ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL KICKOFF

July 21, 2021

Gunnar Holmberg

Duke Blue Devils

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Your cousin Maddie almost made the Olympic team. Who is the best athlete in the family? You have a lot of college athletes over generations in your family. Do you take that for granted or does that motivate you?

GUNNAR HOLMBERG: First of all, I want to thank you for that article you wrote. That was a great article. I appreciate you telling my story, letting my mom get in on that. Maddie is a stud. We've all been track runners. I ran track up until high school. She's always been fast. We go against each other. I think nowadays she might get me. So I'll give that crown to Maddie.

Growing up, I think that's really what gave my love to college football, to football in general. Always hearing the stories about my uncle who played at Penn State, was a linebacker under Joe Paterno. I'm always learning from him, kind of wanting to see what that experience is like. Really cool to learn from.

Especially nowadays, he's a phone call away, I can reach out to him if I have any questions. Calming the nerves. He played quarterback in high school, but he was a linebacker, like I say, at Penn State. He knows a lot about football, if I have questions I can reach out to him. Definitely a good guy to have in my corner.

Q. David Cutcliffe has known how to train a quarterback or two. What is it like to have this coach at this position for you?

GUNNAR HOLMBERG: Yeah, I mean, it's pretty much the main reason I came to Duke, was to learn under Coach Cutcliffe. I got to meet Peyton and Eli over the weekend, going to the Manning Passing Academy, just seeing their knowledge on the game, it's like a mirror, all stuff I heard from Coach Cut. It's good to see, seeing it come to fruition, see how real it is.

Learning from Daniel was really cool, seeing the way he attacked the film room, seeing the way he worked, off the field, the way he treated people, I think was big-time. It's all the stuff that Coach Cut preaches.

Really being able to see guys put into the real world and on the field is big-time. Just really grateful to be underneath him.

Q. I got to see some of your games in high school. I remember against Wake Forest High School you led two impressive touchdown drives. Three-time state champion.

GUNNAR HOLMBERG: Yeah, they were.

Q. Talk about the learning curve from that moment, which was a pretty high level, to being the quarterback at Duke University? What have you had to absorb and adapt to?

GUNNAR HOLMBERG: I think just knowing everybody in this league is going to be very talented, similar to Wake Forest High School, talented team, Dexter Lawrence and all them went there. Playing against them was always a really good time.

I think even now, my freshman year, understanding how much you have to learn not even the opposing team's defense but your own offense, just how long that takes to learn and the learning curve in that. Seeing a guy like Daniel who just had total command over it, Quentin Harris, their command over the offense I think was big-time.

Yeah, like I say, even the time it took for me to get here, I've always said it's a blessing in disguise, just from giving me time to be able to be very comfortable with our offense. I've been in the system enough to where I've seen what type of defenses guys in our division play, be comfortable with them, familiar with them.

Like I say, the learning curve, it took a little bit. Like I said, I think learning from guys before me helped out a lot.

Q. It's highly publicized, the adversity you've had to deal with off the field, family, injuries. How has everything you've been through off the field prepared you for the next challenge, a starting quarterback in the ACC?

GUNNAR HOLMBERG: I think that goes a long way, dealing with adversity throughout your life. I've always said it, when you go to college, college football, the program you walk into, it's probably never going to go the way you planned it.

I think I learned that from Dan, Quentin, hearing their stories, even people within my family that have played college football, played a bunch of sports, seeing the adversity they've gone through, how you handle it.

I think you also have to step back from the game, understand it's really just the game you love, the game you grew up playing. Just really enjoy it, embrace it. Like I say, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I'm just trying to enjoy the ride while I'm here.

Q. What adjustments of your game have you been most focused on refining as you prepare for stepping into the starting role?

GUNNAR HOLMBERG: Yeah, I think just being consistent and being confident, whether that's telling the play to the guys in the huddle, being consistent with things like accuracy. Ball security was of course a big focus for us in spring coming off this season. Really just being a guy that guys on the team can ask any question to regarding the offense, whether that's an O-lineman, running back, wide receiver, always making sure I have the right answer to that so I can help them out. Continue to fill my shoes as the leader of this team the upcoming season.

Q. Beyond points on the scoreboard, how do you define 'win'?

GUNNAR HOLMBERG: Yeah, I think you define 'win', of course what Coach Cut says, points per game. I think it's also what you take out of that game, what you learn from it. If you lose a game, a close game, which pretty much every game in this division is going to be a close game coming down to the fourth quarter, you have to learn to take away from that kind of your mistakes, what you did well. I think you can learn a lot from your team, kind of the style that you guys want to play from that.

But like I say, I think it all comes down to what you can take away from that game, implement that into your next week, try to build on wins. At the end of the day that's what we're playing for.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.