2024 Football Portal News

This may sound like sour grapes but if felt like there were many games this season where we won in spite of Murphy and not because of him.
While the Mensah announcement makes the Murphy discussion OBE, I feel compelled to point out Maalik Murphy threw some really good passes this season. The ones which stick out to me are the multiple back shoulder touchdown passes to Eli Pancol. Those were tough passes and Murphy made them look easy. Murphy was far from perfect but I'm giving credit where credit is due.
 
While the Mensah announcement makes the Murphy discussion OBE, I feel compelled to point out Maalik Murphy threw some really good passes this season. The ones which stick out to me are the multiple back shoulder touchdown passes to Eli Pancol. Those were tough passes and Murphy made them look easy. Murphy was far from perfect but I'm giving credit where credit is due.
Absolutely agree.

Last year was beneficial to both Duke and to Maalik personally. College sports is now a transactional game for many players. It was a deal that benefitted all concerned.
 
The next step for this football program, one which I think we all recognize but don't have any good solutions for, is figuring out how to get a respectable crowd to Wallace Wade on a consistent basis. Putting a winning team out there helps, but hasn't been enough. I hope we can put all our best minds on that problem so that we can take the next step forward.
I honestly don't think Duke has won enough to counter 40 yrs of largely benign neglect and apathy in the court of public perception.
Its been an adventure for Duke Football. being sued and our dense was "anybody" is better than us... Heather Sue Mercer... Miami's Lateral madness game. Officials not giving us a measurement at a critical game moment..

If there was a way to lose a game, Duke would likely find it... AND they would do in spectacular fashion, at the worst possible time.
All of that takes a toll.

I would be much more alarmed if the "Game Day" experience with ND last year was largely a no-show...
When it matters most; Duke shows up.

Gotta win more to dig out from that hole of perception, AND the games need to be Spurrier level entertaining and unpredictable on Offense.
 
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Absolutely agree.

Last year was beneficial to both Duke and to Maalik personally. College sports is now a transactional game for many players. It was a deal that benefitted all concerned.
I think my nine year old will have exactly two memories of Maalik— the double bird and the walk-off touchdown. One was easier to explain than the other!
 
not sure that Mensah's skill set at this point is NFL ready, but he's a really good college player...you can't think very long term in college football these days, it's a lot like hoops.
 
FWIIW, Mensah is listed by ESPN as its #1 transferee. ON3 has him at #19. The revolving door with Murphy/Mensah must have been brewing for some time. Assuming Murphy is ticketed to Auburn in a last ditch effort to save their coach, that should be added drama to all these machinations.
If Murphy to Auburn he will not need to complete any exams now. Auburn hands him a diploma based on attending Duke for awhile.
 
not sure that Mensah's skill set at this point is NFL ready, but he's a really good college player...you can't think very long term in college football these days, it's a lot like hoops.
Yeah, there's a "sweet spot" to finding a long-term college quarterback who is going to be great in the college game but not necessarily translate to the pro game that everyone is trying to find. It's not unlike the sweet spot the UNC basketball program has found in getting guys who stay 4 years but don't go to the league, but that hasn't worked out that well consistently for them ;)

I haven't watched Mensah in detail, but it seems like players who stay long term in college usually have at least one of the following limitations:
  1. They have limited mobility, which doesn't fit the modern NFL game.
  2. They have limited arm strength which limits their NFL upside.
  3. They don't have great size.
If Mensah doesn't check any of those boxes and/or our NIL program for football is stronger than we realize, we may have found our QB for the next 2-3 years, which I think we all would love. If not, having a QB get drafted isn't a bad thing for the program ;)
 
I guess it's fair to post info from the board at Devils Den (not proprietary info from the site). Father of one of the players who has established considerable credibility these past years says Murphy was told Duke would be looking for a QB1 in the portal that fits the offensive scheme Duke wants to run better. Murphy was told he could stay, but one can see why he wouldn't want to. This is kind of what I figured, it's the new world....best of luck to everyone...if you knew about Brewer's offense at SMU and watched Duke play this year, you could see things were a bit mismatched, but they worked out well.....
 
Yeah, there's a "sweet spot" to finding a long-term college quarterback who is going to be great in the college game but not necessarily translate to the pro game that everyone is trying to find. It's not unlike the sweet spot the UNC basketball program has found in getting guys who stay 4 years but don't go to the league, but that hasn't worked out that well consistently for them ;)

I haven't watched Mensah in detail, but it seems like players who stay long term in college usually have at least one of the following limitations:
  1. They have limited mobility, which doesn't fit the modern NFL game.
  2. They have limited arm strength which limits their NFL upside.
  3. They don't have great size.
If Mensah doesn't check any of those boxes and/or our NIL program for football is stronger than we realize, we may have found our QB for the next 2-3 years, which I think we all would love. If not, having a QB get drafted isn't a bad thing for the program ;)
for what they are worth, scouting reports go with limitation number two, arm strength..of course he has time to improve that...
 
Well if he means what he says about getting a Duke degree, he'll have to stay for a while.


