Exciting Moments, Lifelong Memories: Mike Elkins Hall of Fame Career at Wake Forest
12/14/2021 12:00:00 PM | Football, General
Mike Elkins will be inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame this spring.
Mike Elkins was lightly recruited out of high school as he did not start playing seriously until his sophomore year of high school in Greensboro. Wake Forest coach Al Groh saw the budding-talent in Elkins and recruited him to Winston-Salem from nearby Grimsley High School.
"I wasn't highly recruited," Elkins recalls. "Boston College had interest, but Wake Forest recruited me hard. For me, I really could not decide between baseball and football. You take what's in front of you in the fall, and Wake Forest at the time was throwing the ball.
"It was not a great program at the time, but was good for the quarterback, and it was 30 minutes away from my hometown."
Elkins left Wake Forest as the program leader in total offense (7,170 yards), passing yards (7,304), and he sat second in completions (609) and touchdown passes (43).
He was recognized as the Arnold Palmer Award recipient following his senior year, and now Elkins is a 2021-22 inductee in the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame.
"It's such an honor," Elkins said. "It was really unexpected. For this to come up now is just unexpected. It's hard to put into words what it means to be in a Hall of Fame that includes such great names. It's a bigger feeling than I anticipated. Words don't do it justice. It's very moving."
Elkins grew up the youngest of six children — with five boys in the mix. His brother, Rod, was a starting quarterback for North Carolina before a career-ending knee injury. His father, Jack, was a catcher in the Brooklyn Dodgers minor league organization and played professionally for a decade climbing as high as Triple A.
"Being the youngest, for some reason I was a late bloomer," Mike said. "I was a little bit in the shadows. Nobody really had expectations of me. I came into football late."
Once Elkins returned to the gridiron, he played on the junior varsity (JV) as a sophomore at Grimsley, then split time between varsity and JV as a junior. Despite limited competition, Elkins caught Groh's attention.
"He saw something in me that nobody else saw," Elkins said. "I just appreciated that and figured it would be a good place for me. Little did I know when I got there that there were four other quarterbacks in my recruiting class.
"There were a lot of us on day one, but it got sorted out pretty quickly. You could tell who was going to stick and who was not."
Without much in-game experience, there was a lot for Elkins to learn about playing football at an elite level. He redshirted as a freshman in 1984, but that certainly did not prevent him from better learning the game of football.
"One of my fondest memories were Sunday mornings after games, walking down from the dorms to the old gym where the old offices were," Elkins said. "Coach Groh would run the game tape from the previous day. We would sit around and watch the film and learn. It was like going to school for me. It was incredible to learn the X's and O's because it was so new to me."
For better or worse, Elkins had the opportunity to learn from a wide variety of perspectives, having four different quarterback coaches during his five years on campus.
"I did not really know much coming out of high school," he said. "It's different today. Pete Watson and Al Groh taught me how to play football. Al's mantra was to take what the defense gives you. We did a lot at the line of scrimmage."
Late in the 1985 season, starting quarterback Foy White went down with an injury. The next week, the backup was lost, leaving Elkins to start the final four games of the season, including a 27-7 home victory over Duke.
"I played well enough to get some consideration," Elkins said. "And then 1986 was a big season. We ran up some big numbers. We lost several games by a field goal, so the results were not great. We very easily could have been 8-3 that season."
Instead, the Demon Deacons finished 5-6 overall and the Al Groh era came to an end, with former UNC coach Bill Dooley being hired as his replacement.
Some of the greatest moments for Elkins were playing on the road against football powerhouses like Tennessee and Michigan, defeating UNC and meeting Arnold Palmer. The Deacs defeated the Tar Heels 42-24 in his senior season.
"Singing the fight song in the locker room after wins — those were incredibly emotional and memorable moments. And we had more of them than most. Those are the things I remember."
Elkins still ranks in the top-10 in 17 Wake Forest offensive categories.
