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Mike Elko Press Conference Quotes: Miami
10/17/2022 10:17:00 PM | Football
DURHAM – Duke football head coach Mike Elko met with members of the media on Monday afternoon for his weekly press conference.
The Blue Devils travel to Miami for a Saturday showdown with the Hurricanes at 12:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on RSN with Tom Werme, James Bates, and Wiley Ballard on the call. The game can also be heard on the Blue Devil Sports Network from LEARFIELD through the Varsity app or goduke.com
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Mike Elko Duke Football Head Coach
(Ref.: Opening Statement)
"Recapping Saturday's game, it was a great college football game and was a great atmosphere. A tremendous rivalry game. Credit to North Carolina for the way they played. I thought both teams made a ton of plays, and it was back-and-forth all night. Unfortunately for us they made one more play than we did and were able to get the win. Offensively we played the game the way we wanted to. We knew we had to be efficient and play the clock a little bit. We were going to be a bit more aggressive about how we called the game but try to take as much time between plays as we could to try to limit the number of possessions and I thought we did that really well. Obviously, we had a lull in the third quarter. We had a drive to start the third quarter that got derailed by a penalty. The second drive got derailed by a tackle for loss, so we were put behind the chains, and the fourth-and-one stop was critical. I thought we responded really well. The way we played offensively in the fourth quarter gave us a chance to win it.
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"Defensively, I thought we played well in spurts. I thought there were times that we controlled the game. I thought there were times in the second quarter where we made some stops in a row. The response to the fourth-and-one was critical against them. We went out and got a turnover again with a chance to go and run the game out. I think we just got down in a couple areas on defense. Our redzone touchdown conversions were really bad. They got down there five times and scored four touchdowns and that was obviously a huge part of the result. I didn't think we did a good job on third down and getting off the field. Obviously the two-minute drives both ending in touchdowns was critical. I think situationally we could have done a much better job. Special teams wise it was kind of a boring night. I think both kickers kicked nearly every ball through the endzone for a touchback. We had the one nice net punt by Porter [Wilson] and then obviously we had the disappointing kick at the end. There was a little bit of a mishap on the exchange which threw off the rhythm a little bit. It is not something that has happened a lot, but it is something that happened in a bad moment, so it was something really critical.
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"That was the recap and now moving on to an extremely talented Miami team. Defensively, this is by far the most talented team we have seen all year. They are extremely athletic and really long. They play very aggressive and create a lot of havoc with tackles for loss and sacks. They are doing a great job of stopping the run and they are going to be a handful for us. The front four stands out across the board. Their ability to penetrate, rush the passer and stop the run is what they are doing right now. We are going to have our hands full with them this week for sure. Offensively, I think the quarter back [Tyler] Van Dyke is starting to play his best football in the system. The last two weeks have been his best weeks. They have been banged up all around him, so obviously their depth has been tested and stands strong. They continue to roll out wideouts as each one has gone down and they still look very long and very athletic. The tight end pool is very deep. They've played four different tight ends this year and all of them seem to be similar, tall long athletic and can make a play. Up front they have been able to establish the run game the way they have wanted to and protect the quarterback. So, we are going to have our hands full for a 12:30 kick on Saturday, but we will get our guys up and we will go down there and play our best football and hopefully come out of there with a win."
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(Ref.: On how the run game stayed strong despite injuries)
"I think we did a really good job in the run game. I thought we were able to get the edges the way we wanted to. We were really impressed by Carolina's defensive interior, but the way we played their edge guys we felt like there was an ability to get around the four. We tried to do that the best we could and didn't want to run a ton between the tackles. We were trying to get to the edge as much as we could. I thought in the third quarter they did some things to take that away and I thought we responded well in the fourth quarter to find some ways and get back out there. I thought we did a really good job of blocking up front. Credit to Coach [Adam] Cushing, he has those guys ready to play every week. I think I saw we were second in the league for rushing yards per game. We are establishing the line of scrimmage the way we want to as a physical football team so happy about that."
