Manny Diaz won nine games in his first season with the Duke Blue Devils, taking the College Football Playoff-bound SMU Mustangs to overtime and building a double-digit lead over Heisman Trophy finalist Cam Ward and the Miami Hurricanes, and yet he’s consistently ignored among the best at his position in the sport.
USA TODAY Sports columnists Blake Toppmeyer, Paul Myerberg, and Jordan Mendoza released their ranking of the top 25 head coaches in the country on Monday, and Diaz didn’t even earn an honorable mention ahead of his second season in Durham.
For a reminder, Diaz was forced to play a seven-on-seven spring game last year since he couldn’t field enough enrolled offensive and defensive linemen for a proper scrimmage, and he still swept Duke‘s three in-state conference rivals for the first time since 2013. He lost wide receivers Jordan Moore and Eli Pancol to the NFL this month, but he secured transfer commitments from Andrel Anthony of the Oklahoma Sooners and Cooper Barkate of the Harvard Crimson to bolster the aerial attack.
The Blue Devils also added Tulane quarterback Darian Mensah, who led the Green Wave to the American Athletic Conference Championship Game as a redshirt freshman with 2,723 passing yards and 23 total touchdowns.
Georgia Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart, who won back-to-back championships in 2021 and 2022, remained atop the rankings after winning the SEC title last fall. Four ACC coaches made the rankings with Clemson Tigers leader Dabo Swinney headlining the conference at No. 3. Louisville’s Jeff Brohm (No. 16), SMU’s Rhett Lashlee (No. 22), and Miami’s Mario Cristobal (No. 24) joined him on the list.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
