Wake Forest Football Ranked by SI
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
August 28, 1998
WINSTON-SALEM, NC - -- If reporters on the ACC Football Tour expected Wake Forest to be a little sheepish about gaining some national recognition they came to the wrong place. Wake Forest was 5-6 last season and has had one winning season in the last nine years, but that didn't stop Sports Illustrated from ranking the Demon Deacons No. 22 in its preseason poll.
A shocker to some, but not for the Demon Deacons.
"The players around here know how good we are," senior wide receiver Desmond Clark said Wednesday. "I think it's accurate if you ask me. I'm not going to say we don't deserve to be up that high and try to down play it. We deserve it. We are going to prove it."
"We've got some tremendous players on our team this year," added quarterback Brian Kuklick. "People are starting to see that. I understand we haven't had great records the last couple of years but people can see the direction we're going. That's why we're getting some recognition."
Clark said he once doubted whether the Demon Deacons would gain national notoriety in football during his career.
"To be truthful, initially, I did," he said. "As my time here continued I learned coach (Jim) Caldwell's philosophy and got the same vision that he has. Ultimately, I started to see the progression that we were making.
"This is legitimate talk. It wouldn't be outlandish to say we can win the ACC championship this year. We have talent and depth across the board."
Wake Forest was picked to finish sixth in the Atlantic Coast Conference last month by media members who cover the league. Some still doubt whether the Demon Deacons can beat such traditional football schools such as Clemson and Georgia Tech on the road this season -- wins that most likely will be needed to gain a top 25 final ranking.
"Very few people really believe we can develop a championship team here," Caldwell said. "But it can be done -- and done consistently.
"We have to crawl before we can run," he added. "Our No. 1 goal is to have a winning season. Our second goal is to be in a position for bowl consideration. Our next phase is to win an ACC championship and then a national championship."
A low whisper could be heard among reporters when Caldwell mentioned future national championship aspirations for a program that has had five winning seasons since 1971.
"I have to stay focused on what we think we can get accomplished and not what other people think we can get accomplished," Caldwell said.
Caldwell also doesn't hide the fact that this year's team, with star players like Kuklick and Clark, is his best unit so far in his sixth year in Winston-Salem.
"There is some anticipation that we could be a better football team and that's indeed true," he said. "We are still striving to measure up to the standards that we set for ourselves.
"You (the media) have your own ideas of who you think we are and what you think we're all about, but I have my own ideas of what we can do with this program and its development. We are not even close to arriving yet. We have not reached the pinnacle."