Duke Football Preview

By: Harry Crowther

The night before his press conference at ACC Kickoff, Riley Leonard’s mom reminded him not to suck. 

Leonard was constantly showered with praise growing up. He needed something – or better yet, someone – to motivate him. 

“I went to my mom one day and said, ‘hey, someone has to bash me and tell me I suck to give me motivation,’” the Duke quarterback said at ACC Kickoff. “She’s like, ‘shoot, I’ll do it.’

“Ever since then before every game she calls me, she texted me last night, ‘Hey, don’t suck at these interviews,’ things like that. It just gives me some motivation.”

Leonard has turned that motivation into production for the Blue Devils. He is one of only three returning signal callers who recorded at least 2,900 passing yards and 695 rushing yards last season. Leonard and Oregon’s Bo Nix are the only two returners who threw for at least 20 touchdowns and rushed for at least 13 a year ago.

“He knows how to elevate his game at the right time and in those critical moments he is able to make the plays we need him to make for us to win football games,” head coach Mike Elko said of his quarterback. “I think he deserves to be in that conversation with the best quarterbacks in this league.”

Elko himself was one of the best coaches in the ACC last season. He was voted ACC coach of the year in his first year at Duke. The season before Elko took over, Duke finished last in the coastal division with an 0-8 record in the ACC. In year one with Elko at the helm, the Blue Devils won nine games and finished tied for second at 5-3.

Entering year two, Elko returns eight starters on both sides of the ball, including Leonard and his top target Jalon Calhoun. Duke will look to build on its turnaround and rely on experience in 2023.

“We had a lot of positive results, but when you really look at the details, there’s still a lot of areas we can get better,” Elko said. “Everything this offseason has just been about elevation, and we didn’t come in to have one good season.”

The Blue Devils will get an early chance to make a statement this season when they open at home against Clemson. 

“I think being on that national stage is what we want Duke football to be,” said Elko. “But if we want to get our seat at the table and we want to get talked about in that light, those are the games that we’re going to have to play. So to be able to play that game in Durham in front of a packed house on Monday night with everybody watching, that’s what you want.”