ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL KICKOFF

July 26, 2023

Mike Elko

DeWayne Carter

Riley Leonard

Jacob Monk

Duke Blue Devils

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We welcome Duke University into the grand ballroom here on the second floor of the Westin. We are in Uptown Charlotte for day two of the 2023 ACC football Kickoff Media rouser. We welcome head coach Mike Elko to the podium. Then we'll have each of our student-athletes.

Q. You guys return nine starters on offense, eight defensively. I want to know what are you trying to build at Duke as far as the culture, one of the best turnarounds in the ACC going from 0-8 to 5-3 in record play. A lot of games were close, one play here or there. What do you want to build at Duke university as far as culture?

MIKE ELKO: I think one of the biggest things we talk about in our program is our culture. I think last year was a testament that culture can win and turn things around really quick.

I think we have a lot of guys that have a lot of love for each other in that locker room. They enjoy playing together. They enjoy being around each other. That's maybe one of the things that doesn't get calculated when we do a lot of the preseason predictions, and I think that was one of the things last year that we knew we had.

We didn't know exactly what that would look like going into the season, but I think it played out really well.

Then obviously having a lot of returning starters and really excited for what this program is and how we can elevate it in year two and hopefully go out there and put an even better product on the field this fall.

Q. In that time period of coming into this team and seeing that change in a positive direction, what are some of the pillars that you came in and tried to build in your foundation and your culture that you saw had an immediate affect on this team to have success so quickly?

MIKE ELKO: Yeah, I think one of the things that we built really quick and we talked about it, we built this acronym "GRIND." Within that there were a couple of things that we thought were really important.

One was "grit." I think for us at Duke to be successful, we've got to be mentally tough. We've got to be able to overcome. We've got to be able to overachieve. That's something that's really important.

One of the other ones that's in there is "relentless effort." I think we felt like as a program maybe we had gotten away from that a little bit in recent times. That was something that we wanted to get back to. That we were just going to go out there and exhaust ourselves for each other and for this university.

I think those are some things that are intangibles, right? If it you can build some really strong intangibles, then you can take the talent you have and allow it to shine. Those were some of the things that we were able to build through our offseason program, through our summer development and I think in year two those things are even stronger.

Q. You had a nine-win season, which was the seventh in Duke program history. I believe first time a first-year head coach has ever done that at Duke. The only first-time head coach to have a better winning percentage in their first season than you was the person the stadium is named after, Wallace Wade. How do you build on that momentum going into year two?

MIKE ELKO: I think you just talk about elevating our product. I think one of the things that we even see when we look back, we had a lot of success last year. We had a lot of positive results, but when you really look at the details, there's still a lot of areas we can get better. There really are.

First time as a head coach, first time in a system, first time building our program, there's a lot of things that we feel like we can get better at and we can do better. So that was the emphasis.

Everything this offseason has just been about elevation, and we didn't come in to have one good season. We didn't come in to have one positive moment and then kind of let it all go away. We wanted to build a program. That goes over time. We know for us to be the program we want and to get the respect that we really want, this is something that has to happen year in and year out. We've got to be successful year in and year out. I don't think we're there yet.

We had a big offseason. I think we worked really hard this offseason. We're really excited for fall camp and look forward to go out there this fall and showing that hopefully we're a program that can sustain this level of success.

Q. What were the key on-the-field components last season that led to the reversal? Was it the turnaround in turnover margin or the exponential defense improvement that were key in your mind?

MIKE ELKO: Yeah, I think on the field I would point to probably two:

I think one was turnover margin. We had gone from one of the worst turnover teams in the country to the second best turnover margin in the nation, and we did a really good job of forcing them and we did a really good job of protecting the football. So when you look at how do you flip wins and losses, that's obviously the biggest indicator of success is how you do in the turnover margin.

That I think strategically was one of the really big things that played in our favor.

And I think we got stronger. The way that we were able to run the football, and the way that we were able to stop the run I think allowed us to control game flow significantly better. I think those two things played hand in hand because we weren't chasing games, we weren't getting behind early, we weren't having to force the issue, which I think allowed us to protect the football a lot more. Maybe forced other teams to try to throw the football or expose the football a little bit more. I think all of those things kind of played hand in hand in last year.

