Manny Diaz was inside his Duke football office as Saturday night morphed into Sunday morning.
Diaz was watching film after Duke finished its first training camp under first-year coach in Durham, less than two weeks before the Blue Devils’ season opener against Elon on August 30 at Wallace Wade Stadium.
It is now up to Diaz and his team to finish Duke’s depth chart. Quarterback is at the centre of the controversy, with Texas transfer Maalik Murphy and sophomore Grayson Loftis competing for the starting job.
A question about Diaz’s opinion of the quarterback competition sparked a 13-minute Zoom news conference with media members on Sunday afternoon.
“We had our second scrimmage (on Saturday), which effectively ended training camp. “I believe Maalik and Grayson will continue to play at a high level and improve,” Diaz added.
“It’s encouraging to see Henry Belin regaining his ball-throwing skills. I didn’t leave the building until 1 a.m. (Sunday morning), grading it after practice was completed.” North Carolina high school football recruits to watch before they play at UNC, NC State, or Duke
DUKE QBS:What Duke football’s Maalik Murphy and Grayson Loftis said about the Blue Devils’ quarterback struggle
Diaz isn’t ready to identify a starting quarterback, but he did indicate the staff will begin the process of creating a depth chart.
Early this week, we prepared for the Phoenix. “I think at some positions, we would be ready to potentially begin the week with a starter,” Diaz told ESPN.
“I believe we know who is over the line in other places, and we are primarily competing for snaps. If we felt we had the right quarterback, we would very likely go with him.”
Murphy, who played sparingly for the Longhorns the last two seasons, will start against BYU and Kansas State in 2023. Murphy completed 57.7% of his throws in those games, totalling 418 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions.
Loftis was Duke’s starting quarterback in six games as a freshman, with Riley Leonard out due to an ankle injury. During Loftis averaged 198 yards per game over four games in November, with eight touchdowns and three interceptions.
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