David Shumate Sits Down With Aaron Hall
David Shumate, GoDuke the Magazine
David Shumate, the play-by-play voice for Duke football, recently sat down with defensive tackle Aaron Hall for an interview for the Duke Football Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl Guide.
David Shumate: We've talked about this a lot this year, but when you hear 34 wins and it's the most in a four-year span in the history of the program, what does that mean to you as one of the leaders of that class?
Aaron Hall: Yeah, to me it means we're moving in the right direction, right? You always want to pay attention to the bigger picture, even though you're in the present. We like to stay in the present, but as a leader and somebody who's been here for awhile I kind of just want to make sure that the Duke culture is moving in the right way. It's something that you look at and hope to see that you're doing the right thing. But overall, we just stay in the present moment. We take those wins one at a time, just one game at a time, one practice at a time.
DS: I want to ask you about the ACC title game against Virginia because in the first meeting, I think it's fair to say they had the better of it at the line of scrimmage, and when you won the rematch, you won the game by controlling the line of scrimmage. What did that mean to you?
AH: It meant a lot, right? We understand that was a good team, that was a good quarterback and they were coached well in terms of how they liked to run the ball, and especially just how good the quarterback was on the move. So, a big goal for us was to one, cage the quarterback — he was a great thrower and great at expanding plays when he was able to get outside of the pocket. Then just making sure that on those run plays, we just kept them to either the negative plays or zero-yard gains. That was something that helped us a lot — really just the game plan, making sure that we dominated up front and making sure that we caged the quarterback.
DS: Thinking about that game, and the way it ended, you spoke earlier about laying the foundation for years to come. Sophomore Tyshon Reed has a TFL, obviously redshirt sophomore Luke Mergott gets the pick to end it. What's it like for you — I imagine you feel pretty good that you're leaving the program in pretty good hands as you wind down.
AH: Yeah, man, it's amazing. A lot of people just don't understand what we go through here as a program and just the amount of work that we put in throughout the week. So, it's amazing seeing young guys just being able to go out there and make those plays. And we also understand that we, us old guys, this team couldn't do this without these young guys. It's just great to see them step up and play these roles. Like Luke Mergott has been playing a lot of ball throughout these past weeks, especially after Cal. Tyshon Reed's role is growing, but just a lot of those young guys, and it feels amazing just knowing that they can come in and change the game instantly, and it’s been amazing over time to see them taking on bigger and bigger roles.
DS: You and I talked going into the ACC title game about everything you guys had done in the last four or five years but that the missing piece was the ACC title. Now that you have that, I guess I'm curious with everything else, where does that rank on the list for you?
AH: The ACC title is definitely up there, right? I mean, coming here to Duke, it was something that's been a goal for the last five years. So, it's definitely at the top of the list. But at the end of the day, we were just talking about it today, the joy of that has kind of faded just a little bit, right? You're always hungry for the next thing. So, for us, we're just making sure that now it’s about the bowl game, making sure we get that podium feeling again, making sure that we win the next game. It was a great feeling in Charlotte and just at the end of the day was something that was a huge goal, especially to the program. Certainly, for us older guys as well as the younger guys, but now we're just making sure that we stay hungry for the next goal, which is our bowl game.
DS: It's interesting for me to, to hear you say that. I do want to get your thoughts on finishing with a win, but first, what is bowl week like for those that don't know? Because I would imagine it's a combination of game prep, enjoying your time a little bit, being in a town for a week — that's a little bit unusual — but I also imagine as an older guy reflecting some. But what's that week like for you?
AH: Honestly, that's exactly what it is — just enjoying time with the guys who essentially will be leaving now, and this year that happens to be me. But in the past, I've had seniors who, this is their last time playing with me and just playing with a Blue Devil uniform on. Just cherishing those moments, because for some guys, it'll be the last time that they play football. For other guys, it's just the last time they play with us. You have to just make sure you cherish that weekend and understand how grateful we should be to have that time together because a lot of teams don't get to go to bowl games.
But at the same time, staying at the present moment when it comes to football, making sure that we do get that win. It's not just a week where we kind of slack off and think we made it there, and that's enough. Instead, we’re making sure we get that win. Like, it's never okay or comfortable to just be in the position to play another game, it’s about making sure that at the end of the day we're on that podium as winners at the end of the day.
DS: I was going to ask you about that, what it takes to win a game like this. Generally speaking, you're pretty far away from home. You guys have played in bowl games in Annapolis, Birmingham and Jacksonville, and now the furthest away in El Paso. So, it's not like it's a huge rowdy home crowd. What sort of mentality do you have to have to win a game like that?
AH: I feel like it's the same mentality you have to have going into every Saturday, making sure we do our job, making sure that we kind of trust one another on all sides of the ball. Playing complimentary football and just staying unsatisfied as a team. Understanding that at the end of the day, there's a lot more to do. There are a lot more wins to achieve. We don't look at it as a game that's bigger than any other game that we played in. We're just going out here and we're playing another game together, and the goal is to go 1-0.