Mike Elko Press Conference Quotes: Georgia Tech

DURHAM – Duke football head coach Mike Elko met with members of the media on Monday afternoon for his weekly press conference.

The Blue Devils are back on the road Saturday when they travel to Atlanta, Ga., for an ACC matchup with Georgia Tech at 4 p.m. The game will be broadcast on RSN with Tom Werme, James Bates and Lauren Jbara on the call. The game can also be heard on the Blue Devil Sports Network from LEARFIELD through the Varsity app or goduke.com

Mike Elko Duke Football Head Coach
(Ref.: Opening Statement)
"Good to see everybody. Recapping last week, I thought it was a great win for our team and our program. I am really happy with how the guys responded from going to Kansas and not getting the result we wanted. I thought offensively we really played the game the way we wanted to. We were really physical, and Riley [Leonard] was efficient throwing the football. It was a tough night to get things really going in the passing game. We really had to rely on our running game, and we were able to do that. I thought the way we finished that game, controlling seven-and-a-half minutes in the fourth quarter is something we are really happy about. Defensively, I thought we took some really big strides forward. I thought we limited a very potent passing attack. They are a team that had some rhythm in the second half of the Syracuse game the week before. I thought we played pretty well defensively. I thought we were able to corral them a lot better than we did in previous weeks and I am happy with the strides those guys have taken. Our guys also made some huge plays on special teams. The punt block in the first half was huge, that led to a touchdown. The fumble recovery was huge and that led to a touchdown. I thought we were able to make some plays on special teams that really impacted the game.

"Singling out a couple of our players of the week on defense: Shaka Heyward was our defensive player of the week. Ja'Mion Franklin was our defensive lineman of the week and I thought he had his best game of the year. He had a sack and a couple pass breakups, so really big night for him. Jalon Calhoun was our offensive player of the week. Jalon is a great story. He does such a great job in the pass game, but one of the things that really stood out was how hard he played and how he blocked. There were a couple times in those short yardage goal line situations where we were almost using him as an extra tight end to pick up edge blitzers. I thought he went out there and did a phenomenal job setting edges and blocking for us. Jacob Monk was our offensive lineman of the week and was obviously recognized as the ACC co-offensive lineman of the week too and so happy for him. In a continuing trend, Ryan Smith was our special team's player of the week. I said this to the team this morning. He epitomizes what we want this program to be because he is a kid who shifted positions in the off-season and is still growing into his roll. He probably wishes he was playing a little bit more at defensive end but has really embraced what his roll is and is showing how many different ways he can impact football games. I am really happy for Ryan and thankful he is playing because he is making a huge difference for us and really excited for what he is doing.

"Moving on to next week. I think any time you go on the road in this conference you have your hands full. They responded really well last week to the coaching change and sometimes when kids face adversity, you'd be surprised how strong they are and how much they rally together, and I think that really showed up last week. I have a tremendous amount of respect for that program and what they did coming together and going on the road to beat a really good Pittsburgh team. It is going to take everything we have and we are going to have to have a great week of practice and great week of preparation to go out and play at the way we are capable of playing."

(Ref.: On the ability to shift from a potent passing offense to a rushing offense)
"I think it is critical in college football. You have to be able to attack people at the line in different ways. You see so many ways and matchups and styles of defense. There are weeks where the matchups want us to throw the ball and then there are weeks where we feel like we are going to have to run the ball to be successful. We have to be able to be diversified with our attack. We can't be one dimensional. Any time you are one dimensional, it is easier for defenses to tee off on you. I am just happy with how our offense is growing. I think we get a little bit more diverse week-to-week and we are able to find new ways to move the football and score points."

(Ref.: On if there is a noticeable difference between Georgia Tech pre and post coaching change)
"It is a little bit tough to tell. Certainly, they responded to adversity and played their best game against Pitt, but also you look at their schedule and it is a very daunting schedule. They have had to play Clemson, Ole Miss, on the road at UCF and on the road at Pittsburgh, so they are playing a lot of teams that are very well regarded and really highly ranked. They are playing really good competition. I think this is a really dangerous football team and think they are really talented. There are a lot of guys, individual players, that stand out. For them maybe they were able to get a little bit of confidence bringing it all together last week and securing the victory."

