network on Saturday, in the midst of Duke’s spring Blue & White Game scrimmage, Diaz was asked about the potential of more transfer portal additions over the summer.

The ACC Network broadcasting crew asked, “There’s still some room to find another guy or two potentially to help you before you come back to camp, I guess, in August, right?”

“It won’t be a guy or two,” Diaz said immediately. “It’ll be more than that.”

“We want to build a team to compete this year,” the first-year Blue Devils coach said emphatically.

One area to circle could be the offensive line. After redshirt freshman Ethan Hubbard announced his decision to enter the transfer portal on Wednesday, the Blue Devils trimmed down to eight offensive linemen on their spring football roster.

Blue Devils down to eight offensive linemen without Ethan Hubbard

With Graham Barton and Jacob Monk headed for the draft and Ethan Hubbard now in the transfer portal, the trenches are thin in Durham.

With redshirt freshman Ethan Hubbard announcing he entered the transfer portal on Wednesday, the Blue Devils have just eight offensive linemen on the roster.

Hubbard was one of nine linemen on the 2024 spring football roster after Graham Barton and Jacob Monk, two longtime starters, both left for the NFL draft. The position group is so thin that head coach Manny Diaz played more than half of the spring game as a 7-on-7 scrimmage with no linemen on the field.

Graduate student Jack Purcell, redshirt senior Calib Perez, and redshirt junior Justin Pickett are the only upperclassmen in the group. Two of the other five are redshirt sophomores, and the other three are redshirt freshmen.

In an interview during the spring game last weekend, Diaz ensured the Blue Devils weren’t done with the transfer portal ahead of the 2024 season, implying he wanted to bring in multiple players before the Aug. 30 debut against Elon. He’ll likely have to in order to protect new quarterback Maalik Murphy.

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.

Duke defense prevails in Blue & White Game

The spring headlines for Duke football centered around as the quarterback battle, but the Blue Devils defense showed it’s still the heart of the team on Saturday.

All of the attention for Duke football centered around the quarterbacks this spring, from new transfer Maalik Murphy to returners Grayson Loftis and Henry Belin IV.

However, during the Blue & White Game on Saturday, the Blue Devils defense proved it won’t go away in the 2024 season with a 24-16 win over the offense.

Last year under former head coach Mike Elko, Duke surrendered just 19.0 points per game, the best mark in the ACC. Elko left for Texas A&M this winter, but former Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz took his place and the defense looks like it won’t lose a step under his eye.

Murphy and Loftis split time under center, and while the stats won’t reflect anything due to the informal nature of the scrimmage, Murphy did toss the only touchdown of the game to star wideout Jordan Moore.

However, the defense won almost every other series. Junior defensive back Chandler Rivers fought with Moore for that touchdown catch, nearly wrestling it away for an interception. True freshman Vontae Floyd, a Virginia native, did intercept Loftis for the game’s lone turnover later in the second half.

Duke’s football season gets underway on August 30 against Elon.

Duke lands fifth 2025 commitment, a three-star defensive lineman

The Blue Devils got a commitment from Georgia defensive lineman Julius Columbus, a three-star 2025 recruit, late on Monday night.

Duke landed its fifth commitment of the 2025 football cycle late on Monday night.

Julius Columbus, a three-star defensive lineman from Gainesville, Georgia, announced his commitment to the Blue Devils on social media.

Columbus is 247Sports’ 99th-ranked defensive lineman in the class and the No. 86 player in the state of Georgia. Over 12 games as a junior, MaxPreps credits him with 58 total tackles, 18.0 tackles for loss, and 17.0 sacks.

He unofficially visited Durham over the weekend, committing swiftly afterward. The Blue Devils beat out offers from Yale, UCF, Appalachian State, Liberty, and a handful of other schools.

Columbus is the fifth player from the Class of 2025 to commit to new Duke head coach Manny Diaz and the fourth to do so since February 8. Four-star linebacker Cameron Smith leads an all-defensive class that includes edge rusher Sampson Onuoha and defensive backs Ma’Khi Jones and William Felder Jr.

Duke is now 37th in 247Sports’ recruiting rankings for the 2025 cycle.

2025 three-star edge rusher Sampson Onuoha commits to the Blue Devils

Sampson Onuoha, who plays for Belmont Hill in Massachusetts, announced his commitment to the Blue Devils on Friday.

Sampson Onuoha, a three-star edge rusher in the Class of 2025, announced his commitment to the Blue Devils through social media on Friday.

