TRANSFORMATION: Duke Football MOVES ON From Darian Mensah Era— Manny Diaz Sets High Expectations

**Nate Sheppard** (0:01)
This is the Locked On Podcast Network, celebrating 10 years of your team every day.

**JJ Jackson** (0:11)
Taking a big look at the exciting week at ACC Media Days, Duke Football set to begin the 2026 season. Tons of conversations coming up your way here today on Locked On Blue Devils.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:28)
You are Locked On Blue Devils, your daily podcast on the Duke Blue Devils, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

**JJ Jackson** (0:38)
Hello, everybody. Welcome to another episode of the Locked On Blue Devils podcast. My name is JJ Jackson. It's so great to have you here with us today on Tuesday, July 21st, 2026 Locked On Blue Devils is your one stop shop where we're discussing everything going on inside the life of Duke Athletics. On today's show, let's look back at ACC Media Days, an exclusive, never before seen conversation with Max Browne of the ACC network, the number one analyst for the big time games this year. Coming up alongside Wes Durham, we'll talk about Duke's quarterback situation and so much more throughout today's show and also hear from players one on one. Excited to break it all down here on today's show with you guys. Thank you so much for making Locked On Blue Devils your first listen and your first watch each and every day. Look, we look back at what this Duke team was able to do in the 2025 season. And the fact that they won the ACC is still so surreal. It was a number one theme that so many people were talking about. Tiebreaker Duke is what was being discussed there in Charlotte this week. And I'm super excited to see what Manny Diaz is going to be able to do building this program moving forward. Duke has moved on. Darian Mensah, it's taking me a few minutes into the episode before I've even said Darian Mensah's name is an afterthought for this Duke team. And you've just got to kind of have that mindset. Let him move forward. Let him move on to the next opportunities and let this Duke team find out what's next as they look to repeat. So super excited again for what's to come and very excited for you guys to hear some of these conversations that we've got today here on Locked On Blue Devils.
Locked On Blue Devils here, JJ Jackson alongside Max Browne for ESPN College Football Analyst at ACC Media Days in Charlotte. All right, man. You're making the transition playing to now doing this TV broadcast side of things. I know you've got your own content and channels that you're always putting out. What's that transition kind of been like for you?

**Max Browne** (2:29)
It's been fun. You blink. And it's almost been 10 years since I was playing in this conference. 2017 was my last year at Pitt. But it's crazy how fast time goes. But the content side, which I'm sure you can relate to, has kind of been my foot in the door into this industry. And it's been fun and excited to be with West Durham. And Madison Fitzpatrick on the ACC Primetime crew. And we got some good games on the docket this year.

**JJ Jackson** (2:53)
No doubt about that. And obviously, you talk about an ACC conference that, Max, right now, the reigning champions in the conference are the Duke Blue Devils. This is wild. I mean, their last championship was in 1989, before either of us were born. And now, Duke reflecting back to that season, what a run.

**Max Browne** (3:11)
What a run. I think it was great for the conference to kind of have that parody towards the end.
You know, the year before, it was the Big 12 was the Conference of Parody. And I think you could tell, especially, you know, as late September, like, you know, this could be, this could be a dogfight at the end. I did not have Duke candidly coming out on top, even with like the month of November starting. But, you know, good on coach, good on Darian Mensah. And obviously now he's with a different team, but that paid off in terms of Duke stepping up and, you know, committing to a big time quarterback and, you know, getting barcaded out wide and hitting on some of those transfers. And Manny Diaz made it happen. And I'm sure he's trying to obviously, you know, not have that be a flash in the pan, which feels like that's kind of a narrative with multiple schools here. Like Virginia's in a similar boat there, especially with schools like, you know, Virginia Tech, Clemson and Florida State being down. That's when, you know, the Virginias and the Dukes have to capitalize, which they did. But you have to think that won't stay for long.