Duke's Derrick Tangelo Wants to Be a Disrupter

Duke defensive tackle Derrick Tangelo had a big game last week in the win at Syracuse, recording a sack and three tackles for loss.

“Being a disrupter is part of the game,” Tangelo said. “We work on it every day, day-in and day-out. Coach always says you never know when plays are going to come, but when they come you’ve got to be ready to make them. So I just really focus in practice on the game plan and executing and making plays.”

Duke earned its first win of the season and would like to continue to momentum. Finishing plays has been the rallying cry on both sides of the ball.

“It’s a team thing,” Tangelo said. “We’re really preaching just finishing. Finish blocks. Finish tackles. Finish your assignments. We don’t want to leave anything up to chance.”

This week, Tangelo and the Blue Devils defense will need to try to shut down a balanced NC State offense.

“They’re a very good offense,” he said. “Very talented. They do a lot of things to try to get you out into space. One thing we’ve got to do is just do what we do. Be physical. Run to the ball. Follow fundamentals. Believe in the game plan. That’ll take us a long way.”

This will be the first time since 2013 that the two schools, located 20 miles apart and in the same conference, have met.

“I’ve never played NC State my whole career here,” Tangelo said. “I’ve always heard they were good. Being in state, you always want to compete against the best. It’s a great opportunity to compete against another great school in North Carolina and show everybody what you have to prove.”

Duke will look to upset the Wolfpack and run its winning streak to two games.

“Coach always says nobody is predetermined to win a game,” Tangelo said. “We both show up. Somebody wins. Somebody loses. You always want to compete every week just being able to get over that hump, finally play four quarters and come out with a win.”