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(Ref.: On what is going wrong with the number of penalties in the losses)
"It's not a theme. The biggest thing is figuring out how to control our emotions in game. You talk about in action penalties and penalties that we can control. At Georgia Tech we made two stupid penalties, the after the play cheap shot which pulled us out of field goal range and then the late hit on the quarterback. Those are just plays that we can't make. You've got Jacob Monk running 20 yards on a screen play trying to get around a nickel and the nickel kind of slips underneath him and he puts a hand on his back. Obviously, he has to do that better and he can't commit that penalty, but that's a different kind of penalty. Shaka's running the quarterback down on the final drive of the game and he sticks his arm out to get him down and happens to get the facemask accidentally. It's a critical penalty, but you've got to coach it better and do it better, but that doesn't feel the same. I didn't feel like coming out of that game we made undisciplined penalties. I thought the illegal shift was probably the one that I look at and really regret. I feel like we should have done a better job of coaching that one. Sometimes in the emotion of the game things happen and we've got to do a better job of controlling it. I told the guys this too, we have to remember that we haven't been in these environments and these games in a long time. It's been a long time since Duke has played games in the fourth quarter in these types of matchups to have success. It feels different and they have to learn how to still play the right way. I think that is part of the learning curve of where we are at as a program right now."
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(Ref.: On if getting over the hump in the final minutes of games is the next step for this program)
"I think it is just learning how to win down the stretch. It is interesting because the fight is so strong. I said this to the guys too, this is something that stood out to me just doing a recap this weekend, all three games that we've lost there is a point in the game where the game really should have been over, and we figured out a way. Against Kansas there was an onside kick that they recovered that should have ended the game and we went out and got a three-and-out, got the ball back and drove the ball almost all the way down the field. Against Georgia Tech, if you remember, we got it to 20-to-13 and got the big punt return but went out on offense and went four-and-out. That should have been game over. We go out and get a stop to get the ball back and took the two-minute drive down and got it into overtime. Twice I thought in the game against Carolina, we get stopped on that fourth-and-one and they get the ball back up 10 and everything going in their favor, and we go out and get a four-and-out and respond immediately. We go back and take the lead and we get the ball and almost give ourselves a chance to win it. So, I just think the fight is really strong. We just have to learn to make those winning plays the right way and maybe we are straining or trying a little bit too hard, and we've got to learn how to handle that better."
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(Ref.: On how the offensive gameplan changes week to week)
"I think every game has its own character. We talk about it going into games. Our staff is well aware of what it's going to take on both sides of the ball and special teams. We knew last week that we were going to have to try to match a really explosive offense and so we had a lot of things ready on special teams and on offense to try to match that. Defensively we knew we had to go out there and do the best we can. I think there are other weeks where the matchups are different, and you have to play the game a little bit differently. I know offensively this week it is going to be a huge challenge. We are going to have to be a little bit creative and find ways to move the ball. Field position is going to be critical this week. We are going to have to do a really, really good job of controlling field position, because this is not going to be a week where we just go 80 yards every time we get the football and so we have to do a really good job with field position."
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(Ref.: On the depth of the team seven games in)
"It continues to show up. We continue to get banged up and continue to go out there and preform and execute. Obviously, everything has the ability to improve and get better, but I am certainly happy with the way guys are going out there and stepping up. I thought Jack Burns and Chance Lytle went out and had to play the duration. Each have started at times, but they both stepped up. We've done it in the backfield. Terry Moore is all of the sudden now springing out there and getting carries and being productive for us. Jaquez Moore is doing more and Jordan Waters has been there all year and is doing a really good job. I think the depth is stepping up and that is what we want the program to be about. It will get better and continue to grow over time as everyone gets more reps in what we're trying to do, but happy with what we are doing right now."
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(Ref.: On if he thinks the depth is better than what was thought in the Fall)
"This is what I will say. The culture is so good in that locker room right now. The way we are working and practicing and training is at such a high level that I think everything is elevated. If you would have asked me mid-way through spring ball if this is what Riley Leonard would look like at quarterback I would have said no. He works so hard and got so much better and keeps getting better every time he goes out there, to the point now where you feel like he's going to give you a chance to win every football game you play. So, I think that has happened across our roster. That is why you don't do the preconceived thing. You can't walk in and assume kids are a certain kind of way. You roll out a plan for it and hope they follow it and fortunately the majority of our kids have followed it and they've seen great results from it."
