Sun, Aug 23, 2026
A quiet Duke football news day with no injuries, roster departures, commitments, or coaching news — just three analysis pieces, all revolving around the unresolved quarterback competition. The most consequential item is that Duke still has not named a Week 1 starter between San Jose State transfer Walker Eget and redshirt freshman Dan Mahan; Manny Diaz said after 11 practices that he is not even considering the separation aspect of it, and that the second scrimmage will come down to who eliminates negative plays. Related coverage framed 2026 as Diaz's most important season, citing portal losses of QB Darian Mensah and WR Cooper Barkate to Miami and safety Terry Moore to Ohio State, plus NFL departures including CB Chandler Rivers and OT Brian Parker II. Duke opens Sept. 5 against Tulane.
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Both Duke and North Carolina lost their 2025 starting quarterbacks — Darian Mensah to Miami, Gio Lopez to Wake Forest — and enter 2026 with QB uncertainty. UNC has already named Wisconsin transfer Billy Edwards Jr. its Week 0 starter against TCU in Dublin on Aug. 29, while Duke has yet to pick between Walker Eget and Dan Mahan.
Duke's second fall scrimmage could finally create a leader in the Eget-vs-Mahan quarterback battle ahead of the Sept. 5 opener against Tulane. Diaz said this week that “we're not even considering the separation aspect of it,” adding that both have shown over 11 practices they can run the offense and that the decision comes down to “who can eliminate the negative plays.” Eget has 5,000-plus passing yards and 30 touchdowns as a San Jose State starter but no Power Conference experience; Mahan is a dual-threat redshirt freshman with no game action.
An argument that Manny Diaz, 18-9 at Duke with back-to-back nine-win seasons and an ACC title, faces his highest-stakes year because of heavy attrition: QB Darian Mensah and WR Cooper Barkate to Miami, safety Terry Moore to Ohio State, plus NFL departures CB Chandler Rivers, OT Brian Parker II, DEs Wesley Williams and Vincent Anthony Sr. and DT Aaron Hall. The piece flags QB uncertainty and looming games against Virginia, Clemson and Miami.
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