1st and Ten – Winston Salem’s version
of Thunder and Lightning – Perhaps the most underrated back in
college football was Wake Forest’s three time thousand yard rusher Chris
Barclay. After a magnificent career as the leader of the Wake Forest
offense, Barclay is out of eligibility, and the Demon Deacon running
game is going to look a lot like the model the Men of Troy put on the
field out in LA the last three years. With LenDale White and Reggie
Bush, the Trojans had Thunder and Lightning. At Wake, the Deacs have
DeAngelo Bryant and Micah Andrews. Now, these two have a long way to go
to truly emulate the former USC duo, but the similarities are
interesting to note. Andrews is the son of former Atlanta Falcon star
running back William Andrews and has future star written all over him.
The 215 pounder is a solid blend of speed, quickness and vision, and
should be the feature back as Bush was last season. But, after you’ve
chased Andrews all over the yard in the first quarter, ‘Thunder’ Bryant
(okay, so he’s really nicknamed the Bus, but the Taxi and the Bus don’t
work as well together) comes into the game. The 245 pounder is the
bruising back who is so different from Andrews or even Barclay that
he’ll present a dichotomous, shall we say, ‘situation’ for ACC
defenses. Considering how difficult it already is to stop Wake’s
‘multiple’ offensive scheme, things just got a little tougher for
defensive coordinators from Boston to Miami.
2nd and Seven – An Introduction is in
order – There aren’t many football fans, casual or passionate, who
know the name Jon Abbate. The two year starter at linebacker has led
the Deacs in tackles for the past two years (a total of 177 tackles for
his first two years) and if he can stay healthy, he should be atop the
tackle charts throughout this season for the Deacs. At a rock hard 245
pounds, Abbate is a throwback who loves to put a hat on, and through,
ACC ball carriers. It’s alright if you didn’t know who he was, just
remember you heard his name here first.
3rd and Three – The Foundation –
As an offensive coordinator, especially one who doubles as the offensive
line coach, Steed Lobotzke must sleep awfully well at night, knowing how
‘stocked’ his OL cupboard is for 2006. Four starters return, including
All-ACC candidate tackle Steve Vallos, which would make any coach happy,
but there are six talented redshirt freshman who’ll push for playing
time. In Lobotzke’s offense, the OL ‘synergy’ is paramount to its
success and with this offensive line, the Deacs have their Foundation in
place.
4th and
One – Final Four – Although most Wake fans would like to see the
words ‘Final Four’ next to the words ‘basketball team’, the Final Four
spoken of here is the Wake secondary, a group that, like the offensive
line, is bolstered by its experience. Safety Josh Gattis is one of the
best safeties in the nation and should vie for first team All-ACC honors
at safety along with Miami’s Brandon Meriweather, among others. He’s a
playmaking hitter who’ll knock you into next week or turn a fumble into
six points. Alphonso Smith, at one corner position, got better nearly
every week and will be an even better corner this year…and he was a
first team freshman All-American last season (trust me, you come from
Pahokee, FL, you can play). Patrick Ghee mans the other safety
position, a guy who was third on the team in tackles with 65. Riley
Swanson and/or Kevin Patterson will hold down the other corner and both
of them had plenty of playing time last season. It’s like 1962 all over
again with this final four.