DURHAM, N.C. - David Shumate, the play-by-play voice for Duke football, recently sat down with linebacker Luke Mergott for an interview for the Duke Football Yearbook.Â
David Shumate: As you sit back and process, I imagine you had a chance over the last five or six months to think about it — what was last year like for you? Luke Mergott: Yeah, first off, it was in some ways a blur. This offseason has been an absolute blur. But it was awesome. I mean, it was by far the most fun I've ever had playing football. It felt like high school again, which was really cool. The game slowed down a lot and it's just so much more fun playing than not playing. So that's as simple as I can put it.Â
 DS: You said it was like high school again. I'm curious what made you think of that? LM: Well, obviously in high school everyone's the guy, and then when you get to college you, as you should be, you're a developmental guy for a couple years, and then you're out there playing. But playing football is why we all came to play college football, and last year... I love special teams and I love playing on that stuff, but last year I was playing as many snaps as possible. It made me feel like I was back in high school when I used to take 120 snaps a game, it was awesome.
 DS: You knew last year going in that you were going to play some, though maybe not to the degree that you were at the end of the year. What was that time period around the NC State game like for you when Nick Morris gets hurt, and then you know you're going to step into a starting role and everything that comes with that? There had to be mixed emotions, I would think, but what was that like for you? LM: The NC State game was crazy, and like you said, going into the year I knew I was going to play more. I didn't know the exact snap percentage, but definitely was going to rotate more, which would've been better for me and Nick to get us both a breather and to get us both out there fresh. But yeah, NC State was definitely a blur. I remember Nick went down, which was horrible, and I just remember Coach Patke coming to me and saying, "Well, you're up," and I was all we had left at middle linebacker. So, from that point on I was the guy, and you're playing through injuries every week, and it's fun. That's the best way I can put it. If we didn't love it, we wouldn't do it.Â
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DS: I want to spend some time looking ahead to this year, but first I want to take you back to last season as a team. There were so many times that it felt like you guys were taking a step forward in terms of being a contender in the ACC, and then a handful of times where it's like, okay, is the season lost coming off of those losses to Connecticut and Virginia? What was the mindset like for you guys in terms of day-by-day with all of the expectations of the big games that came with it, and then kind of out of nowhere in some respects because of what happened between Cal and SMU, you're playing for an ACC title? LM: There were a lot of ups and downs. I don't want to say it was a weird season because it wasn't really weird, but there were times defensively where we made mistakes, for whatever reason, and I remember in film thinking, "Well, we can sit here and think about it, or we can just play the next one." So, I think we did a really good job resetting each week, no matter how good or bad it was, which allowed us to have good wins against UNC and Wake Forest to close the regular season. So it was really about us being able to reset and turn the page no matter what happened.
 DS: You mentioned resetting and some of the mistakes you guys made defensively that you want to clean up. The ACC title game against Virginia, I talked to a lot of guys going into that game, such a rare opportunity to play a team twice in the same season and to have a chance to fix a game that obviously wasn't your guys' best effort. What was the week like getting ready to go into that — because, obviously, it was one of your best defensive games of the year. LM: Honestly, we knew we were going to win. I don't want to give away all the details of winning a football game, but it's a really bad predicament for them because they were so successful that first time. You really can't change what you have, because why would you, it was so successful. So, we had an idea what they were going to do, what was so successful for them in the first game they're going to build off of that. Playing a team twice and beating a team twice is really hard because offensively we got to change our whole identity because we knew what we did didn't work, and they had no clue what to expect. Then defensively, we knew what they were going to throw at us because what they did worked so well, so we knew we were going to see a lot more of that.Â
So in some ways it's easier for the team that got beat the first time because you really know what to expect as opposed to the team that beat you. They don't know what to expect because obviously, you're going to change everything.Â
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Duke linebacker Luke Mergott holds the ball following his ACC Championship Game interception.
 DS: You've simplified it a little bit, like I mentioned. Psychologically, the way the lead got away, and then you guys go into overtime with Virginia having all of the momentum. But you score, settle things down, and then there's the play that won you guys the ACC title. Take us through that play where you got the pick to close the game. LM: We were definitely in bad spirits after they scored to tie it, I'm not going to lie to the world out here. We were up, I think 10 with like five minutes left and subconsciously a little bit of your mind's like, "Alright. I think we're going to win this," and then that happens. It's like it's really defeating for sure. But the offense went out first and executed, and that was just a game changer. Then you got out there on the field for our turn defensively, and Coach Patke was saying "Watch the trick play," and then, obviously, the rest just happened.Â
But it was pretty cool. I didn't even see the quarterback. I told this to people at ACC Media Day. I didn't even see the quarterback. I just saw the ball in the air, and I knew once I saw it, I was going to pick it because it was coming right at me.Â
 DS: The last thing I wanted to ask you about when it comes to that play was the aftermath. It was such a cool scene with the sideline, and then you kind of disappeared into a pile. I've found that when people have moments like that, they all remember it a little bit differently. Is it like freeze frames for you? Do you remember every single second of what happened? Could you see anything? LM: The exact memory that I have is the ball coming in the air, and I was like, "Yeah, I'm going to catch it," and I remember catching it, and then I close my eyes and I look up, and I remember seeing Tre Freeman, and then Chan (Rivers) was on top of me, and that's about all I remember. I was just holding onto the ball because I didn't know they were reviewing it, but either way I was like, "No one's getting the ball out of my hands." Not our team, not their team, because I didn't want any chance to be like, "Oh, we lost it," or any of that. I didn't know they were reviewing it. Someone asked me after the game, "Were you scared at the review?" I was like, "I didn't even know there was a review." So, yeah, I knew I picked it all the way, but I definitely remember seeing the ball, catching it, rolling over, and then I just remember looking up and seeing Tre and I think I saw Patke too, but Trey and Chan for sure.
