Duke returns home on Saturday for its ACC opener, hosting Stanford at Wallace Wade Stadium. The Blue Devils are 2-0 after wins against Tulane and Illinois and are led by star running back Nate Sheppard, who leads the nation in rushing with 374 yards in the two games.
Stanford started its season with a win against Hawaii before getting routed by Miami, 45-6.
Here is everything Duke head coach Manny Diaz had to say while previewing the matchup against the Cardinal:
On 12 and 13 personnel becoming a trend and Duke utilizing it
It's 100% a trend in the NFL, and that was a little bit of where our inspiration came from. But also, we're doing it not because it's hip and cool; we just think that's what our personnel dictates. We feel like we have a really,
really good tight end room, and I think our offensive staff is doing a great job of utilizing those guys.
Does it boil down to the slot receiver?
You certainly can build many, many more formations. And again, tight ends can create run gaps. So every run gap you create, the defense has to have an answer for who has to fill that gap. And so the more people you put on the field, if you have one tight end in the game, there's five offensive linemen and one tight end, and so six men create seven gaps. So for every person that you put in, that creates another gap, and then you can sort of move them; you can motion them, postsnap, move them. And so yeah, that just asks a lot of questions of a run defense.
On the difficulty of not having much film on Stanford under its new head coach
Yeah, I think anytime in September, even if it's not a new coordinator, you're always going to get some different stuff. Illinois gave us some different stuff because we did play them, and we had familiarity with them last week. So what you're looking for is looking for an identity, which I think after two games, I think their identity is well established, just like ours is. The identity's not going to tell you every play that they're going to run, every coverage or blitz, but it's going to give you an idea of who they are and what they want to be. And then you have to factor, if it was week 10, anybody who's had two weeks to prepare for somebody is going to be able to dial some things in. So it's a following-the-rules game. You get in the game, you get on the iPads, and you adjust. So I think that's what coaching ball is all about.
On the importance of winning the line of scrimmage against Illinois
Well, I mentioned identity, and our identity is upfront and winning the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. I think the challenge this week is, without a doubt, the defense of Stanford. That's their identity is to dominate the line of scrimmage. And if you watch how they played Miami and Miami's backs who ran wild in the playoffs last year, Stanford did a great job against those guys. So they take a lot of pride in how they attack the line of scrimmage. You can see how their linebackers get downhill, the technique and really just the sheer effort and tenacity that their defensive front plays with. So in my mind, it's a little bit of identity versus identity every time we hand the ball off this week. But yeah, I think it's not complicated in football. You usually know whoever wins the line of scrimmage controls the game, but that'll be a different challenge this week than in my mind it's been the first two.
On Walker Eget’s injury status
Yeah, Walker's been totally healthy this week. It's been great to see him. He practiced on Sunday night, which was great. So yeah, he's had no restrictions.
On getting CJ Campbell more reps to relieve Nate Sheppard
Yeah, sometimes just depends on which way the game goes. I mean, you certainly want to make sure that you give Nate what he needs to have his thumbprint on the game. But we do think CJ is a player that can create explosive plays for us. We think Jayvian Tanelus will get carries before long and become our number three tailback. But yeah, long season, you're going to need different guys to be able to roll through there, and we've got confidence in our running back room.
On offensive line taking pride in blocking
Yeah, it's an offensive lineman's dream. I think Jeff Norrid and Austin Shepherd have done a wonderful job coaching that group when you factor in two transfer tackles and Bradley Smith really being a full-time starter for the first time in his career, taking advantage of a guy like Matt Craycraft and his experience and the ability to make all the calls. We've seen some exotic fronts over the first couple weeks, and so just to be able to cover people up and to get Nate on the second level is really the key. And that's why I think this week is a different challenge. Stanford is, in my mind, not as complicated before the snap, but they're much, much better after the snap than who we've played. They'll line up in base four-down fronts or a bear front, and they're just going to try to get after you up front.
So a lot of respect for how they play, and I guess every week is a new challenge, but I do think our offensive line, and again, if we throw the tight ends in, do take a lot of pride in our ability to block for Nate. And then the last thing I'll say is, when you know you got Nate behind you, you know that if you really strain, you got a chance to be special. So it all goes hand in hand.
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This article originally appeared on Duke Wire: Everything Manny Diaz said ahead of Duke's matchup against Stanford
