Jordan Moore offered the first glimpse of Duke football’s new identity in a nearly-empty Northwestern press conference room.
The clock crept past 1 a.m., as the graduate wide receiver settled into his chair. He had just helped secure a double-overtime road win against the Wildcats, and the Blue Devils stood 2-0 on the season. But as the rustling wind and darkened windows would suggest, gameplay had been tense. Near the end of regulation, Moore missed a potentially momentum-changing deep pass from quarterback Maalik Murphy — a failed play that ultimately forced the Duke to kick a field goal and head to overtime.
The Blue Devils emerged victorious in Evanston two touchdowns later — and Moore redeemed himself by securing one of them with a 25-yard reception — but his press room focus was gratitude, not glory.
“I'm just so blessed and so appreciative that my coaches give me opportunities, even when some plays don't really go my way,” Moore said. “Maalik made a great throw and I should have come down with it … I'm just so happy that we won.”
In his short five minutes behind the press room microphone, mindset was all Moore spoke about. His note on team culture captured a relentless spirit that had characterized that game, and eventually, his team’s season.
“Coach Diaz always preaches ‘play the next play,'" Moore said. “I'm just so happy that we can be a part of a team where if somebody's lacking, another person can pick it up. Nobody ever points fingers. We always keep playing, and we're a family.”
Fast forward to the loss against SMU, when a 2-point conversion at the end of the first overtime period didn’t go Duke’s way. The defense had arguably carried throughout the night, while special teams lapses and offensive struggles hindered the Blue Devils’ ability to capitalize on turnovers. Kendy Charles, who recorded a season-high and team-high 11 tackles on the night, could have walked into the press conference deflated and angry. Instead, the graduate student’s disappointment came with a side of humble optimism.
“I feel like we are a strong enough team,” he said. “We have great bonding, great culture. We will bounce back from this … [and] just uphold the culture and the standard, that brotherhood we built over the summer in sweat and tears.”
For a player that had just come within inches of a potentially season-shifting upset, the comment displayed a poignant wisdom. Charles spoke about supporting kicker Todd Pelino, who had missed two crucial field goals and an extra point. He emphasized the defense’s quest to keep improving. Though the graduate student’s comments carried a hint of sadness, they were notably free of regret.
“Even though we had success on defense, I'm sure there's something we can fix,” Charles said. “We’re just trying to master the little things, and that's what we take pride in.”
Press conference after press conference, win after loss, the Blue Devils’ new mindset began to echo through the voices of its players. A burgeoning sense of identity had clearly arrived in Durham.
The shift filtered in from the top down, with new head coach Manny Diaz bringing Duke both a reputation for defensive success and a holistic approach to the game’s character. His emphasis on a mentality and grit soon seeped into player attitudes.
“Everybody thinks about football with physical toughness, and that’s certainly a large part of it, but as important, if not more so, is mental and emotional toughness,” Diaz said at the start of the season.
The former Penn State defensive coordinator earned unwavering determination from his new players by making an early distinction between wins and accomplishments.
“We talked about trying to not confuse success with excellence,” Diaz said. “I feel like greatness comes in the same way, to not confuse success with greatness.”
Duke football took the mission to heart, delivering a mystifying 7-3 record of storybook finishes and statistical anomalies. The team now enters the fourth quarter of its season more unpredictable than ever. But though season turbulence has muddied potential definitions of the Diaz era, the team’s new identity shines in its heart and perseverance.
When former head coach Mike Elko departed, any chance of a future nine-win campaign seemed slim. Transfer portal chaos, coaching uncertainties and a turbulent offseason threatened to stall the program’s growing momentum. Then came Diaz — and with him, a new emphasis on community building. The Blue Devils were not only back, but determined to prove themselves better.
Even when games began ending in defeat — such as Duke’s Week 10 loss to then-No.5 Miami — Diaz made sure to pair any setbacks with a silver lining. After all, it was the Blue Devils’ fresh mindset that allowed them to play toe-to-toe with increasingly tougher opponents.
“I was proud because our guys believed,” he said after the defeat. “They really believed that they could win the football game, and they played like it.”
The benefit of that strong new mentality — as opposed to a spotless record — lies in longevity. Duke football’s unyielding spirit now has foundations that will last through future seasons, thanks to young classes fully invested in team culture.
The recruiting benefits speak for themselves. Duke’s incoming 2025 class remains one of the best in school history, and it holds the highest-ranked recruit to ever sign with the school — 4-star defensive end Bryce Davis, who flipped from Clemson earlier this year.
Duke’s current freshmen, meanwhile, have proven themselves on the field. Redshirt freshman wide receiver Que’Sean Brown already tallied 308 receiving yards and two touchdowns on the season. His classmate, safety DaShawn Stone, boasts 42 tackles and a forced fumble against both UConn and SMU. For the young Blue Devils, team identity clearly entails a quiet and uncompromising fight for greatness.
“I don't feel like we get the respect that we deserve,” Brown said. “But with hard work and talent, it's gonna show. We don't have to keep talking about it. We'll show it.”
Regardless of this season’s final outcomes, Diaz’s squad has proven that its new identity outshines any record. Characteristic tenacity and grit will carry the Blue Devils far beyond their final three games — and into a new era of Duke football.
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Abby DiSalvo is a Trinity sophomore and assistant Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.