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Elko Earns ACC Coach of the Year Honors
11/30/2022 8:57:00 PM | Football
DURHAM – Duke head football coach Mike Elko has been named the 2022 ACC Coach of the Year after guiding the Blue Devils to eight regular season wins and a second place finish in the Coastal Division.
Elko received 44 of the 65 ballots cast to outdistance Florida State's Mike Norvell (18 votes), Georgia Tech's Brent Key (1), North Carolina's Mack Brown (1) and Clemson's Dabo Swinney (1).
Elko became the program's first head coach to lead the Blue Devils to eight wins and a bowl berth in their first season at the helm since Fred Goldsmith did so in 1994 (8-4). He also coached the Blue Devils to a 5-3 ledger in ACC play, marking the program's most league wins since 2014. In addition, the Blue Devils earned a home record of 5-1 for its most home victories since 2014.
Elko joins Bill Murray (1954, 1960, 1962), Steve Spurrier (1988, 1989), Goldsmith (1994), and David Cutcliffe (2012, 2013) as the Duke head coaches to receive the honor.
"Coach Elko's impact is kind of hard to describe in such a short amount of time," redshirt junior team captain DeWayne Carter said. "He came in from day one and laid out the blueprint for success. From conditioning to strength to nutrition, just everything. There were never any secrets. He told us straight up what we were going to do and how he wanted the program to run. And 11 months later, he's stayed consistent, and I think that's why we are successful. It's crazy the impact that he's brought because when you're someone who carries yourself the same way every single day it makes people who are underneath you and that follow you want to be better. So, that's why I think he's had a tremendous impact on why we've done so well this year. He deserves this award. He's just a player's coach."
Elko's balanced squad also is one of just two schools in the ACC to be averaging 184.00-plus rushing and 235.00-plus passing yards per game on the season. In addition, after finishing the 2021 season last in the ACC in turnover margin, Duke is tied for second nationally in the category with +1.17 turnovers per game.
This season, Elko guided nine Blue Devils to All-ACC honors, including first team offensive tackle selection Graham Barton. A native of South Brunswick, N.J., Elko also mentored quarterback Riley Leonard to an Honorable Mention All-ACC season. Leonard is the only quarterback in the ACC and one of four nationally with 10-plus rushing and 20-plus passing touchdowns this year. Senior wide receiver Jalon Calhoun and redshirt senior linebacker Shaka Heyward also have achieved personal success under Elko's leadership. Calhoun became the 11th player in school history with 2,000 career receiving yards, while Heyward became the 21st player in program lore to achieve 300-plus stops in a career.
2022 ACC Coach of the Year
Mike Elko, Duke, 44
Mike Norvell, Florida State, 18
Brent Key, Georgia Tech, 1
Mack Brown, North Carolina, 1
Dabo Swinney, Clemson, 1
#GoDuke
Elko received 44 of the 65 ballots cast to outdistance Florida State's Mike Norvell (18 votes), Georgia Tech's Brent Key (1), North Carolina's Mack Brown (1) and Clemson's Dabo Swinney (1).
Elko became the program's first head coach to lead the Blue Devils to eight wins and a bowl berth in their first season at the helm since Fred Goldsmith did so in 1994 (8-4). He also coached the Blue Devils to a 5-3 ledger in ACC play, marking the program's most league wins since 2014. In addition, the Blue Devils earned a home record of 5-1 for its most home victories since 2014.
Elko joins Bill Murray (1954, 1960, 1962), Steve Spurrier (1988, 1989), Goldsmith (1994), and David Cutcliffe (2012, 2013) as the Duke head coaches to receive the honor.
"Coach Elko's impact is kind of hard to describe in such a short amount of time," redshirt junior team captain DeWayne Carter said. "He came in from day one and laid out the blueprint for success. From conditioning to strength to nutrition, just everything. There were never any secrets. He told us straight up what we were going to do and how he wanted the program to run. And 11 months later, he's stayed consistent, and I think that's why we are successful. It's crazy the impact that he's brought because when you're someone who carries yourself the same way every single day it makes people who are underneath you and that follow you want to be better. So, that's why I think he's had a tremendous impact on why we've done so well this year. He deserves this award. He's just a player's coach."
Elko's balanced squad also is one of just two schools in the ACC to be averaging 184.00-plus rushing and 235.00-plus passing yards per game on the season. In addition, after finishing the 2021 season last in the ACC in turnover margin, Duke is tied for second nationally in the category with +1.17 turnovers per game.
This season, Elko guided nine Blue Devils to All-ACC honors, including first team offensive tackle selection Graham Barton. A native of South Brunswick, N.J., Elko also mentored quarterback Riley Leonard to an Honorable Mention All-ACC season. Leonard is the only quarterback in the ACC and one of four nationally with 10-plus rushing and 20-plus passing touchdowns this year. Senior wide receiver Jalon Calhoun and redshirt senior linebacker Shaka Heyward also have achieved personal success under Elko's leadership. Calhoun became the 11th player in school history with 2,000 career receiving yards, while Heyward became the 21st player in program lore to achieve 300-plus stops in a career.
2022 ACC Coach of the Year
Mike Elko, Duke, 44
Mike Norvell, Florida State, 18
Brent Key, Georgia Tech, 1
Mack Brown, North Carolina, 1
Dabo Swinney, Clemson, 1
#GoDuke
Players Mentioned
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