All-Access with Coach Manny Diaz - Ep. 2

Dow from the shotgun takes the snap pressure comes again steps up and down he goes here's a snap they only Rush three they try to keep it on the ground and oh Michael re swallowed him up from the shotgun here's the snap pressure coming off the edge down he goes again again back at the 12 yd line the blue dou living in the back field this time it's VJ Anthony we get preached to about it every day creating chaos I mean we break it down on chaos we talk about violence within one another and how we play um and it's just because that's something that coach Diaz and our defensive coordinator coach pacy day install also all of the the unit coaches the safeties coach the defensive tackles coach the the end Coach everybody um we just understand that in order to win games the game has to be played on the other side of the line of scrimmage I mean we can't end up with guys on our side of the line of scrimmage and winning games it just it just won't happen and so coach Diaz speaks about Mastery and we just we're trying to reach that goal every day and we understand that it's like an upgoing journey and that it may not ever be reached but at the end of the day that's what we're fighting for so just a master of creting Chaos [Music] [Music] and on a gorgeous night for football in the Bull City we welcome you inside Wallace way Stadium as the Winds of Change are blowing for the nuk blue Noels and it's brought Manny Diaz in the 23rd head coach in program history looking to continue that winning tradition this team has built the last couple of years of the shotgun here's Murphy and here's the snap for man Rush he's got all day down the middle he's got Eli P streaming across the 30 inside the 20 get off me down to the 6y line where it's going to be first and goal officially spotted at the seven here's a carry for jock wesmore running left cuts inside touchdown jock wesmore with his first of the season and like a blur the Blue Devils take it down the field for the first touchdown of the night and it's a 26-3 win to get it started for the blue doubles over Elon as Manny Diaz is off to an outstanding start at the helm of this blue double program I'm telling you winning it's not simple okay it's not simple okay and you got to go through a game and you got to have the natural adversity that comes in a game and that's exactly what happened today okay but no one panicked we stayed the course we went to work and when do you win games qu the fourth quarter and it was dominant all of a sudden Those runs started banging out defense kept getting three and out three and out it was a big time deal let me thr some things at you of a performance that is unusual and worth pointing out old line zero sex allow [Applause] yes about this for a season opener zero penalties on Duke but the story of the game the story of the game was the front on defense how about 16 tackle for losses [Applause] [Music] [Applause] sucks Elon ran for 30 yards total total yards Duke 351 Elon 140 I'm very pleased for our guys uh they put in a lot of work um in our strength program a lot of work uh in practice a lot of work on campus academically and you want them to have the reward and not just the victory but how they played they played so hard we made so few mistakes very few misassignments um and no penalties I mean just just really the things that you as a coach would hope for and to see it all come on an opener was was very rewarding I was most pleased in the opener was our identity seeing our identity come through in game one um starting off with special teams five explosive plays you know two kickoff coverage tackles inside the 20 two punts of over 45 yards with great coverage um we had long punt return you know queso Brown really looks like a dangerous Dynamic guy back there so five plays there offensively saw the ball getting thrown down the field I mean that's what we're going to be we're going to stretch we we told everybody we're going to stretch the field horizontally and vertically and um you know we we just missed on a few shots that really could have completely blown the scoreboard wide open um but our players got to see that we are who we say we are and um and we kept at it and and hit the one to joomo late in the game and then defensively just a dominating performance across the line of scrimmage 16 t for losses you know the eight sacks that's that's the defense that we want to be that that would be the commercial for how we want to play on defense and negative plays create long yard situations and long yard situations create three and outs uh we had over half their drives where we're three and out and three and outs great great field position for your offense and these are the things this why we do it because we believe it relates uh correlates to winning Duke call access is brought to you by Gatorade it fuels the best because it is the best by Continental Tire the smart choice in tires and by Coke Zero sugar tackle gain day with a great taste of Coke Zero sugar is it the best Coke ever try and decide you can feel confident Continental is the Smart Choice in tires can they handle extremes yep tested from the Texas desert to near the Arctic Circle really really anything for the guy who finds that one pothole yeah road hazard coverage has her back for real absolutely were they made by like a bajillion Engineers well closer to 100 Continental welcome to the smart choice and tires for Generations hardworking people have relied on Ford f-s series trucks making them America's bestselling trucks 47 years straight introducing the new 2024 Ford F-150 and Ford Superduty the 2024 North American Truck of the Year this is the next generation of built Ford Tu see your Ford dealer today and celebrate leadership with special offers on Ford F series [Music] [Music] [Music] hey one step grab squeeze to the ground here we go go good good that's it that's a good rep violent arms violent arms it's a really good rep that's it Aaron what a rep hey not here so much right it's not here it's more here right my hip should really make the bag go down not my arm get your eyes up hey when I take my step my eyes are here so I can see