Stanford's HC Has Nothing But Praise for Duke and Manny Diaz Ahead of ACC Clash

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There's no debate in my mind that Duke's football program is getting a ton of respect because of what head coach Manny Diaz has instilled in his players over the past couple of years. 

As The Athletic recently reported on college football numbers, it isn't crazy to say Duke is doing a lot more with what it has. 

Duke has a decent NIL budget, but compared to some of the other top teams in America, it's insane. Simply put, Duke is not spending that much money on its program compared to other schools.

However, there's something to be said about guys coming in and believing in the coaching staff. 

Whether that means listening to coaches, trying to develop with some insanely talented coordinators and a head coach who really knows what he's doing on the defensive side of the football, or anything else, Duke has done a lot of good things, and coaches around the country are starting to see that. 

That includes Stanford's head coach, whose team Duke will play on Saturday in its first ACC game of the year.

“Yeah, I think for them it starts; you guys have heard me talk about playing sound football and playing to your personnel and your personality. And this is a team and a program that's obviously had the success they've had because they know their identity. They play it really well.

“On the defensive side, they do a great job of stopping the run. Those guys, they move, and they switch coverages; they switch looks a lot. They blitz, they play coverage, they play single high, they play two high, they play man, they play zone, they really mix it up, but they do so cohesively. 

“A year ago, they were one of the top defenses in the country taking the ball away. And so they're conscious of that, and that's something that we have to have a heightened awareness of making sure that we're protecting the ball,” Tavita Pritchard said, per Duke Wire.

Comments like this actually mean a lot to me and show that Diaz is getting a ton of respect from his peers. 

While I know some fans don't really care about things like that, I think this is impressive and shows he's a guy recruits and coaches respect. 

Him being able to get players who buy in is very important to the success of this program over the next couple of years.

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