Wake Forest Athletics
Five Deacons at NFL Combine 2009
2/19/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Feb. 19, 2009
Wake Forest University will have five players taking part in the NFL Scouting Combine going on at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis this weekend. Wake's invited players include linebackers Aaron Curry and Stanley Arnoux, cornerback Alphonso Smith, safety Chip Vaughn and punter/placekicker Sam Swank.
The NFL Scouting Combine is an invitation-only event for college football players to work out in front of scouts and coaches before the NFL draft.
Smith, a consensus All-American in 2008, finished his college career with an ACC record 21 interceptions, including a team-high seven last year. Smith holds several school records, including 61 career passes defended and four career interception returns for touchdowns. He earned first team All-ACC honors his junior and senior year, and is second in Wake Forest history with 249 career interception return yards.
Arnoux started all 13 games for the Deacons at middle linebacker this season and finished with a career-high 89 total tackles. Arnoux finished his career at Wake Forest with 251 tackles and four interceptions. He is one of only four Deacons to be a three-time bowl game starter, including starting in the EagleBank Bowl in December where he collected seven tackles and a forced fumble.
Curry led Wake Forest this year with 105 total tackles including 66 solo stops in 2008. Curry was the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Butkus Award in 2008, given to the nation's best linebacker. He was a first team All-American by Pro Football Weekly, second team All-American by Rivals.com, and was named first team All-ACC. Curry finished his career with 332 career tackles and a school-record 278 career interception return yards.
Vaughn, a free safety for the Deacons, started each of the last twelve games in the 2008 season. He had two interceptions on the season, one coming at Florida State and one at home against Vanderbilt. Vaughn finished with a career total of 258 tackles. He finished third on the team with 87 tackles last season, including a season-high 13 against Duke. He also finished 16th in the ACC in tackles per game with 6.7 and is 10th in Wake Forest history with 25 passes defended.
Swank, the only non-defensive player among the invited Deacons, finished his career as Wake Forest's all-time leading scorer with 337 points and 16th in NCAA history with 71 career field goals made. As a punter and placekicker, he entered his senior season as the nation's active career leader with 60 field goals. He holds the Wake Forest records for career PATs made (124) and attempted (125), and field goals made (71) and attempted ( 93). Although his senior season was shortened due to a strained quad, Swank still finished his career second all-time in ACC history for career field goals and third in career scoring.
The NFL Scouting Combine will continue until next Tuesday, February 24th. It includes physical examinations, interviews, tests, and various workouts. Coverage can be seen on NFL Network.
This year's NFL draft starts on Saturday, April 25th, in New York City.