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(Ref.: On the feeling of a packed Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium)
"That is what you want college football to be. College football should be the best gathering place on your campus and its where the most amount of people return for a Saturday afternoon and that is what college football should be about and Duke should be no different. I think if we do it right and we run the program right and we continue to do the things that we're doing, we will continue to have that kind of crowd. Shoutout to Chris Alston. Our gameday experience gets better every single time people come and what we are doing in that area makes it more enjoyable for people to show up and those things matter. The product on the field matters as well, but the experience people have is what matters. What Mary Pat McMahon and crew did trying to create a better student experience for us and those things don't go unnoticed by our program. Those things all help us get this thing where we want it to go."
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(Ref.: On how explosive the running game has been in finding holes)
"I think Trooper Taylor is doing a really good job with our running backs. They are running the run game really well. They are seeing the cuts and making the cuts. We're starting to get more than what's blocked at times. You know early in the year maybe or even more in fall game I felt like we got what was blocked. Now I feel like we are making some bigger plays. Jordan Waters goes out and makes a few guys miss and off he goes for a long touchdown. Terry Moore certainly did it a couple of times and Quez has done it."
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(Ref.: On balancing Riley Leonard taking hits in the running game)
"All the time we talk about when to slide. Literally all the time. After he comes off the field doing a flip in the air, we have a nice lengthy conversation about when to slide. The hardest thing and we don't call a lot of designed runs for him. The 74-yarder was one, but a lot of it is him improvising on pass plays and trying to make something out of nothing. He is a competitor, so he is running in a rivalry game toward the goal line and the competitive juices get going, he wants to get in. You saw it on the third down at the end on the conversion where he just lays himself out for a first down. It is very hard to balance the competitive nature you want in a quarterback with telling him that there are times to give up and protect your body. He'll get better and continues to get better. He understands it, but in the emotions of it all he just tries to make plays."
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(Ref.: On facing another talented quarterback this weekend)
"It feels like it's every week. It was Brennan Armstrong, Jalon Daniels, Jeff Sims, you know there are a lot of talented quarterbacks that we've faced. Tyler [Van Dyke] certainly is no different. I think we're getting better each week in executing the pass defense the way we want it, it's just not quite there yet. We are continuing to work. Some of it is fundamental and some of it is technique. Some of it is just understanding schematically what we are trying to get accomplished. It is just different. The pass defense is probably the biggest difference philosophically and what we do over what has been done in the past, so we are just trying to continue to improve it. You certainly draw every time you go out there against an explosive offense you learn things about what you are capable of and how to execute at a high level and hopefully that carries over into this week."
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(Ref.: On if Riley Leonard is receptive of the slide conversations)
"Riley listens to everything. It's hard. You saw at Georgia Tech there were times where I thought he slide well and even there were a couple plays on Saturday night where he got out of bounds that were appropriate. Again, you are running, and you see the goal line and its hard. The two runs where I had conversations with him were the one, he got flipped on and the other one was before Jordan Waters' first touchdown, where he kind of did the dip, dive and duck around and took a pop I didn't think he needed to take either. You get down there in that tight red zone area near the goal line and it's not necessarily about him selfishly, it's for the team. He wants to get in the endzone."
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(Ref.: On if Riley Leonard diving for first downs earns him more leadership in the locker room)
"Yeah, for sure. Players want to rally around a kid who is willing to get bloody with them. Riley is not the kid that everyone thinks he is. I keep telling everybody that. He's got a side about him. He is a phenomenal kid, he's a Christian kid and is very strong in his belief. He does a great job in school and represents this program and this university exceptionally well, but he's a competitor with an edge. You put him on a football field or a basketball court, you get a very competitive kid. I figured that out really quickly about him. I think other people focus on the other sides of his personality and don't think he has that streak in him. I think our kids recognize it, but to your point anytime your quarterback does that and gets flipped around, you see how many of our guys go running over to get him up off the ground when he hits it. That is how you galvanize an offense with what he does."
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(Ref.: On Riley Leonard taking ownership of mistakes on the field)
"We talk a lot about this, and we had this conversation this morning. Successful people look in the mirror and that is where they find their success and when things don't go well it is really easy to point fingers or say I did what I could have done or if this guy would have done a, b, or c. I think we've really harped on these guys that the best path to success is to look in the mirror and figure out what we can do to be better next time. Riley certainly embodies that as our leader, and he is always going to be critical on himself and has done better to give us a better chance to win. I think across the board our team is like that. I think that is why we are able to keep fighting and playing and keep rebounding. You just hear from him a little bit more because he is in those positions."
