Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest Ranked 17th in Lindy's Preseason Poll
6/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
June 20, 2008
Lindy's Sports Annals has ranked the Wake Forest football team No. 17 in its 2008 preseason national poll.
The magazine, which hit newsstands this month, also projects the Demon Deacons to finish second overall in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Three Wake Forest players were included in All-America lists, including CB Alphonso Smith (First Team Defense), OLB Aaron Curry (Second Team Defense) and K Sam Swank (Second Team Offense).
Below is an excerpt from Lindy's Preseason Top 25 Poll.
"The bulk of a team that won 20 games in the past two years is back. Wake's players from [Riley] Skinner to Swank, RB Josh Adams and LB Aaron Curry, are simply better than most others in the ACC."
In its list of the top 25 quarterbacks in the country, Lindy's ranks Skinner 17th, citing the junior has completed 69.5 percent of his passes in his two years under center for the Deacs.
In its list of the top 25 running backs in the nation, Lindy's ranks Adams 14th, citing his breakout freshman season in which Adams ran for 953 yards and 11 touchdowns to be named the ACC's Rookie of the Year.
Curry was ranked the No. 2 outside linebacker in the country. Under his ranking Lindy's writes: "Amazing: Returned INTs for scores of 57, 77 and 84 yards in 2007."
Although Lindy's does not include Wake Forest's secondary as one of its top 10 in the country, the publication ranks Smith as the No. 2 cornerback and S Chip Vaughn as the No. 10 safety in the nation. Smith is the NCAA returning leader in career interceptions with 14 and interceptions returned for a touchdown with four. Vaughn is the returning leading tackler of the highly-touted Wake Forest defense as the senior racked-up 105 in 2007.
In its list of top kickers, Lindy's ranks Swank second, pointing to his 60 career field goals and his "amazing nine of 12 from 50-plus yards."
The Demon Deacons backfield is the sixth-best in the nation and the linebacker corps is the fifth-best, according to Lindy's.
In its list of "Top 12 Conference Games Across the Country," Lindy's points to the Oct. 9 matchup, Clemson at Wake Forest, as its 12th most impactful game of the season. Lindy's writes: "A Thursday night matchup between top ACC contenders." Lindy's also projects six Demon Deacons will be All-ACC for 2008. They include Adams (First Team Offense), Swank (First Team Offense), Curry (First Team Defense), Smith (First Team Defense), Vaughn (First Team Defense) and Skinner (Second Team Offense).
The Deacs begin their season in a game at Baylor that has been rescheduled. The matchup, originally scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 30, will take place on Thursday, Aug. 28 at 8 p.m. eastern time. The Wake Forest-Baylor game will be carried nationally by Fox Sports Network.
-WakeForestSports.com-
