Camp Countdown: Kenny Duckett Finds Four-Leaf Clovers in Astroturf
7/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Kenny Duckett was diagnosed with diabetes in the 10th grade and was told by doctors to quit the R.J. Reynolds High School football team. He didn't.
 Kenny Duckett  | |
Duckett broke his ankle at the start of his freshman season with Wake Forest so severely that he was bed-ridden for weeks and couldn't run for five months. He broke the same ankle in preseason during his sophomore year. In the pre-NCAA regulated times of "three-a-day" practices, keeping up with two daily insulin shots was difficult to say the least and it was a constant balancing act for Duckett to keep his body healthy. But he did.
Kenny Duckett was a part of that special 1979 Deacon football team, pairing up with fellow Deacon wide receiver Wayne Baumgardner to snag many of quarterback Jay Venuto's long range passes. In 1980 Duckett caught 12 touchdown passes to set an ACC record. By graduation, Duckett was third on Wake Forest's all-time receiving list with 109 catches for 1,507 yards and 19 touchdowns. He earned Wake's Arnold Palmer Award (Male Athlete of the Year) as well as the ACC's Brian Piccolo Award. In 1981 Duckett was named the Nils V. "Swede" Nelson Sportsmanship National Award winner.
His condition constantly dragged him down, but somehow, Duckett continued to spring back up.
Because of his ability to persevere, Duckett was a natural role model. He worked extensively with the Forsyth Chapter of the American Diabetes Association, particularly finding heart in working with young children. He gave speeches all over the country, inspiring those who had completely lost hope.
The featured article below was written following the 1979 season. Also included are additional pieces that traced Duckett's career at Wake Forest and through his time with the New Orleans Saints, and a final story written shortly after his kidneys failed in 1993. Duckett passed away in 1998 at the age of 38.
What Price Glory? - Winston-Salem News Sentinel, 1980 
Duckett's New Orleans Saints feature in Diabetes Forecast Magazine, November 1982.
High Clover
By John MontagueOriginally published 10/28/1980 in the Winston-Salem Sentinel
A funny thing keeps happening every time Arlene Mackovic does the family wash.
 Duckett switched from running back to wide receiver during his career at Wake Forest. | |
She puzzled over it at first, until she heard the whole story.
It seems that each day as the Wake Forest football players go out on the practice field, one of them continues to amaze teammates and coaches alike with his unique ability at spotting four leaf clovers. Kenny Duckett, a wide receiver with good speed has even faster eyes. He will pick you a half-dozen of the lucky charms before you can count to 10. Unless you're standing in a parking lot.
"Kenny can find `em in Astroturf," brags one of his teammates.
Duckett, who started the custom a couple of years ago, would hand the clovers over to Coach Mackovic, who would put them in his pocket. Eventually they end up in Arlene's washing machine. But in the transition, they brought the Deacons a lot of luck last fall.
This season they seem to be bringing better fortune to their donor.
Last Saturday, against the Virginia Cavaliers, Kenny Duckett caught his seventh touchdown pass of the season - putting him within one catch of tying the all-time ACC record of eight. The record is held jointly by Maryland's Dan Bungori (1971). UNC's Mike Chatham (1979) and Wake Forest's John Zeglinski (1975) and Wayne Baumgardner (1979).
Duckett, a 5-foot-11, 187-pound fourth-year junior, has caught one for a TD in every game except Maryland this fall. With four games to go - starting with Clemson this Saturday in Groves Stadium - Kenny could easily smash the record.
And to think he'd never caught a touchdown pass until this year.
"I'd trade them all for a few more wins," says Duckett, as if were responsible for the Deacons' somewhat disappointing 3-4 record to date.
Although Duckett's most dazzling statistics are coming a year later, the former Reynolds High School star was very much a part of the "Cinderella" magic that swept our town last autumn. He caught 20 passes for 378 yards and returned 19 kicks for 426 yards. But he was overshadowed by fellow receiver Baumgardner, who broke just about every single-season ACC pass-catching record there was in the book.
This year, it's Duckett's turn.
 Duckett asserted several times in interviews that young children with diabetes are the 'real heroes' because of the rigorous medical regimen that was required of them to survive. | |
"No, it's not that at all," says John. "Kenny Duckett has progressed that much. He's stronger. He's worked very hard at catching the ball better. We saw a tremendous improvement in this back in the spring. But, mainly, I think Kenny is more confident in himself. I think perhaps he has felt a little ill-struck in seasons past."
The clovers weren't working for Duckett in 1977, his freshman year. He got his ankle broken returning a kick against N.C. State in the third game. It put him out the rest of the season, but he was granted a fifth year of eligibility because of his misfortune.
"I was going to be a running back when I came here," says Duckett, who rushed for over 900 yards and scored 20 touchdowns his senior year at Reynolds (1976). "But there were so many big guys at running back ... and I couldn't gain any weight. Being injured also put me behind. It was sort of a combination of all these things, the reason I ended up as a wide receiver."
Duckett's weight problem (he was only 175 pounds when Chuck Mills recruited him in 1976) is traced to his being a diabetic. His injury problem was just bad luck. In August, 1978, prior to his second Wake season, he had the same ankle broken again (though not severely). "It was a freak thing," he recalls. "I was blocking and a guy fell on the ankle from behind."
Again, Duckett's progress was slowed. At various times he also had: (1) a reaction to a bee sting, (2) fainting spells, caused by his diabetes and early-season heat, (3) the assorted bumps and bruises which slow most players, and (4) the initial disappointment of being switched to wide receiver. But Kenny Duckett has stuck it out.
"I learned a lot last year about being a receiver," says Kenny.
"At times, I guess, I wondered if they weren't throwing to me when I was open and why. But that's natural. Jay (Venuto) and Wayne were winning games for us. We all shared in that.
"But I set my mind on having a much better year this year."
He also was determined he was going to catch one in the end zone. The memory of the TD he had dropped against Auburn kept haunting him, even though he had caught a 56-yarder on the next play which set up a score.
All summer long, Duckett caught passes thrown by David Webber and Gary Schofield, Deacon quarterbacks who were in summer school. "I also worked against Alan Caldwell (former East Forsyth and UNC star, now a defensive back with the New York Giants) whenever we could get together. He taught me a lot of tricks. I figured if I could catch them against Alan, I could catch them against anybody."
And he has.
Day 30: Wake Forest Football, 1889
Day 29: Assistant Coach Beattie Feathers
Day 28: Wake Forest in Japan, 1974
Day 25: Deacon History 101
Day 24: 'M' Non-Lettermen
Day 23: WF Stuns Undefeated Vols
Day 22: Larry Tearry's Poetry
Day 21: Bill Barnes Just Walked In
Day 18: John Mackovic, A Barberton Boy
Day 17: The Jay Venuto Movie