BDB Top 10 Questions with Josh Cox of the Section 17 Podcast
As stated in the first article in this series..
With it being the offseason and things being somewhat slow in the sports world for college basketball and football, I decided to do a new series of short articles focusing on people who help spread our love of Duke Basketball and Duke Football. These people may be former players, people working behind the scenes for Duke sports, people in the media, podcasters, developers of sports message boards, as well as other creative content creators. One thing they all will have in common is their love for Duke sports.
My second guest is Josh Cox from the Section 17 Podcast, a friend I have known through social media for a couple years. I was able to finally meet Josh at the Duke Football Blue and White game this past April. We talked about our excitement for the Elko era.
Josh is one of the hosts for the Section 17 podcast. The Section 17 podcast is a must listen for Duke fans to get the latest information on Duke Football as well as in-depth analysis on players, games, etc..
With that said, let’s get down to talking with Josh. Below is Blue Devils Blog Top 10 Questions with Josh of the Section 17 podcast.
BDB - Tell us about the Section 17 podcast. What year was it formed? How did you all come up with the idea for it?
Josh - Back in 2017, the four of us decided to get Duke Football season tickets together. We had all been regular attendees at games for 20+ years, but we had never done the season ticket thing. That led to us creating a Twitter account (@DukeFBTalk) so that we could better interact with Duke Football fans, players, media, etc. Randomly in conversation, I brought up the idea of starting a podcast, and the guys were all in. So in April of 2020, we recorded our first episode.
BDB - How long have you been a fan of Duke Football or Duke sports?
Josh - I grew up here in Durham, and I’ve been a Duke sports fan my entire life. My dad made sure of it. I was primarily a Duke basketball guy just due to the success it was having compared to the football program. But the hiring of David Cutcliffe took my football fanhood to another level…especially that special 2013 season. I can confidently say that I am more emotionally connected to Duke Football than I am any other sport at Duke including basketball.
BDB - Who would be your all time top 5 Duke Football players?
Josh - That’s a tough question. I’m going to take this as my “favorite” players, and not the “best” players.
Jamison Crowder
Thad Lewis
Corey Thomas (look him up)
DeVon Edwards
Daniel Jones
BDB - What is your top 3 Duke Football moments or games?
1. Jamison Crowder’s catch against UNC to send us bowling in 2012.
2. Pinstripe Bowl win over Indiana for Duke’s first bowl win since 1961. (The kick was no good…I think…right?)
3. Chick-fil-A Bowl loss to Texas A&M in 2013. (Even in a loss, that put our program on the map. It resulted in a few years of ripe recruiting in the state of Georgia as well.)
BDB - Who else is co-hosts on the Section 17 podcast?
Josh - I’ve got three great guys who run this thing with me. Brian Kennedy is our details guy. He has schedules memorized for years to come, is passionate about uniform combos, and he puts together our Tale of the Tape each week. Jamie Holt is our hot takes guy. If there’s ever anything that needs to be said, Jamie will say it. Also, anything controversial you see from our Twitter account is probably him (he once riled up the entire Tennessee football fan base in one tweet). And then there’s Scott Medlin, or the Big Dog. Scott knows everything about everyone. He is a life-long Duke fan and has a crazy way of remembering facts that everyone else has forgotten.
BDB - Can you give us a quick rundown of how an episode of the Section 17 podcast goes?
Josh - During the football season, we release weekly episodes (obviously we are more sporadic in the offseason). But a typical episode includes our reaction to the previous game (and we keep it real), a preview of our opponent complete with an interview with their play by play announcer, the Tale of the Tape where we highlight our history against our opponent as well as some little-known facts about them, and then a pick-em segment where we predict the score as well as the uniform combination (shoutout to Duke Football Equipment on Twitter). Episodes are usually an hour long, give or take. We hope to have a “player correspondent” this year, so you may get 5-7 minutes on an episode hearing directly from one of the team captains.
BDB - Which players are you most excited about watching on the 2022 - 2023 Duke Football team?
Josh - I’m really excited to see senior starting WR Jalen Calhoun. I feel like he is poised for a career year under new Offensive Coordinator, Kevin Johns. Staying in the same room, I’m looking forward to seeing a second WR take a big leap. Let’s go ahead and name Eli Pancol and/or Darrell Harding Jr. One or both of those guys are going to have a special season. On the defensive side of the ball, I’m most looking forward to seeing our captain, DeWayne Carter continue to make plays from the interior defensive line. He gives maximum effort, and I think he will benefit greatly from defensive-minded Mike Elko.
BDB - What are your expectations for Duke Football in the first season under coach Mike Elko? Possible bowl game?
Josh - I would encourage all Duke fans to be patient with the new staff. Duke lost 11…that’s ELEVEN…members of its secondary from last season. There was some turnover on the roster, as you would expect when you go through a coaching change. There is also a really big question mark at QB. Those will all work against us to a certain degree. But the energy level is at an all-time high. I do not know if I would put us at 6 wins and going bowling, but I’ll say we wind up with 5 wins.
BDB - Give us your thoughts on the recent run from coach Mike Elko on the recruiting trail?
Josh - It has been incredible! I have seen us ranked as high at 17th nationally for 2023 at one point. We know that there are many pieces that will fall into place before these guys actually show up on campus (at Duke or elsewhere), but it is encouraging to see the coaching staff sign these guys in the summer. That hasn’t been when Duke has traditionally made its push. I love the young, energetic recruiting staff Elko has put together as well. Derek Miller seems to be the right guy in the right position, that’s for sure.
BDB - Looking at the 2022 - 2023 schedule, what games are you most looking forward to?
Josh - I’m circling the October 1 matchup at home vs Virginia. Both schools feature brand-new coaching staffs with Tony Elliott taking over in Charlottesville. Elliott was rumored to be a top target of Nina King and Duke as well. This could be a really fun matchup.
I’m also keeping my eye on the Georgia Tech game in Atlanta the following week. If we see success in the non-conference schedule, this could be an important game that could propel us into bowl game contention.
BDB - Last but not least, where can a friend or fan of the podcast come say hello to you all on game days?
Josh - We sit on the top row of Section 17 every home game. We plan to tailgate in the B5 Lot this season with our friends the Hard Hat Guys. So come see us and hang out. Last year, our crew in Section 17 grew larger and larger as the season went on. You never know who might show up with us. Nina King (listen to our interview with her here) is definitely a friend of the pod.
Blue Devils Blog would like to thank Josh for being a guest on our series of BDB Top 10 Questions. We hope to see all Duke Football fans out at Wallace Wade Stadium Friday September 2nd to welcome in the Elko era as Duke plays Temple at 7:30.
Be sure to join in on the fun and check out the Section 17 podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com › podcast › duke-fb-talks-sec… or just search “Section 17 Podcast” wherever you listen!
As well as follow the Section 17 podcast (Duke Football Talk) on Twitter @DukeFBTalk and Josh at @joshuacox
