Spring Ball 1
and the Elko Way
Jim Sumner, GoDuke The Magazine
Mike Elko was introduced as Duke’s head football coach on December 13, 2021. He told listeners that “we’re going to win with this group as fast as we possibly can.”
Elko could have been forgiven for talking about rebuilding his talent base, rebuilding his culture, asking for time. Power Five jobs like this usually become open because of a sustained period of sub-optimal play and that certainly was the case for a Duke program coming off three consecutive losing seasons, a team that lost all eight of its ACC games last season by a combined score of 373 points to 113.
But the word “rebuilding” isn’t in Elko’s vocabulary.
The word “now” is.
“Our previous failures have nothing to do with what we can become now,” he said in December. “We are looking to have success now, looking to improve now, looking to work hard now. That is the most important part of the championship mindset. We have to get that now and we have to understand that now is the time for Duke football.”
Of course that was before he had put together a staff, before he had seen his team play in person.
Fast-forward to April 2022 when Elko and his staff were finishing up their first spring practice at Duke, three weeks of practices and scrimmages culminating in a public spring game that actually was a game.
The White team defeated the Blue team 28-14, for what that’s worth. But having gotten into the trenches with his team, does Elko step back from those optimistic words of last December?
On the contrary. He’s doubling down on them.
“It’s never, ever not going to be our goal to win now,” he said at the end of spring ball. “I don’t think you ever want to run a program where you’re not trying to win now. That’s the only focus we have. My point in saying that was we’re not coming in here to build something for four years from now. We’re coming in here and putting our foot on the gas and we’re going to go as hard as we possibly can to win as much as we possibly can as fast as we can. That’s the goal and that will always be the goal. You don’t do that [rebuild] in college. By the time you’re done rebuilding, you’re going to watch someone else living in your house.”
What makes him think Duke is ready?
“I like the way we’ve competed,” he said. “I like the way we’ve come out every day and worked. I think our attitude and mentality have been right. We’ve really pushed them and I think they’ve responded to that. We’ve just got to get a lot better in our overall execution, which is to be expected. We’ve got to execute what we’re trying to do in all three phases of the game at a higher level for us to go out this fall and be successful.”
Elko and his staff have approached this spring like architects. First they’ve laid the foundation, establishing schemes and terminology, learning what their players can and cannot do, while establishing cohesion among the coaches. Next they will use the summer to work on individual development, before expanding it all in fall camp prior to kicking off the season.
“That’s the nature of a first spring,” Elko said. “You throw a lot at them and see what sticks and you take it in the summer and you refine it and hope that you have a better product in the fall.”
Defensive coordinator Robb Smith is on the same page.
“The number one thing (this spring) is just getting to know the players. Get a sense of what they think their strengths and weaknesses are. Trying to evaluate what our guys are able to do, what they aren’t able to do.”
Elko says he’s not going to issue a depth chart until right before the first game. This isn’t a loose-lips-sink-ships mentality but rather a way of reinforcing the idea that everyone is starting over under the new regime.
“Depth charts get earned. They don’t get made,” Elko noted. “We’ll compete through spring ball, we’ll compete through summer, we’ll compete through fall. There’s never going to be an established hierarchy. I think that drives the competitive nature of the program.”
Of course that doesn’t mean some players haven’t made a positive impression. At various times Elko has praised defensive tackle DeWayne Carter, defensive end R.J. Oben, linebacker Shaka Heyward, cornerback Tony Davis and safety Trent Broadnax as players who have “flashed” in practice. He loves long snapper Evan Deckers, a transfer from Massachusetts.
He’s also acknowledged that a veteran offensive line will have to be an asset. Duke returns guards Jacob Monk and Maurice McIntyre, tackles Graham Barton and John Gelotte and several candidates to replace graduated center Jack Wohlabaugh.
Offensive coordinator Kevin Johns says of that group, “I like what I’ve seen so far. It has to be a strong position for us and it will be. A lot of starts, a lot of experience up front. I like our size and strength.”
Johns also is the quarterback coach. Duke only has two recruited quarterbacks this spring, sophomores Riley Leonard and Jordan Moore, both of whom did see the field as true freshmen.
Johns acknowledges their youth but said that can be an asset.
“I can mold them like I want. It’s a positive that they lack experience because I think it’s a clean slate. They’re hungry. They’ve been working very, very hard. I can see them getting better every single day.”
Johns says the duo are “trending in a really good direction” working hard on footwork, communication, and making the right reads.
Johns added that he’d like to have a “bell cow” at running back but that no one has come close to seizing that spot. Redshirt junior Jordan Waters has the most experience but at least five younger players are snapping at his heels.
Johns said that Duke can “roll out” a lot of dynamic receivers.
Duke has proven talent at linebacker and the secondary — especially Heyward — but the defensive line lacks depth and size.
Duke has prioritized putting a more physical team on the field, both on offense and defense.
“We are going to have to be a physical defense,” Smith said. “If you’re not physical up front, you’re not physical in your front seven, you don’t set edges with the secondary, that can make it a long day. They can run the football all day long. We’ve got to be more physical in the run game. We’re not near where we need to be on that.”
How do you teach a football team to be more physical?
“I think it’s a core value of your program,” Elko said. “I think it starts in the weight room and then it’s just a mentality of how you go about playing the game. We finish runs. We don’t run out of bounds. We play hard to the whistle. We finish blocks. It’s just a mentality that you’re going to go out on the field and not going to take a back seat physically to anyone.”
How do the players feel about all this?
“The team has grown so much, getting better physically and mentally,” said safety Brandon Johnson, “We’re tight knit, still trying to put everything in place. We want to win.”
Tight end Nicky Dalmolin referenced a “ton of energy on the practice field and in the weight room. Coach Elko has brought so much intensity to the practice field.”
Spring games are zero-sum in large part and therefore inherently difficult to evaluate. Every turnover forced by Duke’s defense was a turnover committed by Duke’s offense. Every sack forced was also a sack allowed.
Spring Ball ? pic.twitter.com/4rVkLuFwl7
— Duke Football (@DukeFOOTBALL) April 19, 2022
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— Duke Football (@DukeFOOTBALL) April 16, 2022
But the spring game did show some new faces ready to seize the moment.
Sophomore linebacker Tre Freeman is a Durham native; he attended Northern High School. Freeman only played limited snaps in four games last season but he sparkled in the scrimmage, with nine tackles and an interception, leading the Blue team.
“We’ve progressed a lot over the spring,” he said. “It all just really gelled together.”
On the other side of the ball Jaquez Moore rushed for 69 yards for the Blue team, while Terry Moore (no relation) rushed for 66 yards for the White team. Leonard passed better than Jordan Moore (again no relation) but Moore ran better and that competition figures to be a doozy.
Sophomore wide receiver Sahmir Hagans (one reception last season) was the most dynamic of those wide receivers referenced by Johns, with six receptions for 82 yards, including a 23-yard score.
“New staff, everybody wanted to put their best foot forward,” Hagans said. “You only get one first impression so everybody wanted to showcase that they could be the guy for us.”
Something to build on? To be determined. Phrases like “work in progress” and “learning curve” dominated the spring conversations.
Elko sums up: “I see lot of improvement but as a head coach you see where you’ve got to go.”
But winning is expected and optimism is high.
Dedicated to sharing the stories of Duke student-athletes, present and past, GoDuke The Magazine is published for Duke Athletics by LEARFIELD with editorial offices at 3100 Tower Blvd., Suite 404, Durham, NC 27707. To subscribe, join the Iron Dukes or call 336-831-0767.