what I hit see what I hit that way I don't get top heavy okay good that's it hit the ground I want to bring it through don't drag your feet don't drag your feet I want to create contact to separation to extend to get off a block good that's it nice violent hand Jonathan py I would have known for 10 years now and um a mutual friend efim Bond who they work together in coaching recommended him to me and and this is when I was at Louisiana Tech 10 years ago and instantly the one thing you learned about um about Jonathan is is toughness um he's as tough of a coach as I've ever worked with uh he's got a great spirit and a great demeanor and a great passion for for the game and for and for teaching and he makes it fun uh the guys love playing hard for him because of that and um and he's got that rare combination of you know where he's got he's got the toughness to demand people to go somewhere they're not sure they can go but he's also got the intelligence level to understand the plan and how to uh come up with the right way to to lead them there and so um very blessed that we're back working together and um and it it uh it lets me with all the things that now a head coach has to do it lets me know that the defense is in good hands he he's been my mentor um the the defense I've ran to the last two years being away from is exact what he ran we we've always bounced ideas off each other and picked each other's brains um so it's great to be around him now I I don't have to make a phone call I can just go down the hall um but you know being away for two years I I obviously grown as a play caller um grown as a leader of of young men and how to treat these guys um I think you you know what you learn is you got to have true relationships nowadays and if you care for them they'll play really hard but it's been great to have Coach Diaz um you know again one of the best in the business defensively in my opinion um to have him in our room every day is is awesome uh it's a little bit outdated of a word but just swag I mean he gets us to play with a certain confidence and aggression that it's a lot of fun I mean you walk out there we feel like we're going to dominate every snap that we play and I think that you know when we go out and start playing B playing against other people you're going to see it and it's going to be real special I think the word is aggression you know I I think we both understand and believe and and and playing fast you know um attacking defensive line play with with with fast penetrating linebackers playing right behind them uh we both love playing man coverage and and making quarterback you know have to hold on to the ball and not be able to throw the ball to his first look which lets your pass rush um have a chance to eat and and and the turnovers normally come as a result of that so again when you are philosophically aligned um it makes things very easy because you you you you may have different ideas to solve the same problem but you know they're both going to come from the the same place I think that um coach Diaz's defense is built um it feels like it's built for me at least I'm not sure if it is but um um the defensive end certainly gets opportunity to move around a lot do some different stunts and things um and play play the option the RPO a little bit differently so it's kind of allowed us to get our feet going get vertical a little bit more which opens up opportunities for more tfls and sacks so I've really enjoyed playing and this defense I would agree with Wesley with uh how tailor made it is for us just go out let loose make plays and you know we got a lot of guys in the room that can just plug and Pull and you know make plays anywhere you know from guys like VJ and Wes and Mike to guys like Kevin oconor tyan you know we got a lot of guys in the room that can go in there and make plays and make an impact in games we talk about the standard around here um and we just practice to a standard we don't we don't chase goals cuz goals come and go we just chase a standard and we know what it looks like when when guys are absolutely flying around as hard as they can they're tackling their best they're they're very sound in what they do uh in their in their job um that's the standard and that's what we talk about that you know not having a million different rules they just got to uphold the standard um and and we got to we got to get better um the better we play the better the offense will play it's just iron sharpens iron so uh we both need to play really well to make each other better this is our world right here that's speed right there yeah yeah yeah stra loud and proud yeah St loud and proud I see you Tayler great patience Tayler good good job good job good job we love it I mean I couldn't have asked for anybody other than coach Pacquiao I mean he's a dog at the end end of the day and we think that's what defense is being all about I mean how much how many times can you go forward and run through somebody and make a chaos play how many times can you line up and guard somebody's own or manto man and I mean he just brings that mental toughness that um resiliency uh to this defense and I mean we run with him uh he runs with us and he's the back blown of us and so we'll continue to trust his his scheme his series um of plays and and that's what just keeps us going when it comes time to winning games now third and 10 for Elon they're three of 12 on third down tonight the bles have seven sacks in this game Downing from the shotgun takes the snap pressure comes again steps up and down he goes sacked again back at the 41 yd line Alex Howard joins the party make your first move with battery power made by Steel [Music] find battery tools in the AK homeowner system starting at $199.99 Real Steel find yours [Music] celebrate the moments that matter with a beautiful piece of jewelry or a luxury time piece from [Music] Reeds Reeds Jewelers trusted with life's moments it's bow time it's not just football season it's tailgate season and this season includes every kind of footb B crisy will you accept this leg and everything that's not because it doesn't matter where you tailgate with Crispy hand breed chicken