Manny Diaz Reveals Why Duke Made QB Decision

The 2026 college football season kicks off this weekend with Week 0 and a handful of games on Saturday. For the Duke Blue Devils, they open up at home in Week 1 as Tulane comes to Durham.

As Duke looks to build on last season's Atlantic Coast Conference title, they will have to do so without a key player in Darian Mensah. The quarterback entered the transfer portal at the last minute and committed to Miami, leaving Duke with a big question at the quarterback position. 

But the Blue Devils solved that competition between Walker Eget and Dan Mahan on Tuesday afternoon. 

The Blue Devils named Eget the winner of the quarterback battle, ending the month long competition. Eget will now hit the field as the starter on September 5th against Tulane in Durham. 

Head coach Manny Diaz explained what went into the decision of naming Eget the winner of the battle as he met the media on Tuesday.

"When it all came down to it, it was just about consistency, which is normally what you expect from an older guy — keeping the same level day after day," Diaz said. "I think we were at that moment."

Eget's experience at this level ended up being the difference as he transferred from San Jose State, putting together a good 2025 season. It was also important to Diaz to name a starter at this point, giving Eget all the first-team reps moving forward as game week approaches.

"Just given our offseason, I think the team needed a starting quarterback," Diaz said. "Like I said, they'll follow both, but I think they're happy now that they know Walker is the number one."

Eget hasn't been working with the full team in the Spring and didn't take reps there until training camp as he was dealing with a knee issue. But he showed enough in the past few weeks to ensure he would be the starter. 

As Duke moves forward with this decision, the Blue Devils are hoping Eget can help them contend in the ACC. It's a conference that got better and will be tougher to get back to that title game in 2026.