The second year of the Manny Diaz era has officially begun after the Duke football head coach spoke at the 2025 ACC Media Days. One topic was a repeated theme during Diaz's opening remarks, and it is what he has had the team focus on this offseason.
Consistency. Consistency. Consistency.
Diaz knows that his guys could "win an arm wrestling match or win a relay race. The issue is we have a football season coming up."
What does this mean? He has strong guys and he has fast guys. What Diaz is worried about is whether those same guys can show up every Saturday to win a football game for the Blue Devils.
The college football season is a long one, especially with the recently expanded College Football Playoffs, which now lasts more than a month.
With a 12-game regular season schedule and the possibility of a five-game postseason slate, college football players have to maintain the same mindset from the end of August through the middle of January. Diaz is focused on ensuring that his team can do that.
"Trust is consistency over time," Diaz said while talking at the ACC Football Kickoff. "Can you be the same team for 48 quarters?"
Manny Diaz is great behind the mic.
— Sons of Saturday Podcast (@SonsofSatVT) July 24, 2025
Speaks to how the draw to student athletes for Duke is you can expect to get a great degree and be prepared for the next step in life.
He believes that Duke's focus and recent success has added getting to the NFL and competing for…
Last year, Duke finished with a 9-4 overall record, losing to then-No. 14 Ole Miss Rebels in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. This year, Diaz believes that the Blue Devils can do even better.
Duke's only losses in the 2024 regular season were to Georgia Tech, then-No. 22 SMU, and then-No. 5 Miami. The Blue Devils only lost those three matchups by a combined 33 points. With a focus on defense and consistency this offseason, plus the addition of quarterback Darian Mensah, a vast improvement isn't a wild dream.