Virginia Tech is looking to finish what has been a disappointing season well with a pair of wins to end the regular season starting with a road trip to take on a 7-3 Duke team looking for their third-straight 8+ win season since winning 8+ games from 2013-15.
So to help get us ready for this game, I have been joined by Conor O'Neill, the publisher for Rivals' Devils Illustrated and Deacons Illustrated. Conor is one of the best and more dedicated reporters in North Carolina, and I am grateful for Conor taking the time to share his insights on Duke.
So with that said, let's jump into our Q&A on Duke with Conor.
1. Why has Manny Diaz been able to maintain the success that Mike Elko had in his brief tenure?
It revolves around the strength and conditioning coach, David Feeley, as strange as that might be.
Feeley was Diaz’s S&C coach at Miami, so when Mario Cristobal took over, he brought his own guy from Oregon — and fired Feeley. That made Feeley available to be hired by Elko, so he’s in his third season at Duke.
When Elko left for Texas A&M, he wanted to take Feeley. But when Duke hired Diaz, he stayed aboard in Durham.
That’s why Duke’s culture has remained strong through the coaching change. Feeley picked up a couple of national awards as the best S&C coach in the country last year; it was shocking at how physical Duke became under Elko and that’s been maintained this season, with the common denominator being Feeley.