and scratch made biscuits it's her you're not just tailgating you're tailgating like a legend it's bow time head to Bow Jangles and grab your tailgate box today duk's New Century cries out for a university where the drive to discover is not hemmed by disciplinary logics where philosophers work side by side with Physicians and physicists where nurses find inspiration in narrative Theory where mechanical engineers team up with marine biologists or musicians I believe Duke will continue to be that University [Music] together Duke football 360 with Dave Harding presented by Continental Tire the smart choice in tires the Duke defense got off to a great start in week one 16 tackles for loss I'm Dave Harding joined by the head coach Manny Diaz coach we're going to take a look at some of the plays that helped Propel the Blue Devil defense to that great start yeah we talk about identity Tacker for loss is a big part of our identity want to show a couple clips that sort of explain how the defense operates and how we created some of these plays so this a great everyone knows about the sacks I'm going to show a guy Wes Williams who had a sack really played great rushing the passer but they try to bring this tight end across the formation to block him and watch where Wes hits the tight end so now look at the running back the running back is already having to stop his feet and make a cut before he's barely even received the football very difficult situation and this is all happening the ball's two yards ahead of the line this is all happening two yards behind the line so you make a guy stop his feet now comes down to aggressive linebacker play so cam burer on had a great night at linebacker and bang that's that that green light to get across the line of scrimmage and make a tackle on the back field great job wrapping and rolling right there and that's T it's a big tackle for loss puts him behind the chains on first down I love that we're going to see a variety of different players getting involved in the action as you go through these plays it wasn't just one or two guys making up big plays yeah great example and if they want to double team both of our defensive tackles then the linebackers have to eat that's the decision that they have to make that's why fast linebackers complement the way that we play our defensive line next play here yeah love this play and again watch this line right here here that's about three yards in the back field we have eight guys around the box we have three guys back here in coverage and watch how many guys just right now before I talk about individuals watch how many blue shirts when it's all said and done are in the back field again the line of scrimmage was right here okay we have six guys okay one guy's getting blocked by two guys everybody else is in the back field and again you can watch right when the running back gets the football there's already a Blue Devil getting ready to hit him so let's look at the at the close end and see k Charles playing his first game for Duke transfer from Liberty watch this get off bang so they're trying to block him with 64 they're trying to pull this tight end Kenny actually hits two guys and again the running back gets the football Aaron Hall is doing a great job getting the Back Field linebackers doing a great job playing fast KY Charles that that job though essentially knocking the tight end off of his balance and disrupting the running back in the back field it's almost an impossible ask for that Center to get back and block him three technique with it when it being so aggressive very difficult and these are plays why I love to show this because this doesn't show up on the stat sheet for kendi right he does not end up with a Tacker for loss it's not a sack or a pressure but that's I mean look at the running look at the poor running back he gets the ball he's got a hand on him making a cut and there Alex Howard making his first start wraps up in the back field you know Aaron Hall comes back in to make the play and just look at all the bodies around the football another really good down fors so same thing just another example of trying to get get vertical okay so I always show the ball is two yards ahead of this line so watch the line and watch our feet see how the entire defensive line is now in the back field so that same thing watch the running back receive the football and he's already having to make a cut off of our two defense of tackles and they make the play here before it even gets to the linebackers and that's really the way we want it as we say those guys are the tip of our spear we played a lot of guys in there think this is Dez alad Preston Watson who's a true freshman same thing knocking his guy back in the back field making running backs make Cuts deep in the back field it takes away the running backs angles too right he's got no option got no nowhere to cut back and again if you get the if you get the ball to stop its feet then normally it's really really difficult to get it back going again and then the last play here same type of deal right and this is really showing how the linebackers and and and uh defensive line work together and again they're going to try to sit on double teams now to not let a guy like Kendy Aaron get into the back field but watch Nick Morris shoot through the back field which makes a running back again make a quick cut and then there's Cam berson and then Nick with yet another tackle for loss so watch again here this is the great relationship between linebackers and defensive line if they want to put two on them then our linebackers are free to make plays and you can see that the offensive line at the last second tries to come off and get Nick but Nick is so fast and so decisive and so downhill getting across Atlant of scrimmage the offens L has no chance which by the way that helps Kendy because he doesn't say double team very long right 101 and it's off and he can get back to being Square again to make a play but really nice by berson again another play behind the line of scrimmage Ryan Smith coming in and finishing just what we want want a party in the back field no doubt sound tackles D lineman