Manny Diaz says Duke football is 'different looking team' compared to spring practice

The Duke football team is looking to impress this season in its first year under head coach Manny Diaz and the media members are not buying stock in the Blue Devils after being picked to finish 11th in the 17-team conference.

Newcomers California and SMU were picked to finish ahead of Duke but Diaz told reporters that his team looks completley different since putting on the pads during training camp.

"You can just see our depth," he said responding to a question about the biggest takeaways from camp.

"We're such a different looking football team than we were in the spring."

Duke posted an 8-5 (4-4 ACC) record last season under Mike Elko, who left Durham for Texas A&M this winter. The Blue Devils won bowl games in both seasons Elko was the program's head coach after not qualifying for the postseason in the prior three years.

Diaz said the offensive line was "like the land of misfit toys" during spring ball but now the unit has developed into an area of strenght for the team.

"We're just so far ahead of where we were at any point in March and April."

However, in order to feel very confident about his team, Diaz said that he needs to see more scrimmage footage from the Blue Devils in which coaches are not next to the players correcting their mistakes.

He wants to simulate a game setting in order to fully comprehend where he and the coaching staff must focus their attention before the start of the season.

Duke will open its season inside Wallace Wade Stadium on Friday, August 30 (7:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network) against Elon before its first big challenge of the season on the road against Northwestern on Friday, September 6 (9:00 p.m. ET, FS1).