He’s Opened Our Eyes: The Elko Effect Already Impacting Duke Football

Silence is often louder than words. It took Duke wide receiver Jalon Calhoun ten seconds to gather himself – holding back emotions – before answering a question about new head coach Mike Elko’s impact on the Blue Devils’ football program.

“He’s opened our eyes to actually see we can be a winning program,” Calhoun said while speak with media Saturday. ” We’re putting in the work. They’ve been hard on us, but we needed it.”

After 3 straight losing seasons, including finishing last season 3-9 with eight straight losses and not tallying a single ACC conference win (the first winless conference team since 2007), the fans, staff and alumni had seen enough – a change was in order.

While Elko has repeatedly mentioned the importance of improving the culture in Durham and instilling a winning mindset, he and his players aren’t worried about what happened in the past. They’re focused on the now.

“We are not worried about the past, we are worried about the present,” defensive star Shaka Hayward emphasized.

Switching from one culture to another isn’t always the easiest thing, but going through hardships together builds trust and that’s what Mike Elko is doing, one player at a time.

Duke football will hold their second official scrimmage Sunday afternoon and officially begin the Elko Era September 2nd at Wallace Wade stadium versus Temple at 7:30 PM.