eating up double teams all together a really impressive performance in week one that's that's our identity and and hopefully more of the same to come absolutely thank you coach [Music] [Music] turn up the heat on the competition this season with CPI Security proud partner of the Duke Blue Devils you can feel confident Continental is the Smart Choice in tires can they handle extremes yep tested from the Texas desert to near the Arctic Circle really really anything for the guy who finds that one pothole yeah road hazard coverage has her back for real absolutely were they made by like a bajillion Engineers well closer to 100 Continental welcome to the smart choice and tires a here live out of Market play-by-play this year with the varsity Network app in a truly unique listening experience capture every moment and all of the drama powered by learfield The Varsity app delivers the soundtrack of your favorite teams access live and On Demand audio broadcast plus over 100 official School podcasts for free through the varsity app download The Varsity Network app today I'm a Believer in letting the team vote for their captains um so we waited you know you go through all the summer and you go through all training camp and really right when we started getting on to Elon prep we just we just casted a vote the players actually um they came up with the balloting system seniors had four votes Juniors had three votes sophomores had two and the Freshman had one so was weighted towards what the older part of the team thought and as a as a coach organically you you you wanted to go the way the locker room believes it you know you might have some ideas of where you think is going to go but um I thought the four guys that were the top four vot Getters were all very deserving I think have respect of everybody in the locker room second down and eight and from the shotgun here's the snap Murphy to throw all day launches downfield for more juggled caught it across Midfield and down to the Elon 45 yd Line Jordan Moore um epitomizes Duke University the standard of Excellence um around this institution um you go from two years from playing quarterback to willing yourself into one of the top wide receivers in my opinion in the country um is exact it ties directly into who he is as a person in his work ethic inspirational to everybody on the football team so you know he was he was a no-brainer that he'd be selected Aaron Hall you know you always want your big guys to be leaders you know there just something you know when when the big guys speak up everybody kind of listens Aaron's our big guy he's our most experienced big guy on defense and um you know and is very intelligent and and well thought out when when he speaks I think the guys do have a lot of respect for for Aaron similar to Justin picking on on offense it was great to see another lineman um on offense and you know Justin's been through a lot this offseason with you know coming back from some injuries um but everybody on the team's got a lot of respect for him and and our offensive line changes dramatically for the better when he's in there so um so again you you want to have the big guys um that can you know rally the troops in the locker room and I think Aaron and Justus be great with that I feel like it's great I mean that's where everything starts right you can't run the ball without the offensive line or pass you can't create any chaos without the defensive line and so just having both sides of the ball be on that Captain unit is amazing just because we're always competitive um Justin P can tell you himself all the time we're pushing one another we keep record of who wins who loses um we make sure that the on line are doing their fits their techniques correctly at all times I mean we get each other's faces if we have to um at any means necessary as long as it takes whatever to win so I just feel like having the big guys on the captain's unit is just tremendous because that's where everything starts without the trenches we we wouldn't be where we are today from under Center Malik Murphy play fake rolls to the right how about hazley for the touchdown nice PL call for Jonathan Brewer it's 19 the question is do they do they respect the quarterback as a leader and the fact that Malik was one of the top four vote Getters was um was a big resounding yes um I think they believe that he gives us a chance to win every week and now now you know even though he's still a young guy and relatively inexperienced you know he gets to grow and grow in that leadership capacity and um and all four will be the guys that everyone will look at when not just when things go well but when things don't go well and they need somebody to uh respond not just always with their words and the Hollywood speech but more than importantly uh their actions I think one thing that this team um has been through a lot with is just changes I mean it's something that has always going to happen I mean change is the only constant thing in life so I feel like as we were going and we just kept seeing this change just year to year we realized that the Brotherhood was just within ourselves and like coaches get added every year um which is great they eventually also get brought into the Brotherhood but we knew our success would depend on each other and that the room the locker room um would just be have to be something that's unbroken and I feel like when we get these newcomers um the people who have been here like including myself we're just welcoming to all types to all people um we we discriminate to none and we just want to make sure we play good in winning football and so as long as we are doing that together that's all that matters to us so we just make sure that we welcome that I felt honored that the team decided to have me as one of their captains in order to lead this team this season um and like I mentioned in a previous interview I do believe the position of Captain is great but at the same time I hold my teammates accountable also life love them holding me accountable um just because that's what being Captain is all about having that trust in your teammates and those teammates having that trust in you [Music]