DURHAM — In their first games as Blue Devils, Jalon Calhoun and Jacob Monk were in the starting lineup.
It was August 31, 2019, in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The opponent was Alabama — a chance for Duke to measure its program against one of the nation’s best.
The measuring stick delivered bad news to Duke. After a scoreless first quarter, Bama cruised to a 42-3 victory. Calhoun had three passes come his way. He caught one of them, for two yards. Monk got called for a false start penalty.
Four years and 94 combined games later, Monk and Calhoun are still Blue Devils, still in the starting lineup. They’re joined by defensive tackle DeWayne Carter, offensive lineman Graham Barton and defensive tackle Ja’Mion Franklin. Including the year about to start, they’ll have a combined 25 seasons of college football experience. Including the opener, they’ll have played in 196 college games.
The group of seniors all could have gone elsewhere, taking their Duke degrees to the next stop in their journeys. But all opted to return — all except Barton will be using their extra COVID season in 2023.
“A lot of people chose to come back to this program for this season,” Blue Devils coach Mike Elko said. “They understand that, if they play up to their capabilities, they have a chance of doing something special this year.”
Elko, a relative Duke toddler in just his second year with the Blue Devils, listed the five elder statesmen as examples.
“Even (quarterback) Riley Leonard, in this day and age,” he added, putting the rising junior at the end of his list. “There are a lot of kids that had opportunities to go to the NFL or to other schools.”
Instead, the group all came back to try to build on last season, which saw Duke improve from three wins to nine in one of college football’s biggest improvements.
“There’s a purpose about our locker room,” Elko said.
Overall, Duke returns nine starters on offense, eight on defense, as well as its punter and kicker. Everyone will be in their second year in Elko’s system.
“We’re operating, functioning at a much higher level than we did last year,” Elko said. “I don’t think that’s debatable. Now, can you do that well enough for over 60 minutes on the field?”
Elko, the Blue Devils and the rest of college football will find out on Monday when Duke once again has a chance to measure its program against one of the best in the nation. The Clemson Tigers, ranked No. 9 in the preseason top 25, will travel to Durham for a Monday night matchup that the rest of the football world will be watching.
It promises to be the most significant Duke opener since that Alabama game and perhaps one of the most significant in the program’s history.
“We don’t acknowledge it in the way you’re saying it,” Elko said when presented with the above statement. “We certainly don’t talk like that. It’s one opportunity out of 12. No matter what happens, we still have 11 more on the schedule. They’re certainly not going to cancel the schedule one way or the other, no matter how this game turns out.”
Still, it’s tempting to think about the possibilities the game presents. A win would give Elko a high-profile notch on his belt and thrust Duke forward both as a contender in the ACC and a factor on a national level. It would also mean that there would be a good chance Duke would be 4-0 when Notre Dame comes to Durham on Sept. 30.
While Elko is well aware of the talent level Clemson will be bringing to town, he sounds confident that his team is up to the task.
“Openers are lost a lot more than they’re won,” he said. “Regardless of the talent level, you never know what you’re going to get. They’re always unpredictable. You’ve got to play clean football, limit penalties, limit operational issues, protect the football. If you do those things and don’t make first-game mistakes, you’ve given yourself a chance, no matter who you’re playing.”
And he likes his team’s chance of doing everything on his list.
“You think you know what it’s going to look like, but you never really do,” he said. “But, amongst all that uncertainty, experience helps. Guys coming back helps. Being in year two helps. Having coaches back on your staff helps. All those things are certainly positives.”
There’s a big but waiting at the end of Elko’s statement.
“At the end of the day,” he continued, “you still have to go out next Monday and play the game.”
“We’ll find out, Monday.”
