Duke’s Mike Elko Gets ACC Coach Of The Year

Dec 2, 2022 - 1:00 PM

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At 8-4, Duke football has had a tremendously successful year. As you may remember, nearly everyone predicted that the Blue Devils would finish dead last.

Didn’t quite work out that way: the Blue Devils wrapped up the season at 5-3 in the Coastal, good for third place.

As we were sure would happen, first-year coach Mike Elko was named ACC Coach Of The Year on Thursday.

Junior captain and defensive tackle DeWayne Carter said this to GoDuke.com about his coach:

“Coach Elko’s impact is kind of hard to describe in such a short amount of time. He came in from day one and laid out the blueprint for success. From conditioning to strength to nutrition, just everything. There were never any secrets. He told us straight up what we were going to do and how he wanted the program to run. And 11 months later, he’s stayed consistent, and I think that’s why we are successful. It’s crazy the impact that he’s brought because when you’re someone who carries yourself the same way every single day it makes people who are underneath you and that follow you want to be better. So, that’s why I think he’s had a tremendous impact on why we’ve done so well this year. He deserves this award. He’s just a player’s coach.”

You know what’s really nice about Elko’s first season?

David Cutcliffe had a wonderful run at Duke before things fell off the last few seasons. But Cutcliffe proved that Duke could win. And now, Elko is proving that Duke can continue to win. It’s a very exciting time for Duke football.

• Duke football head coach Mike Elko named ACC Coach of the Year
• ACC Football Coach of the Year: Duke’s Mike Elko
• Elko Earns ACC Coach of the Year Honors