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#GoDuke
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The Blue Devils travel to Miami for a Saturday showdown with the Hurricanes at 12:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on RSN with Tom Werme, James Bates, and Wiley Ballard on the call. The game can also be heard on the Blue Devil Sports Network from LEARFIELD through the Varsity app or goduke.com
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Mike Elko Duke Football Head Coach
(Ref.: Opening Statement)
"Recapping Saturday's game, it was a great college football game and was a great atmosphere. A tremendous rivalry game. Credit to North Carolina for the way they played. I thought both teams made a ton of plays, and it was back-and-forth all night. Unfortunately for us they made one more play than we did and were able to get the win. Offensively we played the game the way we wanted to. We knew we had to be efficient and play the clock a little bit. We were going to be a bit more aggressive about how we called the game but try to take as much time between plays as we could to try to limit the number of possessions and I thought we did that really well. Obviously, we had a lull in the third quarter. We had a drive to start the third quarter that got derailed by a penalty. The second drive got derailed by a tackle for loss, so we were put behind the chains, and the fourth-and-one stop was critical. I thought we responded really well. The way we played offensively in the fourth quarter gave us a chance to win it.
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"Defensively, I thought we played well in spurts. I thought there were times that we controlled the game. I thought there were times in the second quarter where we made some stops in a row. The response to the fourth-and-one was critical against them. We went out and got a turnover again with a chance to go and run the game out. I think we just got down in a couple areas on defense. Our redzone touchdown conversions were really bad. They got down there five times and scored four touchdowns and that was obviously a huge part of the result. I didn't think we did a good job on third down and getting off the field. Obviously the two-minute drives both ending in touchdowns was critical. I think situationally we could have done a much better job. Special teams wise it was kind of a boring night. I think both kickers kicked nearly every ball through the endzone for a touchback. We had the one nice net punt by Porter [Wilson] and then obviously we had the disappointing kick at the end. There was a little bit of a mishap on the exchange which threw off the rhythm a little bit. It is not something that has happened a lot, but it is something that happened in a bad moment, so it was something really critical.
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"That was the recap and now moving on to an extremely talented Miami team. Defensively, this is by far the most talented team we have seen all year. They are extremely athletic and really long. They play very aggressive and create a lot of havoc with tackles for loss and sacks. They are doing a great job of stopping the run and they are going to be a handful for us. The front four stands out across the board. Their ability to penetrate, rush the passer and stop the run is what they are doing right now. We are going to have our hands full with them this week for sure. Offensively, I think the quarter back [Tyler] Van Dyke is starting to play his best football in the system. The last two weeks have been his best weeks. They have been banged up all around him, so obviously their depth has been tested and stands strong. They continue to roll out wideouts as each one has gone down and they still look very long and very athletic. The tight end pool is very deep. They've played four different tight ends this year and all of them seem to be similar, tall long athletic and can make a play. Up front they have been able to establish the run game the way they have wanted to and protect the quarterback. So, we are going to have our hands full for a 12:30 kick on Saturday, but we will get our guys up and we will go down there and play our best football and hopefully come out of there with a win."
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(Ref.: On how the run game stayed strong despite injuries)
"I think we did a really good job in the run game. I thought we were able to get the edges the way we wanted to. We were really impressed by Carolina's defensive interior, but the way we played their edge guys we felt like there was an ability to get around the four. We tried to do that the best we could and didn't want to run a ton between the tackles. We were trying to get to the edge as much as we could. I thought in the third quarter they did some things to take that away and I thought we responded well in the fourth quarter to find some ways and get back out there. I thought we did a really good job of blocking up front. Credit to Coach [Adam] Cushing, he has those guys ready to play every week. I think I saw we were second in the league for rushing yards per game. We are establishing the line of scrimmage the way we want to as a physical football team so happy about that."