Q. The ACC has become a conference that is very heavy in top-end quarterbacks. Talk about how Riley fits into the conference and his level of play with regards to everybody else in the conference as well.

MIKE ELKO: I think you hit it on the head. I think there's a lot of really talented quarterbacks in this league. I think it's one of the things that differentiates this league across the country.

I think the volume of NFL quarterbacks that we see and we play against is really high, and I think we're really happy to have the guy that we have. I think he is a phenomenal quarterback. He is a tremendous leader. He is an amazing young man.

We're really excited to see him elevate his game. He showed us last year just he has a tremendous competitive spirit. He knows how to elevate his game at the right time and in those critical moments he is able to make the plays we need him to make for us to win football games. I'm looking forward to seeing him as an established starter going into year two, as a kid who is a lot more comfortable in our system going into year two, a stronger kid going into year two. I think his game can even take another step.

So I think he deserves to be in that conversation with the best quarterbacks in this league. No disrespect to anyone else's, but we've got a really talented one in Durham for sure.

Q. We talked about the returning starters, the most returning starters in the league, and that level of retention is really hard in college football nowadays. How much is that experience really going to help you guys build that chemistry in your second year, and what does that say about the program you're trying to build here?

MIKE ELKO: Yeah, I think the second part of that first. Our ability to retain our best players speaks about what we're building in Durham. I think for us to make a statement that really good football players want to stay at Duke and want to be part of not only the program that we're building, but also the university and the degree that we're offering, that's what we hope to build, and that's what we want this thing to be about.

Then experience matters. We're going to play a lot of really close football games this year. We know that the schedule is elevated. We know that we are going to play some really talented teams, so we're going to get into some big moments in the fourth quarter where we're going on have to execute at a really high level, and experience is going to matter.

We've got a lot of really experienced players. The three guys on this stage with me have played an awful lot of football at Duke. We're looking forward to those challenges.

Q. Duke University launched a future initiative over the past year to help get players prepared for the future. What kind of takeaways have you seen from these programs bring back to your locker room?

MIKE ELKO: I think it's something we really wanted to do. It's easy to say come to Duke, get a great education, but if we're not giving our players access to that and preparing them for the future and for life beyond the game, it's really an empty promise.

Terrell Smith has headed up that program. He has done a great job of creating opportunities for our kids that range from learning how to deal in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint, to résumé building, to how to dress for an interview. All the way to we had 32 young men do internships this summer in the month of May for one week. All kind of given back to us by former Duke football players, so that we could get them some of that real life work experience.

Graham Barton projected high-draft pick for us, did a summer internship, and that's what Duke is. Duke is truly the best of both worlds and an opportunity to chase greatness in every aspect of your life.

As that future program continues to build and grow, we want to make sure that we understand that the college experience is still a little bit more than just what happens on the field. I think that's something that we believe in very strongly.

Q. Duke has forever been a blue blood basketball program. The football program was kind of an afterthought. After last year that is no more. You guys showed that the football program is here and here to stay. Can you expound on that, please?

MIKE ELKO: Yeah. I think, first of all, we relish our success on basketball. I think one of the reasons why Duke was exciting to me is because of the brand recognition, and we're very thankful for everything that basketball has done and everything that basketball has been about, and everything we've talked about has just been there's room for both programs to be successful.

There's an entire fall that we're not doing anything with basketball, and there's no reason why we can't invest resources into our football program and be successful there too. I think that's something that our athletic department has made a huge commitment to.

Obviously I think the extension that just got announced plays into that, and we want to be great. That's what Duke has been about. It's been about this elite level of excellence in every area that it goes after. I think now hopefully that's going to translate consistently to the football program as well.

Q. Jalon Calhoun is a guy who played a ton of football in this program. How valuable has he been to you just kind of as a veteran asset, and then what makes him so effective as a wide receiver?

MIKE ELKO: Yeah, his value is he can get open consistently. When the game is on the line or we've got to make critical throws in the pass game, it's nice to have a guy who has so much experience going against the best in the ACC and finding ways to get open and make catches.

So he is a guy that we rely on heavily. He is a guy that we game plan around to try to move and find ways to get him into the matchups that are favorable for us. It's really exciting to have him make the decision to come back this year and play another year with us. I think that gives us another weapon on offense that we can really utilize.