 DS: It's one of those all-time moments, but I was actually talking with Coach Diaz about this a couple of months ago, about how important that game was to win, yes, to put in the history books and things like that, but kind of the idea of proof of concept. To win an ACC title here, and obviously you guys want to get to the College Football Playoff — so as you get ready for a new season, how much did that kind of increase the appetite in the offseason work to take the next step, whether it be the CFP or what have you, knowing that you can win an ACC title here? I imagine there's some belief that comes from having actually done it. LM: Obviously we're always hungry, but I think it did make other teams hungrier as well. I know we're definitely going to get everyone's best this year. We play at Virginia, so you know they're going to be fired up. But like you said, with proof of concept, as long as we do what we can do, we can win again, and we should. I have supreme confidence that we can do it. I know Coach Diaz has supreme confidence, and it really is just instilling that confidence in our newer guys whether they are younger guys or some of the transfers coming in.
But I feel like once we get out there in the first couple of games we're going to know that we can compete and beat anyone because it's really about setting the tone again this year with it. I know I'm confident that we can go back, and I know that everyone else will be once they start hitting this year and realize how much bigger and stronger we are.
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DS:Â Okay, for you individually, what have been the points of emphasis for your game this offseason? LM:Â I think the biggest thing is just staying consistent, not doing anything crazy. For example, I had one sack last year, but it's not like I need to go out there every day and just work pass rush. It's consistently working that pass rush along with getting stronger and larger because footwork and all that certainly matters. But when you get into the game you have to hit somebody, and adding strength is just as important. There's also a lot of mindset training. Honestly, I think football's 99 percent mental and 1 percent physical.Â
Anyone can really do it, which sounds kind of crazy, but you need to be focused and in the moment. So, it's been a lot of work on that, and then just getting bigger, stronger, faster every day, and then just staying healthy. Obviously, I played a million snaps last year. When you're in it, you're kind of just rolling over, rolling over, then you get that rest period and you realize, "Oh, well, everything actually hurts a lot."Â
So it's definitely just about staying healthy, stretching, moving my body, and not doing too much because it's very easy to be like, "Wow, I did all this last year, so now I need to do more in the offseason to get better." But I think it's really just about compounding interest and keeping consistent habits.
 DS: That makes a ton of sense. The last thing I'll ask you, particularly with Coach Diaz's tenure and your time here, it feels like the culture has been kind of rooted in a player-led culture, and I've heard you talk a couple different times about the young guys. I'm always curious about guys as they get to be a little bit older, what's the realization been like for you when you look around the room and you're one of the leaders, one of the older guys on the team. Is that odd for you? It seems like you're kind of embracing that. LM: A little bit. I think in some way everyone's like a captain, everyone's a leader, whatever you want to say, until game day. When everything's going well, anyone can lead. You just have to stand there and say some words. But I think on game day is where we're really going to see it this year and when it's really going to matter. I think I did a good job of that last year, and our leaders last year did. Once you get smacked in the face, that's when everyone looks to the players and that's why it's a player-led culture, because when you're out there on the field your brothers aren't looking at Coach Diaz because he can't save you. When you're out there and you're getting driven on, people will look at you, and they'll look at me this year.Â
They looked at me a little bit last year, to be honest, and it's definitely just being there and being confident. You actually made a really good point talking about "proof of concept." What we accomplished last year is important, but with this team, we've never played together. I think it starts at game one, where we need to start our own proof of concept. When you're all on the field and invariably stuff does go wrong, you look to each other and say, "Okay, we can do this."Â
They may look at me, they may look at someone else, but we're all looking at each other and we're saying, "Okay, we can do this." Then you buckle down and you make a stop or you make a play. That's where it starts because that's the first proof of concept this year, and you know you can do it again this year. Last year, I was looking at Wes (Williams) and I was looking at VJ (Anthony) and I was looking at Chan (Rivers), and that's where we're getting our proof of concept — it came from them.Â
Now, I'll be looking at DaShawn Stone, Kimari Robinson or Kevin O'Connor, and it's the same thing. Once you get that first stop, then it's proof of concept right there, and that'll be against Tulane. Then you'll just keep stacking those moments together.
 #GoDuke