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(Ref.: On what is going wrong with the number of penalties in the losses)
"It's not a theme. The biggest thing is figuring out how to control our emotions in game. You talk about in action penalties and penalties that we can control. At Georgia Tech we made two stupid penalties, the after the play cheap shot which pulled us out of field goal range and then the late hit on the quarterback. Those are just plays that we can't make. You've got Jacob Monk running 20 yards on a screen play trying to get around a nickel and the nickel kind of slips underneath him and he puts a hand on his back. Obviously, he has to do that better and he can't commit that penalty, but that's a different kind of penalty. Shaka's running the quarterback down on the final drive of the game and he sticks his arm out to get him down and happens to get the facemask accidentally. It's a critical penalty, but you've got to coach it better and do it better, but that doesn't feel the same. I didn't feel like coming out of that game we made undisciplined penalties. I thought the illegal shift was probably the one that I look at and really regret. I feel like we should have done a better job of coaching that one. Sometimes in the emotion of the game things happen and we've got to do a better job of controlling it. I told the guys this too, we have to remember that we haven't been in these environments and these games in a long time. It's been a long time since Duke has played games in the fourth quarter in these types of matchups to have success. It feels different and they have to learn how to still play the right way. I think that is part of the learning curve of where we are at as a program right now."
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(Ref.: On if getting over the hump in the final minutes of games is the next step for this program)
"I think it is just learning how to win down the stretch. It is interesting because the fight is so strong. I said this to the guys too, this is something that stood out to me just doing a recap this weekend, all three games that we've lost there is a point in the game where the game really should have been over, and we figured out a way. Against Kansas there was an onside kick that they recovered that should have ended the game and we went out and got a three-and-out, got the ball back and drove the ball almost all the way down the field. Against Georgia Tech, if you remember, we got it to 20-to-13 and got the big punt return but went out on offense and went four-and-out. That should have been game over. We go out and get a stop to get the ball back and took the two-minute drive down and got it into overtime. Twice I thought in the game against Carolina, we get stopped on that fourth-and-one and they get the ball back up 10 and everything going in their favor, and we go out and get a four-and-out and respond immediately. We go back and take the lead and we get the ball and almost give ourselves a chance to win it. So, I just think the fight is really strong. We just have to learn to make those winning plays the right way and maybe we are straining or trying a little bit too hard, and we've got to learn how to handle that better."
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(Ref.: On how the offensive gameplan changes week to week)
"I think every game has its own character. We talk about it going into games. Our staff is well aware of what it's going to take on both sides of the ball and special teams. We knew last week that we were going to have to try to match a really explosive offense and so we had a lot of things ready on special teams and on offense to try to match that. Defensively we knew we had to go out there and do the best we can. I think there are other weeks where the matchups are different, and you have to play the game a little bit differently. I know offensively this week it is going to be a huge challenge. We are going to have to be a little bit creative and find ways to move the ball. Field position is going to be critical this week. We are going to have to do a really, really good job of controlling field position, because this is not going to be a week where we just go 80 yards every time we get the football and so we have to do a really good job with field position."
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(Ref.: On the depth of the team seven games in)
"It continues to show up. We continue to get banged up and continue to go out there and preform and execute. Obviously, everything has the ability to improve and get better, but I am certainly happy with the way guys are going out there and stepping up. I thought Jack Burns and Chance Lytle went out and had to play the duration. Each have started at times, but they both stepped up. We've done it in the backfield. Terry Moore is all of the sudden now springing out there and getting carries and being productive for us. Jaquez Moore is doing more and Jordan Waters has been there all year and is doing a really good job. I think the depth is stepping up and that is what we want the program to be about. It will get better and continue to grow over time as everyone gets more reps in what we're trying to do, but happy with what we are doing right now."
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(Ref.: On if he thinks the depth is better than what was thought in the Fall)
"This is what I will say. The culture is so good in that locker room right now. The way we are working and practicing and training is at such a high level that I think everything is elevated. If you would have asked me mid-way through spring ball if this is what Riley Leonard would look like at quarterback I would have said no. He works so hard and got so much better and keeps getting better every time he goes out there, to the point now where you feel like he's going to give you a chance to win every football game you play. So, I think that has happened across our roster. That is why you don't do the preconceived thing. You can't walk in and assume kids are a certain kind of way. You roll out a plan for it and hope they follow it and fortunately the majority of our kids have followed it and they've seen great results from it."