He is a tremendous player. He is really an elite athlete. I think he has had a phenomenal offseason. I think you're going to see an even better version of him this fall.

Q. Last year at this time we talked so much about you wanting competition, open competition, for spots on the roster. Do you thread a needle with so many guys coming back in established roles and theoretically they wouldn't have to keep competing for their spots, or do you want to just keep building on the competition even though there's so many guys in those roles that they've kind of cemented for themselves?

MIKE ELKO: I would say this, I would say no roles are cemented, and I would not be surprised if of the 17 returning starters, a couple of them are in really big challenges and battles this camp to keep their jobs.

That's the program that you want, and that's what you want to build. You want to know that your youth and your young guys are developing, that you're bringing new guys into the program to push the level of play and that there is open competition because I think competition is what makes everybody better.

I thinking our kids embrace it. I really do. I think we have a locker room where within each position group we're bringing the young guys along, we're teaching the young guys, we're trying to make everything better in our program. I think that's the only way you go into season after season being successful.

Q. Building off of last season you get a chance to show off your facilities, your stadium, your team on Labor Day night. You're the only game on TV, ESPN. Clemson is coming to town. What kind of opportunity, win or lose, is that for you and your program?

MIKE ELKO: Yeah, I think being on that national stage is what we want Duke football to be. Obviously Clemson has been the gold standard in this conference. We've not shied away from that this entire offseason, that they've done so many things to kind of carry the ACC and be our representative for so long.

But if we want to get our seat at the table and we want to get talked about in that light, those are the games that we're going to have to play. So to be able to play that game in Durham in front of a packed house on Monday night with everybody watching, that's what you want. I think that's what our players want. That's what our kids want, and that's what our program wants.

It's not to say that we don't have a ton of respect for who they are and what they do, but that's an opportunity that we're really looking forward to.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, thank you. You can switch places with DeWayne Carter.

We'll start with questions for DeWayne.

Q. DeWayne, you had five and a half sacks last year, but there was a direct correlation in that the team was 4-1 when you had half a sack or more last year in games. Can you talk about how your ability to kind of condense the pocket and create pressure from up the middle has a positive effect on defense and thusly, the team overall?

DeWAYNE CARTER: Yeah, first, that's pretty cool. I never knew that, so thank you for the fact.

I think it results in coaching. A lot of my game, God blessed me the ability to play at a high level. I think we're a very smart football team. A lot of my production, I feel like, comes from my football intelligence. And knowing this team, knowing what's coming, and that's just a tribute to our coaching staff preparing us day in and day out or week in and week out for each game.

Q. As a returning two-year starter at defensive tackle and team captain, how do you plan to use your experience and leadership to anchor the defense and guide the team to success in the upcoming season?

DeWAYNE CARTER: First, thank you. Great question. For me personally I feel like my leadership style is not a one size fits all. I'm a leader who likes to get to know the team individually one by one. I try to know everybody's name before camp, which is very hard if you know anything about 100-roster football team.

I also like just knowing what the team needs, being able to feed off their energy. That just stems from me actually knowing the players on a personal level, knowing what every person needs. Everybody can't be yelled at the same. Everybody can't take yelled at. You have to have conversations with different people. You have to take them on the side.

So many different factors play into leadership, and I've been blessed to be able to learn and grow in the leadership role the past couple of years.

Q. Can you just speak on just how have you been able to keep the team and yourself humble, blocking out the outside noise? You have a step-up in conversation. Clemson, Florida State, NC State, Notre Dame, the works basically. How have you been able to stay humble and keep yourself relaxed blocking out the outside noise?

DeWAYNE CARTER: 100%. First, you know we acknowledge our success and celebrate our success after the bowl game. I think it was however long we had before we came back to winter workouts, but that first day back it was a whole new season.

Our coaching staff and the strength staff certainly did not let us forget that we have to remember where we started from, right? When you are building something, you have to start at the foundation.

We had to build that same foundation that we built last year, and obviously an even better one to take that next step. The coolest part about it is our coaches do not let us get complacent. We don't really reference last year.

Of course, we watch film to get better from last year, but as far as last year goes, that's in the past, and we're focused on week one.

Q. You were top 15 in the conference in tackles for loss last year, but again, your pass rushes is what really pops out on film. So is there one that you prefer over the other, first of all? And second of all, what goes into developing your pass rush plan? Is it a week-to-week thing? Is it you come into the season wanting to work on a specific move had or a specific counter that you want to get better at? What does that look like for you?