(Ref.: On if there is anything from a scouting perspective changing that much after a change)
"No, I don't think so. Coach [Brent] Key will put his stamp on the program and there will be certain things that he wants, but at that point you are so deep into your schemes that you can't change them that drastically from Sunday to Saturday. The coordinators are still in place, so they are still rolling, so maybe it is a little bit of an emphasis here or there. Maybe they want to run the ball a little more effectively or something like that, but it is really hard to just revamp your scheme in the middle of the season. You won't have enough reps to feel comfortable with what you are running."

(Ref.: On how the staff is making sure the team handles the success just like the adversity)
"I think it is just constant conversation. We told them this morning and it was a real simple response. I said people who have success do one of two things. They get addicted to success, and they continue to work as hard as they need to work and continue to understand how small the margins are to be successful and they find ways to work harder and up their game, or they get lazy. They relax and you see it all over the country. If you relax for a second in this game, you are going to get humbled in a heartbeat. We made it very clear, and I think we have been able to do it. We have had some early success. We had the win at Northwestern, and we were able to bounce right back and have a great week of practice. We have a mature group and great leadership, so I anticipate they handle it the right way, but it is something we address and talk about for sure."

(Ref.: On how Shaka Heyward has handled the whole transition to a new system and routine)
"He has been critical. Him and DeWayne [Carter] on defense, really the two of them. Shaka has really embraced us. What we are trying to preach. When we got here it was really a two-way street. We want to do everything we can to help our older guys have success now and we talked about that in the press conference, but at the end of the day they have to want it too. They have to be willing to do things the way we want them to be done to help create that cohesion which allows it to work. Shaka and I spent a lot of time talking early when I got here just about those kinds of things like 'I am going to give you all I've got, but in return I need everything you've got, and I need the buy-in. I need you to help me in the locker room and be a great voice for me.' He has been more than I could have hoped for and is a great leader. He is obviously a tremendous kid, and he is playing at a really high level right now, so really happy that he is getting the results he deserves."

(Ref.: On if the blocked punt was something they had seen on film or just great execution)
"No, we anticipated and created the look that we thought would have success. It is funny because when you do the punt blocks, you always think it is going to go a certain way, but you tell everybody that they have to go because you never know who they are going to cut loose. You never know where the leakage might come from. I think Ryan [Smith] just embraces that. He might not have been the designed blocker per say, but you can find a crease in the shield, and he did it and was able to block the kick."

(Ref.: On the moral in the locker room after winning their first ACC game in two years by 21 points)
"Obviously I think it creates confidence. We keep going back to this, and I don't mean to keep belaboring this point, but they know how hard they have worked. Until you see results you are always a little bit skeptical, like 'where am I and where do I stack up.' That is only human nature and so I think every time they go out there on the field against a higher level of competition, and Virginia was a higher level of competition for us and realize that okay I can hold up strength wise and play the game the way I want to play it right now, builds some confidence. Our job right now is to make sure that confidence stays grounded in preparation and that we continue to prepare the right way every single week."

(Ref.: On how the clock management at the end of the game was key to success)
"We did a lot of situational work in the fall. One of the things that we worked on during that was talking about playing winning football. We are going to get to the end of football games in the ACC and they are going to be close games. Our ability to execute situations in close games is going to be critical. You can talk about it, and you can practice it, but at the end of the day they have to go out and be able to execute it. Two weeks ago, we were able to go out and execute what we call a six-minute drive, which is you are down two scores and need two score to give yourself a chance to tie the game and we did that. This past week we had what we call a four-minute drive. It is the end of the game, and we are trying to bleed the clock. We know we are going to run the ball and they are going to have extra people in the box trying to stop the run, but we've got to find ways to move the ball and get first downs through the ground game. In doing that, we want to make sure we are milking the clock and snapping it with as little time as possible. I think our coaching staff does a really good job of preparing them for it and we certainly practice it every week. At the end of the day, they have to go out and execute it and certainly our offense and Riley [Leonard] did a good job of doing that."