"The things that last are your friendships, the relationships and your teammates," Elkins said. "Those are the things that stand the test of time. All these years later to revisit all this and have a reason to walk down memory lane again has been a lot of fun. I just keep shaking my head. It's hard to believe. "
"I wasn't highly recruited," Elkins recalls. "Boston College had interest, but Wake Forest recruited me hard. For me, I really could not decide between baseball and football. You take what's in front of you in the fall, and Wake Forest at the time was throwing the ball.
"It was not a great program at the time, but was good for the quarterback, and it was 30 minutes away from my hometown."
Elkins left Wake Forest as the program leader in total offense (7,170 yards), passing yards (7,304), and he sat second in completions (609) and touchdown passes (43).
He was recognized as the Arnold Palmer Award recipient following his senior year, and now Elkins is a 2021-22 inductee in the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame.
"It's such an honor," Elkins said. "It was really unexpected. For this to come up now is just unexpected. It's hard to put into words what it means to be in a Hall of Fame that includes such great names. It's a bigger feeling than I anticipated. Words don't do it justice. It's very moving."
Elkins grew up the youngest of six children — with five boys in the mix. His brother, Rod, was a starting quarterback for North Carolina before a career-ending knee injury. His father, Jack, was a catcher in the Brooklyn Dodgers minor league organization and played professionally for a decade climbing as high as Triple A.
"Being the youngest, for some reason I was a late bloomer," Mike said. "I was a little bit in the shadows. Nobody really had expectations of me. I came into football late."
Once Elkins returned to the gridiron, he played on the junior varsity (JV) as a sophomore at Grimsley, then split time between varsity and JV as a junior. Despite limited competition, Elkins caught Groh's attention.
"He saw something in me that nobody else saw," Elkins said. "I just appreciated that and figured it would be a good place for me. Little did I know when I got there that there were four other quarterbacks in my recruiting class.
"There were a lot of us on day one, but it got sorted out pretty quickly. You could tell who was going to stick and who was not."
Without much in-game experience, there was a lot for Elkins to learn about playing football at an elite level. He redshirted as a freshman in 1984, but that certainly did not prevent him from better learning the game of football.
"One of my fondest memories were Sunday mornings after games, walking down from the dorms to the old gym where the old offices were," Elkins said. "Coach Groh would run the game tape from the previous day. We would sit around and watch the film and learn. It was like going to school for me. It was incredible to learn the X's and O's because it was so new to me."
For better or worse, Elkins had the opportunity to learn from a wide variety of perspectives, having four different quarterback coaches during his five years on campus.
"I did not really know much coming out of high school," he said. "It's different today. Pete Watson and Al Groh taught me how to play football. Al's mantra was to take what the defense gives you. We did a lot at the line of scrimmage."
Late in the 1985 season, starting quarterback Foy White went down with an injury. The next week, the backup was lost, leaving Elkins to start the final four games of the season, including a 27-7 home victory over Duke.
"I played well enough to get some consideration," Elkins said. "And then 1986 was a big season. We ran up some big numbers. We lost several games by a field goal, so the results were not great. We very easily could have been 8-3 that season."
Instead, the Demon Deacons finished 5-6 overall and the Al Groh era came to an end, with former UNC coach Bill Dooley being hired as his replacement.
Some of the greatest moments for Elkins were playing on the road against football powerhouses like Tennessee and Michigan, defeating UNC and meeting Arnold Palmer. The Deacs defeated the Tar Heels 42-24 in his senior season.
"Singing the fight song in the locker room after wins — those were incredibly emotional and memorable moments. And we had more of them than most. Those are the things I remember."
Elkins still ranks in the top-10 in 17 Wake Forest offensive categories.
"The things that last are your friendships, the relationships and your teammates," Elkins said. "Those are the things that stand the test of time. All these years later to revisit all this and have a reason to walk down memory lane again has been a lot of fun. I just keep shaking my head. It's hard to believe. "
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