DeWAYNE CARTER: Yeah, well, first, I think every lineman likes to rush the passer. 100%. Unless you are a big two-gap kind of guy, and that's not me.

I love to rush the passer. Obviously I like to play the run as well. But as far as pass-rush planning goes, we do fundamentals day in and day out with Coach Simpson. That's the biggest thing for him. He's chop wood, carry water, and the quote you don't need 1,000 kicks. You need to practice one kick 1,000 times, right? That's the biggest thing for us. You have that foundation.

Then you bring in the pass-rush plan week to week obviously. Every team is different. They have different athletes and different offensive lines and different schemes, so you have different ways to attack each one. It's a mix of all those, and then at the end, game plan always I feel like trumps everything else.

THE MODERATOR: You can switch places with Riley. We'll spend some time with our quarterback.

Questions for Riley Leonard.

Q. Just wanted to ask you about your "you suck" bracelet. I know we talked about that with you at spring practice. Now that you get more recognition and praise from the outside media, how do you make sure says that you keep that chip on your shoulder?

RILEY LEONARD: For those of you that don't know, my whole life I've kind of been gotten a lot of praise. So I wanted my mom -- I went to my mom one day and said, hey, someone has to bash me and tell me I suck to give me motivation. She's, like, shoot, I'll do it.

Ever since then before every game she calls me, she texted me last night, "Hey, don't suck at these interviews," things like that. It just gives me some motivation.

Obviously people with just now starting to learn about that, but that's been happening for a long time ever since high school. Yeah, it's a pretty funny tradition we have going.

Q. Can you just tell me what makes Jalon Calhoun such a good receiver, how your chemistry is with him and what his skill set is that maybe separates him?

RILEY LEONARD: Two things: Number one, Coach Elko said, he just gets open. He is a great route runner. He is very sharp.

Number two, the thing that really makes him special is he is always asking me questions. We're always watching film together. It takes a lot for a player at that caliber to go to somebody else and say, hey, how can I get better? How can I do this? How can I do that? Whenever we're watching film together, we go through every single route, and he is constantly -- we're asking each other and feeding off each other.

It's not, hey, this is what I'm going to do, and I'm not, hey, this is the route I want you to run. We're constantly just feeding off each other and adapting to whoever -- whichever team we're playing.

Q. Being recognized as a preseason All-ACC selection by multiple publications is an amazing accomplishment. What do you believe sets you apart as a quarterback, and how would those strengths contribute to Duke's success this year?

RILEY LEONARD: My personal success, you know, obviously it's a great honor to get that All-ACC, however, my success comes from the team success.

As a quarterback, I can't do anything without the ten guys around me. If everybody is not on the same exact page, if my center over here is not making the right calls to protect me, I have no success in this league.

That ACC award was great, but there's a lot greater things that can come.

As far as my game goes, I think there's so much more that I can get better at. One thing I've been trying to do is just study NFL quarterbacks. There are intangible things. How do they approach the line of scrimmage? How do they respond after a turnover on the sideline? How are they preparing with the offensive linemen? How are they watching film with the receivers? It's those sort of things that I've really tried to step up this offseason. I'm looking forward to getting out on that field and competing with those guys.

Q. How has Coach Elko challenged you heading into the season taking that next leap from year one to year two? Maybe it's making quicker decisions in the pocket, using your feet more. We know you're a dual-threat quarterback. How has he challenged you to make the next step?

RILEY LEONARD: Coach Elko is great. He is great at keeping me -- never letting me become complacent. He is always going to be just like my mom, keeping me humble.

He is great when it comes to learning the defensive side of things. After a play we'll walk off the field, hey, what did you see there? Constantly asking me questions. I'll respond.

Hey, why don't you get your eyes on this defender? Why don't we protect this blitz on third down? Those sort of things and just learning the defensive side has really helped me as a quarterback.

Q. Riley, what is your goal coming in? What do you think you personally need to improve on the most in this season?

RILEY LEONARD: I try I not to put too much pressure on myself and what I need to do, how many, you know, yards do I need to throw for, how many touchdowns do I need to rush here and there. I just play the game.