(Ref.: On how to stop Georgia Tech's momentum coming off a big win)
"Win the turnover battle and execute. That is just what it is. I know you want these big grand answers, but it is going to be an interesting battle, because I think we are one and two in the ACC this year in turnover margin. They are doing a really good job of protecting the football and taking it away. We are doing a really good job of protecting the football and taking it away. That will obviously be critical. Third downs I think will be critical. How we can control the quarterback and contain him will be critical and how fast we start will be critical. We always want it to be about something different but the core of football always stays the same. I think the challenge each weekend is how you continue that level of success. How you protect the quarterback this week is going it be completely different then how you protected him last week. It is just a different matchup and scheme. There are a lot of nuances to how you ultimately get those better results you want. At the end of the day when you pick up the paper, it is still going to be those same factors that determine the outcome of the game. We just have to do a good job all week to make sure we are on the correct side of those things."

(Ref.: On if Duke's 4-1 start has impacted recruiting)
"Yeah, I think so. I think people are taking notice of it. As we have gone through recruiting our message has been pretty simple – if you really want a place that can offer you the best of both worlds, here is an opportunity to get a great education and an opportunity to play and compete at a high level of football. Duke Athletics is extremely successful. We have programs all over the place winning. We just knocked off No. 1 in men's soccer. Obviously, we know the tremendous job that our men's basketball team does year in and year out and football can be that. There is no reason why we can't field the same type of successful competitive football. It might take a little bit of time and we have to keep working toward that, but I think every time recruits see those results on the field, I think it makes them believe the message a lot more."

(Ref.: On the pass deflections by the defensive line last weekend against Virginia)
"It was a combination of the two. We felt like he had a tremendous about of moxie as a quarterback. We felt like when the play broke down, he got better. When he got out of the pocket and was able to run free and see the field clean, he made some really impressive throws, dating back to even last year. We just felt like it was important to keep hands in throw lanes and keep him bottled up. I think a couple of them were just mirroring his movement when he went to throw it. A couple times it was him getting out and having someone running with him to keep the vision cloudy, so you end up throwing into a raised hand. That was Shaka [Heyward] and Michael Reese on that one. So, I think it was a combination of the two. I don't see it as a flaw, I just see it as us being so impressed with how he was out in space and trying to limit that as much as possible, which produced the pass deflections."

(Ref.: On the concerns of the third down percentage of opponents)
"We just have to get better trying to execute what we are trying to do. I think it has been different breakdowns and at times we haven't been able to get enough guys on the rush. We have to continue to try to execute our game plan a little bit better during the week to feel a little more comfortable calling it on Saturday. I think some of it on Saturday was we didn't do a good job on first and second down. I think some of this past Saturday's failures was there were a lot of third-and-ones, third-and-twos and third-and-threes early in that game. Those are hard to stop, I mean those are really slanted in favor of the other team. So, it has been a combination of breakdowns. It certainly hasn't been from a lack of trying from our kids or from our coaching staff. I think we are just all learning from each other how we can execute a little bit better and get us off the field."

(Ref.: On the issue of the one bad snap on the field goal)
"Yeah, I don't know. I think he just got out of his comfort zone a little bit. I don't know if it was weather. There was one that got away from him a little bit early in the game and then he really let one sail on the missed field goal that we had to recover. Evan [Deckers] has been phenomenal for us all year, so we have a lot of trust and confidence in him. We will have to work with him this week to try to get him right. I didn't notice anything like a slippage or the ball being wet. It just felt like he got a little bit uncomfortable in his element for some reason and it caused a little bit of a technical flaw as he came up to snap it. We will work with him this week and get him back right and have confidence in him that he will be just fine."

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Mike Elko Press Conference Quotes: Georgia Tech

Players Mentioned

Jalon Calhoun

Ja'Mion Franklin

Shaka Heyward

Jacob Monk

Michael Reese

Ryan Smith

Duke information

Mike Elko Press Conference Quotes: Georgia Tech

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Players Mentioned

Jalon Calhoun

Ja'Mion Franklin

Shaka Heyward

Jacob Monk

Michael Reese

Ryan Smith

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Duke information