Duke starting QB 2024: Will Maalik Murphy start for Manny Diaz in Week 1?

Duke football coach Manny Diaz is entering his second year with the team in the 2024 season. However, until Monday night, there was still some uncertainty about the Blue Devils' starting quarterback for Week 1 of the upcoming season.

On Monday, it was confirmed that Maalik Murphy had won the starting quarterback role at Duke ahead of Grayson Loftis and Henry Belin. Murphy is expected to lead the Blue Devils' offense against Elon on Aug. 30.

"Maalik has earned the opportunity to be our starting quarterback with his preparation, work ethic and productivity," Duke coach Diaz said in announcing the decision. "I'm really excited for him because of his investment into this team and this program."

Murphy transferred to Duke in December 2023. He previously spent two years at Texas.

During the 2023 season, Murphy served as the backup to Quinn Ewers. He made seven appearances and started in two games, against BYU and Kansas State, and won both. Murphy threw for 477 yards and three touchdowns on 40 passes in his final season with the Longhorns.

Maalik Murphy aims for "fresh start" under Duke coach Manny Diaz

Duke football coach Manny Diaz (Source: Imagn)

Maalik Murphy opened up on his desire to try a new challenge, which made him transfer to Duke. He spoke during the ACC Kickoff last month wanting to compete for a starting role at a team.

"This is my third year in college, so if I'm going to compete, I want to compete with a new place," Murphy said. "Quinn coming back makes it pretty tough on me just because it was his job to lose, and I didn't really want to deal with a situation like that again. I wanted a fresh start, and I feel like this is a great place to have a fresh start."

It will be interesting to see how Murphy fares under Coach Diaz at Duke in the 2024 season.

Diaz got his first head coaching job at Miami in 2019. He spent three years with the team and left with a 21-15 record. Diaz then worked as a defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Penn State for two years before joining the Blue Devils.