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(Ref.: On the feeling of a packed Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium)
"That is what you want college football to be. College football should be the best gathering place on your campus and its where the most amount of people return for a Saturday afternoon and that is what college football should be about and Duke should be no different. I think if we do it right and we run the program right and we continue to do the things that we're doing, we will continue to have that kind of crowd. Shoutout to Chris Alston. Our gameday experience gets better every single time people come and what we are doing in that area makes it more enjoyable for people to show up and those things matter. The product on the field matters as well, but the experience people have is what matters. What Mary Pat McMahon and crew did trying to create a better student experience for us and those things don't go unnoticed by our program. Those things all help us get this thing where we want it to go."
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(Ref.: On how explosive the running game has been in finding holes)
"I think Trooper Taylor is doing a really good job with our running backs. They are running the run game really well. They are seeing the cuts and making the cuts. We're starting to get more than what's blocked at times. You know early in the year maybe or even more in fall game I felt like we got what was blocked. Now I feel like we are making some bigger plays. Jordan Waters goes out and makes a few guys miss and off he goes for a long touchdown. Terry Moore certainly did it a couple of times and Quez has done it."
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(Ref.: On balancing Riley Leonard taking hits in the running game)
"All the time we talk about when to slide. Literally all the time. After he comes off the field doing a flip in the air, we have a nice lengthy conversation about when to slide. The hardest thing and we don't call a lot of designed runs for him. The 74-yarder was one, but a lot of it is him improvising on pass plays and trying to make something out of nothing. He is a competitor, so he is running in a rivalry game toward the goal line and the competitive juices get going, he wants to get in. You saw it on the third down at the end on the conversion where he just lays himself out for a first down. It is very hard to balance the competitive nature you want in a quarterback with telling him that there are times to give up and protect your body. He'll get better and continues to get better. He understands it, but in the emotions of it all he just tries to make plays."
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(Ref.: On facing another talented quarterback this weekend)
"It feels like it's every week. It was Brennan Armstrong, Jalon Daniels, Jeff Sims, you know there are a lot of talented quarterbacks that we've faced. Tyler [Van Dyke] certainly is no different. I think we're getting better each week in executing the pass defense the way we want it, it's just not quite there yet. We are continuing to work. Some of it is fundamental and some of it is technique. Some of it is just understanding schematically what we are trying to get accomplished. It is just different. The pass defense is probably the biggest difference philosophically and what we do over what has been done in the past, so we are just trying to continue to improve it. You certainly draw every time you go out there against an explosive offense you learn things about what you are capable of and how to execute at a high level and hopefully that carries over into this week."
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(Ref.: On if Riley Leonard is receptive of the slide conversations)
"Riley listens to everything. It's hard. You saw at Georgia Tech there were times where I thought he slide well and even there were a couple plays on Saturday night where he got out of bounds that were appropriate. Again, you are running, and you see the goal line and its hard. The two runs where I had conversations with him were the one, he got flipped on and the other one was before Jordan Waters' first touchdown, where he kind of did the dip, dive and duck around and took a pop I didn't think he needed to take either. You get down there in that tight red zone area near the goal line and it's not necessarily about him selfishly, it's for the team. He wants to get in the endzone."
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(Ref.: On if Riley Leonard diving for first downs earns him more leadership in the locker room)
"Yeah, for sure. Players want to rally around a kid who is willing to get bloody with them. Riley is not the kid that everyone thinks he is. I keep telling everybody that. He's got a side about him. He is a phenomenal kid, he's a Christian kid and is very strong in his belief. He does a great job in school and represents this program and this university exceptionally well, but he's a competitor with an edge. You put him on a football field or a basketball court, you get a very competitive kid. I figured that out really quickly about him. I think other people focus on the other sides of his personality and don't think he has that streak in him. I think our kids recognize it, but to your point anytime your quarterback does that and gets flipped around, you see how many of our guys go running over to get him up off the ground when he hits it. That is how you galvanize an offense with what he does."
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(Ref.: On Riley Leonard taking ownership of mistakes on the field)
"We talk a lot about this, and we had this conversation this morning. Successful people look in the mirror and that is where they find their success and when things don't go well it is really easy to point fingers or say I did what I could have done or if this guy would have done a, b, or c. I think we've really harped on these guys that the best path to success is to look in the mirror and figure out what we can do to be better next time. Riley certainly embodies that as our leader, and he is always going to be critical on himself and has done better to give us a better chance to win. I think across the board our team is like that. I think that is why we are able to keep fighting and playing and keep rebounding. You just hear from him a little bit more because he is in those positions."
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