Duke

ACC Now podcast: Mike Elko and DE RJ Oben on first offseason of new Duke football era

Duke head coach Mike Elko instructs his team during the Blue Devils’ first practice of fall camp in Durham. N.C. Tuesday, August 2, 2022.
Duke head coach Mike Elko instructs his team during the Blue Devils’ first practice of fall camp in Durham. N.C. Tuesday, August 2, 2022. ehyman@newsobserver.com

As his first season as Duke’s football coach begins, Mike Elko joins the N&O’s Steve Wiseman and Luke DeCock to discuss his first few months on the job and his thoughts on making the Blue Devils relevant in the ACC again. Later, Duke defensive end RJ Oben joins Wiseman and shares stories about rubbing shoulders with top NFL players at Super Bowls and major events with his father, NFL vice president Roman Oben.

You can also listen to this episode of the ACC Now podcast, and others, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, TuneIn and Stitcher.

More on Duke football

Steve Wiseman
The News & Observer
Steve Wiseman was named Raleigh News & Observer and Durham Herald-Sun sports editor in May 2025. He covered Duke athletics, beginning in 2010, prior to his current assignment. In the Associated Press Sports Editors national contest, he placed in the top 10 in beat writing in 2019, 2021 and 2022, breaking news in 2019, event coverage in 2025 and explanatory writing in 2018. Before coming to Durham in 2010, Steve worked for The State (Columbia, SC), Herald-Journal (Spartanburg, S.C.), The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.), Charlotte Observer and Hickory (NC) Daily Record covering beats including the NFL’s Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints, University of South Carolina athletics and the S.C. General Assembly. He’s won numerous state-level press association awards. Steve graduated from Illinois State University in 1989. 
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