Onuoha, who plays for Belmont Hill School in Massachusetts, is the 37th-ranked edge rusher in the class, per 247Sports’ rankings. MaxPreps tracked him with five sacks, nine tackles for loss, and 35 total tackles during his six-game junior season in 2023.

He became the fourth commit of Duke’s 2025 class, joining four-star linebacker Cameron Smith and three-star corners Ma’Khi Jones and William Felder Jr.

“I am incredibly grateful for all of my coaches, teammates, friends, and family who supported throughout this process. #bleedblue,” Onuoha wrote in his message about the commitment.

The Blue Devils beat out offers from schools like Boston College and Rutgers. Onuoha took an unofficial visit to the Blue Devils last Friday, one day after an unofficial visit with Boston College.

Onuoha also plays basketball, and he made Great Britain’s roster for the FIBA u16 European Championships back in the summer of 2022.

His official Duke visit is scheduled for June 23.

Duke fans get first glimpses of new QB Maalik Murphy in first spring practice video

Duke football fans got a glimpse of new quarterback Maalik Murphy and his talent in the team’s video recap of the start of spring practice.

Duke football fans got their first taste of the Manny Diaz era, and of new quarterback Maalik Murphy, in a short social media video shared on Saturday morning.

The Blue Devils cut together some highlights from the first day of spring practice, complete with agility drills, scrimmages, and some eye-popping throws from the new signal-caller.

The short clips showed the former Texas quarterback, who committed to the Blue Devils back in December, connecting with new teammates all over the field. At one point in the video, Murphy (wearing the number 57) even fired a no-look pass across his body.

He wasn’t the only passer to star in the short video, however, as one highlight showed Henry Belin IV launching a moonball for a deep completion.

The first season of the Diaz era starts on August 30 against Elon University.

Projecting the five highest-rated Blue Devils in EA Sports’ College Football 25

With EA Sports College Football 25 on the horizon, here’s our ranking of who we think will be the five highest-rated Duke players in the game.

EA Sports has officially done it. They have successfully built the momentum for the latest installment in their beloved college football video game series. It’s been a long wait, but with the teaser trailer they dropped earlier in February and the confirmation early this week that every FBS team had opted in for the video game, it’s finally starting to feel real. The official reveal of the game will come in May.

According to ESPN, Thursday was also the first day that college football players could begin opting to participate in the video game. The report said players would receive $600 and a free game copy.With the momentum of this game hitting a fever pitch and the fact that we are getting closer to release, we decided to look at how Duke may look when the game is released.Without further ado, here’s a look at who we think will be the five highest-rated Blue Devils in the new game when it releases this summer.

Legendary Georgia tennis coach to retire at end of the season

Legendary Georgia tennis coach Manuel Diaz plans to retire at end of the 2023-2024 season

Legendary Georgia Bulldogs men’s tennis coach Manuel Diaz is retiring after the 2024 season. Diaz has helped Georgia tennis win six national championships and 29 conference titles.

Diaz has been part of the Georgia tennis program for 46 years. He played collegiality at Georgia from 1972-1975 and was an All-American. Diaz has coached Georgia tennis since 1988-1989. Diaz is the SEC’s all-time winningest coach with 771 victories.

The legendary tennis coach has had every four-year letterman he’s ever coached win at least one SEC title. The Georgia men’s tennis team has made the NCAA Tournament in all 35 seasons with Diaz at the helm.

Diaz and Georgia tennis are 4-3 to start the season. Georgia plays Wake Forest in Athens, Georgia, on Feb. 26 at 2:30 p.m. ET.

How did social media react after Manuel Diaz announced that he would be retiring at the end of the year?

Blue Devils confirm they are in EA Sports College Football 25

Duke football will officially be included in EA Sports College Football 25, the return of the highly anticipated college football video game series.

It was probably a foregone conclusion for most Duke fans at this point, but the Blue Devils are officially in the game.

Duke football announced on Thursday through social media that the team would be included in EA Sports College Football 25 when it releases this summer.

Blue Devil fans will (more than likely) be able to work with new quarterback transfer Maalik Murphy and other Duke stars as they build a dynasty in Durham.

Coaches, like new Blue Devils leader Manny Diaz, will reportedly not be in the game.

An ESPN report on Thursday said players do need to opt in for their name, image, and likeness to be used in the new game. Players would be compensated $600 and a free copy of the game if they chose to do so.

The game does not yet have an official release date, but it is expected in the summer of 2024.