Manny Diaz: Playing time in Duke secondary wide open
Duke head coach Manny Diaz stated that every position in the Blue Devils' secondary is open.
Last season, Duke's defense suffered from a glaring weakness in their secondary, allowing an alarming 276.8 passing yards per game, ranking 134th out of 136 teams in the FBS. Manny Diaz, the team's head coach, has made it abundantly clear that playing time in the secondary is up for grabs this year, with no jobs already claimed.
Diaz and his coaching staff have bolstered the secondary with talent from the portal, including Che Ojarikre from Stanford, Dylan Flowers of Western Kentucky, and Kyon Loud from Montana, all of whom have a shot at securing a cornerback position. Ojarikre could potentially replace Chandler Rivers at the nickel back if Rivers departs to the NFL.
At the safeties position, DaShawn Stone and Andrew Pellicciotta are returning, but they will face stiff competition from Patrick Smith-Young, who transferred from North Texas and Old Dominion, starting 25 games during his collegiate career. Like any competition, Diaz anticipates that there will be ups and downs over the next three weeks, but he believes that the players who consistently perform well will ultimately earn their spots on the field, particularly during their first game against Tulane.
Written by urgent.news from Yahoo Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
