“Successful people in life want to know what they did wrong,” Mike Elko told the media Monday. “That’s just what brings success to people, to programs, to organizations. I don’t need someone to wake up in the morning and tell me what I did well. I need them to tell me the three things I can get better at because that’s how I get better tomorrow.”
We haven’t know him long enough to have a detailed Mike-Elko-meaning-of-life-narrative. But that seems like a pretty significant data point.
Don’t get me wrong. Duke did a lot right Friday night and Elko recognized that. He singled out linebacker Shaka Heyward, defensive tackle DeWayne Carter, quarterback Riley Leonard and offensive guard Maurice McIntyre for their performance against Temple.
You’ve likely heard of all of them. But probably not junior Ryan Smith, who switched from linebacker to defensive end under Elko and has made his presence felt.
Elko called Smith an “unsung hero.”
“He got moved to defensive end and has really embraced it and has improved at that position tremendously and has gotten into position where he can give us some depth at defensive end. But he’s become a core special-teams player for us. Just really happy with what he’s doing. He’s one of those guys who doesn’t get attention but brings a lot of value to our program.”
And you can be sure there are other unsung heroes whose efforts are validated by that kind of public praise.
So, if Elko is praising the special-team guy only depth-chart wonks have ever heard of, what does he think needs improving after a 30-0 win?
A lot actually. Remember, 24 of those 30 points came before intermission. Elko admitted that Duke dialed it back a little in the second half, working on clock management.
But he also said “I wish we had finished better. I wish we had continued the level of execution that we had in the first half into the second half.”
Elko praised his wide receivers but added “I do think there were some opportunities to make some contested catches later in the game that we didn’t come down with. I’d like to see us improve on that a little bit.”
And then there’s Charlie Ham, who missed three field goals.
Concerned?
“It would be naive not to say a little bit concerned. Hopefully, it was a one-night mistake. I’ve seen Charlie through spring, I’ve seen him through fall. He’s been extremely consistent. He was 22 of 23 kicking for us this fall in competitive situations. I’ve got a lot of confidence in Charlie but he knows and we all know we have to kick the ball better and I fully expect him to that this week.”
So, a balance.
“I told them I’m proud of you, I’m proud of the result. But you don’t need to hear any more than that. You should have confidence. You’ve worked extremely hard. You should be aware that we have another game to play. We’re all in this thing. We all understand what we’re doing. Focus on the things you did right so that you can repeat them. But then focus on the things you can improve because that’s how we’ll improve as an organization. It’s on to next week. We didn’t come here to win a game, we came here to build a program.”
I’ll have more on Northwestern later this week.
“…tell me the three things I can get better at…”
Solid philosophy from Coach Elko. In management, it is called Continuous Process Improvement.
Glad the guys are not thumping their chests but instead looking to improve on things they didn't do well.
GoDuke!