Wake Forest Athletics
Game Program Feature: This Bud's For WFU
11/7/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 7, 2011
This article was originally published in the Nov. 5 edition of Kickoff, the official gameday magazine of Wake Forest football.
By Brendan Bergen
Nobody ever told Merrill "Bud" Noel that you're supposed to wait your turn. Even growing up in Florida's Pop Warner leagues, where the age limit is eight, Noel was lacing his spikes up at seven - his mom knew the coach. And from Pee Wee all the way to the ACC, he's been regularly ahead of schedule.
"The coach let me join the team with the older guys," Noel said. "And I just kept playing from there because I love the sport. I always played with the older guys, too, so I feel like I can play with anybody."
Bud has proven that and more already this season and, let there be no doubt, he would like to be called Bud. Growing up he was bestowed with plenty of nicknames like Lil' Rill, Bubba, Antonio (his middle name) and others. Finally one day his grandmother, Gayle, suggested "Bud."
"It just stuck," Noel said, explaining that his mother nixed the first few monikers. "She really didn't like Bubba."
After a standout high school career as a part of a Pahokee High School dynasty that captured three straight Florida State Championships, Noel chose to attend Wake Forest over offers from seemingly every major BCS program. In fact, he opted to join the Deacons even after initially committing to his home state Seminoles.
"The coaches at Wake really put their arms around me," Noel said. "It was just a change of heart, because of the love that the coaching staff showed me. And I wanted to play against the best. We're a smaller school and we`re playing great contenders every week. That just made my choice even easier, to come here and show I can play with anyone."
After taking the field at a high school littered with division one talent, as well as notable NFL alumni such as Anquan Boldin, Fred Taylor, and Wake Forest's own Alphonso Smith, his pedigree alone would seem to suggest he'd be able to get acclimated fairly quickly.
"It's just everyone is so competitive when you're in Florida," Noel said. "All you will find is speed, speed, speed. You have to up your game, because they're going to talk trash all game. You just got to put your big boy pads on when you're in Florida and bring your `A' game every Friday."
Now in his second year with the Demon Deacons, he's stuffed away his redshirt and instantaneously arrived into a spotlight role within the secondary. Noel has been a lockdown corner so far, racking up a total of 15 passes defended and adding an interception. That adds up to 16 passes defended, which is tops in the entire NCAA - and three more than his nearest challenger. But Noel wouldn't know it unless you made sure to tell him.
"It surprised me because I'm not a big stat guy," Noel said of his early season numbers. "After the game, I don't really look at stats or anything like that. People come to me and tell me the kind of stats that I have and I'm as shocked as they are. It always surprises me every time I hear something new."
Noel has broken up a pass in each of his last six games and has knocked away three in each of the last four games. His 15 pass deflections already tie him with Eric King (2003) for the third-most in a single season in Wake Forest history.
All the stats haven't gone unnoticed. Sports Illustrated rated the 5-foot-9 defensive whirling dervish as a mid-season second team All-American. But he wouldn't have known it if Kevin Johnson, a fellow Wake Forest cornerback, hadn't dialed him up elated to inform him of the honor.
"He was all out of breath and stuff, and I'm just telling him to calm down," Noel said. "But it's just exciting to know that my teammates are happy for me and I feel blessed to be a part of this team. I just want to be the best teammate that my teammates have ever had in their life. And be someone that they can depend even after football. That's the main thing."
The highs that have accompanied this year's fast start, however, were equaled by some of last year's low points. The Deacons struggled to a 3-9 record in 2010 and Noel was itching to get off the bench and contribute as a true freshman.
"As a freshman coming in, we all wanted to play on the big stage," Noel said, admitting he arrived on campus expecting to jump into the lineup right away. "At the time, I felt like I could play but at the same time I'm glad I got redshirted because it gave me a opportunity to learn the speed of the game and also get smarter."
At Wake Forest, freshmen are traditionally given a year of extra time to adjust to the rigors of college football. Noel was no exception, and head coach Jim Grobe could tell it took a toll on the young corner.
"Last year was a tough year for us with him because he was not happy," said Grobe. "He was in the tank all fall because he wouldn't be out there playing. And you find very few players that when they're freshmen -- true freshmen or redshirt freshmen -- that are as aggressive and looking forward to Saturday as much as this guy is. Turns out that year of apprenticeship might have made all the difference.
"Most of the rookies that are out there are apprehensive, afraid to make a mistake," said Grobe. "He's got that attitude that he just likes to play. He's going to go play full speed. He's kind of that `damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead' mentality, but that's the mentality he's got, and it's refreshing to see that in a young player."
That fearlessness was on display in Wake Forest's 35-30 victory over Florida State on October 8, a game that meant a little bit more to Noel and the other 29 Florida natives on the Deacons' roster. Not only did Noel get his first career interception in the victory, picking off FSU's E.J. Manuel in the third quarter, but he also led the team with eight tackles. And he did so with scores of family members in attendance.
"It's always exciting for me," said Noel, who is taking pleasure in seeing how he stacks up against some of the nation's top receivers this season. "I'm like a kid in a candy store. Every week being able to play against high profile players, it's a blessing because that's what I came here for - to play against the best and prove to myself that I belong here."
On signing day in 2010, current co-defensive coordinator Tim Billings referred to him as an, "Alphonso Smith clone," and it's a comparison he's not likely to shirk. They share a hometown, play the same position and are even built similarly. Noel remembers being in middle school, watching Smith make plays on the field and later trying to emulate the current Detroit Lion.
Nevertheless, while flattered by the comparisons, Noel is clearly focused on making a name for himself and his teammates this fall.
"No one wants to be compared to the 2006 team all the time," Noel said. "And we don't want to sit at home watching anybody else play in a bowl this year." The Deacons were picked to finish last in the ACC this season, but are currently riding a wave of success into a late season stretch which could find the team bowl eligible - and in a position to win the Atlantic Division - well earlier than the prognosticators expected.
That would only make sense with Noel patrolling the secondary. He's never been one to wait around.