Whatever the defense gives me, I take. I think that's very important for a quarterback. Obviously there are times people are going to say, oh, you have to throw for this amount of yards to win. My job and Coach Kevin Johns talks to me about this a lot, to get four yards a play. That's all you need to average to drive down the field and score a touchdown on every single drive. Just get four yards of play. Keep it simple.

That's something I've embraced this offseason. Keep it simple, stupid. The acronym KISS. Just get four yards of play, and you'll be all right.

Q. Recently Netflix dropped a documentary series called "Quarterback" that captivated audiences and went No. 1 in the world. I think it really was captivating because we got a chance to see behind the scenes into quarterbacks, the things that we weren't exposed to. I wanted to know from you, of course, we don't have a film crew following us right now to show you all the behind the scenes work, but what is the behind the scenes into your preparation on a game week? What's your training look like? Those little things, nuggets that people wouldn't know.

RILEY LEONARD: That's a great documentary they got going because a lot of people see me just with my pads on, but for 355 days out of the year, we're just in the facility working together. So it's super important for that show to come out and really realize how much work these quarterbacks put in with their teammates.

It's really cool to have that. I haven't gotten the chance to watch it yet. As Coach said, we're pretty busy in the offseason with internships, workouts, and things like that, but I'll have to get a chance to watch it.

THE MODERATOR: Riley, thank you. You can text your mom and say you did not suck at the podium. You did a really good job.

RILEY LEONARD: Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: Jacob, you're up next. Questions for Jacob.

Q. Between yourself and Graham Barton, this is supposed to be one of the best offensive line units coming back in the nation in terms of experience, in terms of you playing every position, tackle, guard, and center, starting ten games or more at all of them. How do you handle those expectations, and what are you looking forward to in terms of this offensive line taking a step forward in this new season?

JACOB MONK: Just going to work each and every day. That's the only thing that we can do. That's the only thing that we know how to do.

We're built on being tough, physical, and just playing hard. Each and every day just go to work, keep our head down and really believe in ourselves.

THE MODERATOR: From the podium. You played just about every position on the offensive line. Does it help you at center understand what everybody else is doing because you have been in those positions?

JACOB MONK: Definitely. Especially like being out at tackle and having to look and see at the safety tilt. That's definitely easier to understand from being on the outside and going to center and looking at that.

Just making a lot of calls that benefit the tackle and guards is something that has helped me at center I would say.

Q. Can you just speak on what do you think are the pros and cons of having the NIL for college athletes?

JACOB MONK: Pros, I would say athletes are getting paid. It's something that I feel like should be done.

Cons, I don't really know I would say. Maybe some regulations towards it, but I don't really know.

Q. Talk about your relationship with your father as he played the Duke and what role has he played in your career?

JACOB MONK: Anyone that's been to a Duke game has definitely seen my father in the stands. The most excited person in the stands and on the field, I would say.

I mean, I love that man to death. I love him and my mother, both behind the scenes doing everything for me.

He is my greatest motivator. Sends me texts every morning saying, you know, "Go to work, you're good, you got this, keep going, keep grinding," just do what I need to do to move forward each and every day.

Q. We talked a lot about you and Barton, and everybody gives you two the praise and all that and adulation for this offensive line, but who else in this unit is somebody or somebodies that you are looking at and saying, hey, these guys are just as effective, they get the job done just as well? If we need a hole open, we can go behind them the same as you can go behind one of us.

JACOB MONK: Anyone on the offensive line, I would say. Maurice McIntyre, Jake Hornibrook, Brian Parker, Matt Craycraft, all these guys, Justin Pickett.

All these guys are just dudes on the offensive line. They're what you want. Tough guys, don't complain, keep their head down and just work, yeah.

Q. Coach spoke on it earlier, but from a player's perspective knowing that you have a big game on Labor Day, stand-alone game, national TV, do you relish the opportunity to showcase the nation what Duke football is about for people who still might be sleeping on Duke?

JACOB MONK: Definitely. I mean, this whole offseason and last offseason we've been embracing the underdog role. We're not here to fight it out. We're not here to stay the course. We're here to win. That's what we're here to do.

We're not here to go the distance really. We want to win. We're not here for the praise or anything like that. We're just here to play ball.

THE MODERATOR: Duke, thank you very much. Good luck this season.