While I appreciate the quote mentioning academics, he doesn't specifically call out a degree, merely that Duke is prestigious and a "great education" is important. You can get strong instruction at Duke while only being there a single year still....

Having said all the above, I'm sure Mensah is excited to come to Duke and currently plans to "unpack his bags", but as we know in the current era, things can change quickly. I assume Murphy had the same mindset when he committed last season.

Still, glad to have him committed so quickly and I assume it was in the works for a while. Seems like a great pickup. Hope our offense next season can show more consistency.
 
Duke has more money to spend than you imply.
Like it or not, we now have a player market, so prices (that's what they are) are going to go up and down.
Oh really? Do you know the revenue difference a large Big Ten or SEC school has on Duke per year just on home game attendance tickets, parking, concessions and merch? Then add the bigger conference pay out? Duke cannot spend with the SEC or Big Ten, and more to the point, nor should they or will they.

Wanna do the math?
 
Oh really? Do you know the revenue difference a large Big Ten or SEC school has on Duke per year just on home game attendance tickets, parking, concessions and merch? Then add the bigger conference pay out? Duke cannot spend with the SEC or Big Ten, and more to the point, nor should they or will they.

Wanna do the math?
you are confusing two different pools of money. Right now NIL money is NOT conference revenue money. I'd say more, but your level of agitation tells me an attempt at a conversation would be pointless.
 
Oh really? Do you know the revenue difference a large Big Ten or SEC school has on Duke per year just on home game attendance tickets, parking, concessions and merch? Then add the bigger conference pay out? Duke cannot spend with the SEC or Big Ten, and more to the point, nor should they or will they.

Wanna do the math?
Conference payouts and revenues and NIL collective money are two different things, as schools cannot directly pay NIL to players. Duke could bring in $1B/yr and the NIL budget could remain the same because it's reliant on the collectives at this time to raise the money.
 
you are confusing two different pools of money. Right now NIL money is NOT conference revenue money. I'd say more, but your level of agitation tells me an attempt at a conversation would be pointless.
Last I checked NIL comes from boosters and other entities that are not affliated with the university directly. I always thought Duke should prod the edges of that and see if Duke Med could be an NIL sponsor, but not sure where the university ends and the health care providing business begins
 
I haven't watched Mensah in detail, but it seems like players who stay long term in college usually have at least one of the following limitations:
  1. They have limited mobility, which doesn't fit the modern NFL game.
  2. They have limited arm strength which limits their NFL upside.
  3. They don't have great size.
If Mensah doesn't check any of those boxes and/or our NIL program for football is stronger than we realize, we may have found our QB for the next 2-3 years, which I think we all would love. If not, having a QB get drafted isn't a bad thing for the program ;)
1. Mensah rushed for 132 yards on 60 carries last season with 1 TD. The 5 rushes per game suggests that he has some mobility and the threat of him running is part of the game plan. That said, just 2.2 yards per rush, 1TD, and his longest run of the year was just 22 yards suggesting he is not a true "dual threat" QB. I'd say the answer on "mobility" as the NFL needs it is probably a mild yes.

2. This is a big question mark for him. Mensah had a hugely impressive yards per pass number of 9.5 but the folks who have scouted him say his short and mid-range balls are far more effective than his deep throws. He's got a good arm -- no way to get a 66% completion rate without the ability to zip it into tight holes -- but does not as yet possess the kind of elite arm strength that NFL scouts really want to see.

3. Mensah is listed at 6-3, 200... that is right at the average size for a NFL QB. It is generally accepted that if you are less than 6-2, you could have issues seeing over the line so guys who are shorter than that need to have some other aspects of their game to make up for the height. That said, there are not that many NFL QBs who stand more than about 6-4. According to this article:

Measuring 6'6", Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and San Diego Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert lead the field in terms of height this season. There's also a two-way tie for second place in the height competition, as Buffalo Bills star Josh Allen and rising New York Giants passer Daniel Jones both come in at 6'5". Get an inch shorter than that, and you've got quite a few starting quarterbacks sitting at 6'4", among them Cincinnati Bengals favorite Joe Burrow, Indianapolis Colts star Anthony Richardson, Green Bay Packers starter Jordan Love, and Washington Commanders rookie Jayden Daniels.

At just 5'10", the Carolina Panthers' Bryce Young and the Arizona Cardinals' Kyler Murray rank as the shortest quarterbacks in the National Football League, currently. But shorter quarterbacks are certainly not uncommon. Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson runs at just 5'11", and while no current starters are 6' even, there are several who are 6'1". These include San Francisco 49ers star Brock Purdy, Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia, Baker Mayfield in Tampa Bay, Gardner Minshew in Las Vegas, Chicago Bears rookie Caleb Williams, and Miami Dolphins star Tua Tagovailoa.

Bottom line is that Mensah has several of the attributes that one might desire in a NFL QB... but is far from being sure-fire prospect. In terms of physical tools, he is at least partly there. It seems grossly obvious to say it, but his pro future will likely be judged based on how he performs next year at Duke against power conference competition.
 
I thought that for sure that, one of these days, someone would spell Maalik's name correctly. Now that he's on the way to not being one of ours anymore, though, I think I may have just been dreaming.
 
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