Wake Forest Athletics News
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Gold Rush: 100% Cotten
Aug. 22, 2002 By Stan Cotten Recently I was in my office in the Wake Forest Athletic Center when all of a sudden one of two things happened with no advance warning. Earthquake or dynamite. Had to be. The walls of my office shook, and the noise was tremendous. A couple of pictures tilted to the right. Silence. Then it started again. I stepped out into the hallway where the noise was even louder. It seemed to be coming from downstairs. So I investigated. Halfway down the stairs I realized what was going on, and I chuckled at myself for imagining the worst. What was it? The weight room was packed with Deacons working in unison performing a lift that ended with the dropping of 200 to 300 pounds per man to the padded floor from just below chin level. The Deacs were making some noise. And that's when it hit me. Regardless of the Battle of Bighorn or the question of whether or not we might have yet another idiotic work stoppage in major league baseball - it was football season. How much noise can Wake Forest really make in the 2002 season? Of course, only time will tell. The leaves will have to fall before the answer is known, but now is the time to dream the dream. To think positively. To believe that Jim Grobe's first two Deacon teams can do what Bill Dooley's first two did in 1987 and 1988. Win. Senior running back Tarence Williams (Wilmington) made a little noise of his own when, in mid-June, a leap from a bunk bed resulted in a broken foot. His injury, coupled with the academic woes of junior rusher Fred Staton (Charlotte), will probably mean that junior Nick Burney (Glen Allen, Va.) or untested redshirt freshman Cornelius Birgs (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) will start Wake's opener at Northern Illinois later this month. But what was even louder to me than Williams' failed dismount was his declaration to the media at the recent ACC meetings in Pinehurst that only a 12-0 regular season for the Deacs in 2002 would be enough for him to be pleased. Say what? "We have the players and the coaches to win all of our games," said Williams, "so anything less will be unacceptable. That's what we're shooting for." I like the aim. And when you consider that the Demon Deacons were only 22 points away from a 10-1 record a year ago, Williams' statements don't seem so far-fetched. But he needs to get healthy in a hurry. A ready-to-go Tarence Williams come Aug. 29 would speak volumes. Crunching the Numbers Prepare yourself for a few double takes come kickoff. At this writing, at least 21 Deacons who were on the roster a year ago have changed jersey numbers. Among them are the following who logged significant playing time in Jim Grobe's initial season on the sidelines with new number first, old number second: Marcus McGruder (3-20), Caron Bracy (8-28), Eric King (9-10), Quintin Williams (25-22), Nick Burney (29-30), Mike Hamlar (50-23), Jamie Scott (53-46), Joe Salsich (70-95) and Daryl Shaw (20-48). (Stan Cotten is in his 7th season as the radio play-by-play "Voice of the Deacons." He was voted the 2001 "North Carolina Sportscaster of the Year.") |