Duke improved to 5-1 at Wallace Wade Stadium and earned their 8th win in Coach Mike Elko’s first season at the helm. Elko defeated his former boss, Dave Clawson, utilizing a stellar passing attack. Helmet stickers were easy to decide upon this week!
BRIAN’S PICK: MIKE ELKO
It has been a crazy ride this year, and I could not think of anyone else to give the last regular season helmet sticker to than Head Coach Mike Elko. We all were excited back in December when he was officially announced as the head coach. He had come from winning programs, and we knew he was not going to expect anything less from the players. Heading into spring ball, I was cautiously optimistic with what he and his staff could do in their first year with a team that had gone through so much disappointment and heartbreak in 2021. Heck the media outlets ALL picked Duke to finish last and win, at best, 4 games this year if not less. I myself had pegged this team to win 5 games at most and miss out on a bowl game. Boy did coach prove us ALL wrong throughout the season.
Not only did this team exceed expectations, but they also silenced a whole lot of nay-sayers throughout the year (myself included). This team did something they had not done in 4 years, and that is beat a very talented Wake Forest team. With the win, Duke has the most wins in a regular season since 2014 and all fans are anxiously awaiting what bowl they head to.
I am going to make this very simple folks: Mike Elko deserves the coach of the year honors not only in the ACC, but the COUNTRY! Taking an almost identical team from last year and more than DOUBLING the wins in his first year is quite the accomplishment. There are other deserving coaches out there, don’t get me wrong, but with the program in the shape it was when Elko arrived, he has more than exceeded expectations, and we are only in year one.
I look forward to seeing this team in the bowl game to cap off an amazing season, and am glad “We got our guy!”
JAMIE’S PICK: RILEY LEONARD
Well, I couldn’t let the last regular season game go by without giving my helmet sticker to…you guessed it…Riley Leonard. I am not giving it to him just because he is my favorite player. He absolutely balled out Saturday afternoon in Wally Wade. And it really wasn’t the dual threat part of his game that we’ve become accustomed to that did Wake in. Although he did have a couple of clutch runs that helped secure Duke’s 8th win of the season. The game started with Riley being on fire. He was slicing and dicing the Wake defense. He only threw to 5 receivers total Saturday, with 3 guys getting the majority of the yards. Calhoun, Hagans, and Moore were his go-to receivers.
Leonard threw for a career high 391 yards. He completed 29 of 41 passes overall. His completions went for 9.5 yards per attempt. That’s a pretty amazing number. He threw for 4 touchdowns in the air, including the most important one in the game: the go-ahead touchdown to Hagans with two minutes to play. This year has been a great year overall, but if there had been anything lacking, it was the inability to close out games in the fourth quarter. But this game was different. The defense got the stops they needed, and Leonard was able to lead the offense down the field in a two-minute drill situation. Leonard has shown growth and leadership all year. I am convinced he is one of the absolute best quarterbacks in the league. For his play on the field this year, and his play to help Duke beat Wake to get to 8-4, Riley Leonard gets my helmet sticker. What a great year it has been! Looking forward to seeing where Duke gets to play during bowl season!
JOSH’S PICK: SAHMIR HAGANS
My helmet sticker goes to redshirt freshman wide receiver, Sahmir Hagans. When Eli Pancol was lost for the season due to an injury, there was no doubt who would step up and take those snaps and get those looks: it was Sahmir Hagans. Since spring ball, we have been telling Duke fans that Hagans was impressing us during practices. In a somewhat crowded wide receiver room, he stood out and earned his role.
This past Saturday night, Hagans caught eight passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns. It was not just his numbers that impressed. His final touchdown came with two minutes to go in the game, with Duke trailing Wake Forest by four points. QB Riley Leonard threw a nice 50/50 ball toward Hagans, and he just flat-out beat the Demon Deacon DB to the ball. He seems to have that clutch gene (remember the Georgia Tech fourth quarter punt return). For the season, Hagans has 27 receptions for 368 yards (13.5 yards per catch), and five touchdowns.
As we look ahead to the future of Duke Football, Sahmir Hagans has proven that he belongs on the field and can have a major impact on winning games.
SCOTT’S PICK: JALON CALHOUN
This week’s helmet sticker was a little hard to choose, but at the end of the day, I am going with senior wide receiver, Jalon Calhoun, after the awesome game that he had. The wide receiver room has had two great weeks back to back from Pitt to Wake Forest. Calhoun had 11 receptions for 174 yards and 1 TD this past Saturday. His longest reception was a 46 yard TD with 9:04 to go in the second quarter to put Duke up 17-7. He had many timely receptions when Duke needed it against WF (and all season). At the end of the regular season, Calhoun finished with 56 receptions for 811 yards with 4 TD’s and an average of 14.5 yard per reception. An interesting stat is that in 2021, Jalon had 56 receptions for 718 yards 3 TD’s and an average of 12.8 yds/reception.
One of the things that I love about him is that he is so consistent and has been a great leader. Coach Kevin Johns’ offense has fit Calhoun’s ability perfectly. There are so many reasons as to why Duke finished 5-3 in the ACC and 8-4 overall, but Jalon had a big part in Duke’s success. And especially in Duke winning their eigth game of the season against rival Wake Forest. I look forward to seeing where Duke is bowling, and we know that Jalon Calhoun will do his job to help Duke reach a ninth win on the season. Let’s Go Duke! #BLEEDBLUE