Sports > February 7, 2008

By Bo Wulf | Contributing writer

In the dawn of a new era for Wake Forest football where success is not hoped for but expected, those following the program from afar have multiplied across the country. Opponents no longer overlook the team dressed in black and gold, and NFL scouts have begun to recognize future employers among those who don the Wake Forest jersey.

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(Graphic by Ryan Caldwell)

Head Coach Jim Grobe has changed the program from a punch line to an assembly line of successful graduates, both on the field and off. The combination of a grueling football schedule and rigorous academic expectations at Wake Forest prepares the players to achieve their goals long after graduation. The system Grobe has created is one that provides support for players from a variety of places.

After his flirtation with the head coaching job at Arkansas that briefly wrenched the hearts of many Deacon fans, Grobe committed to continuing the path he has forged for the foreseeable future. In so doing, he sent the message that Wake Forest is family; a belief held by many with intimate knowledge of the program.

“The coaches are all really in tune with the players,” senior safety Aaron Mason said. “Whatever we need on or off the field, they’re there for us. That’s just the way we are as a team, it’s a family.”

“From the moment you come to Wake Forest, everything is a family environment,” former Deacon defensive tackle Jamil Smith said, who is now working for Wachovia in Charlotte.

As the patriarch of the Wake Forest football family, Jim Grobe can be proud that his “children” are making their marks post-graduation in an assortment of careers.

No More Rest on Sundays

There are currently 14 Wake Forest graduates on NFL rosters, 11 of whom are products of the Grobe era. Last year’s ACC Championship team alone produced Bears safety Josh Gattis, Seahawks practice squad offensive guard Steve Vallos, injured Texans converted fullback Jon Abbate and Chargers linebacker Jyles Tucker. And the influx is not stopping any time soon.

At least three of this year’s seniors are rated to be future National Football League players by NFL draft experts Scouts Inc.; Two of those Deacons, All-America center Steve Justice and defensive end Jeremy Thompson, are projected to be fringe first-day draft picks.

In addition, a slew of underclassmen also seem to have a shot at playing on Sundays, including second team All-ACC linebacker Aaron Curry, first-team all-ACC redshirt junior cornerback Alphonso Smith, redshirt junior kicker Sam Swank, redshirt junior safety Chip Vaughn and ACC rookie of the year and redshirt freshman running back Josh Adams.

Without the resources to consistently haul in top-rated recruits, how is it that Wake Forest continues to feature talent in such demand?

“The biggest thing is they harp on character,” Justice said, recently named a first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association. “Going into the NFL, they’ve given me the abilities and the frame of mind that if you work hard, they’ll keep you around. And no matter what happens with football, I’ll have a great head on my shoulders.”

Justice also pointed out the ability of the coaches to identify lesser-rated recruits with hidden potential, mentioning redshirt sophomore quarterback Riley Skinner and redshirt senior kick returner Kevin Marion as two players with little Division I interest coming out of high school who have turned into successful college players.

Unlike traditional powerhouses such as Miami that hold two or three pro-days a year, Wake Forest’s practice field is welcome to NFL scouts every day. Everything is open to the scouts, including access to tapes from each of this season’s games.

“(The scouts) come in, they watch film and get to know the coaches on a more personal level,” senior running back De’Angelo Bryant said. “Sometimes they’re on the practice field briefly to look at some of the players who actually have a shot to play at the next level.”

“I think the open-door policy is a great policy because it continues that welcoming feeling of Wake Forest,” Smith said.

Perhaps it all relates back to the family atmosphere. After all, a proud parent wants to show off his child any chance he gets. There is much more to the player-coach relationship at Wake Forest than developing talent on the field.

“The staff does a really good job of getting the best out of us,” Bryant said. “Some coaches only know their athletes as being football players and not student-athletes … Not our coaches.”

Assistant Athletic Director of Football Bill Faircloth, or “Big Daddy” as known by the players, is a former Wake Forest football team captain and All-ACC Academic selection. When asked why Wake Forest football graduates are so well prepared for life after college, Faircloth said, “They’re on the field with the best players in the country on Saturday, but they’re in the classroom with the best students in the country Monday through Friday.”

The Balancing Act

As successful as the team has become in producing professional talent, the majority of Demon Deacon players will never see the football field after college. Considering there are more than 8,000 Division IA college football players every year, and only about 250 slots in each year’s NFL draft, the chances of playing at the highest level are quite slim. Then consider the pool of players from other divisions, and the fact that only about two-thirds of those players end up sticking on rosters and the odds become miniscule. Therefore, the development of student-athletes as students is just as critical, if not more so, as their improvement on the field.

In this capacity, Wake Forest thrives.

According to a study by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida, Wake Forest has the fourth-best graduation rate for football players among teams scheduled to play a bowl, trailing only Boston College, the Naval Academy, and the Air Force Academy. Wake Forest is second in graduation rate among African-American football players.

In fact, all but one member of last year’s ACC Championship seniors graduated on time. Many have already begun successful paths. Aside from Smith, Dan Callahan is an account coordinator selling advertisements for Fox News in New York City; Napolean Sykes is teaching high school English and coaching football in Charlotte; Johnny Edwards is attending graduate school at Wingate; and Arby Jones is attending graduate school at Winthrop.

“Coach is very big on academics,” Callahan said. “Obviously he wants his players to succeed when college and football are over. Guys like myself who weren’t as gifted athletes, the fact that I was able to go to Wake and be successful … (Coach Grobe) sees the big picture. He’s not using the athlete just for football, he wants you to be successful when its over with.”

“Coach Grobe and his staff are the reason that many of us go on and get into successful careers,” Smith said. “They actually encourage our academics as well as our athletic development here at Wake Forest.”

Players agree that one of the most useful skills they acquire after four or five years of life as a student-athlete is time management.

“You have to have great time management,” Mason said. “And playing a sport in college forces you to have that. If you didn’t have it when you came here, you’ll definitely have it by the time you leave.”

“You just have to get into the mindset to treat school the same way you treat football,” Bryant said.

“The same way I would put in time and effort on the field and study film is equivalent to the same amount of time reading a book for class. Life as a student athlete is pretty rough, especially here where the professors expect a lot out of you … so you really have to push the boundaries in order to be successful in the classroom.”

Hunter Willard is the person who helps those boundaries be pushed. “The lack of time makes everything more difficult,” Willard, the academic counselor for the football team, said.

“It makes it more difficult to talk to Mom, talk to your professor, be social, even to sleep. Indeed, the typical day for a Wake Forest football player begins with a 6 a.m. workout, followed by class and then football practice. Players often don’t return home until more than 12 hours after their day began.

“You really notice it when after practice you’re exhausted and you go home and have to study for an exam the next day,” senior tight end John Tereshinski said.

“But you can’t go wrong with the education Wake gives you.”

Those players interviewed pointed to offensive tackle Louis Frazier as the model of what one person can accomplish as a student-athlete. A senior, Frazier has been the team’s starting left tackle all season, a position often considered the most important on the line. But Frazier’s accomplishments reach far beyond the football field.

According to Willard, Frazier was recently accepted to the Wake Forest Medical School and received the VP scholarship which is a full scholarship and stipend awarded to two underrepresented students of medicine each year. Frazier is also a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, the national leadership society. Fellow teammate Ben Wooster was recently named a member of the society as well.

In addition, Frazier was recently named an ESPN Magazine Academic All-American, the only ACC player to be recognized this year and the first Demon Deacon since Aubrey Currie in 1959.

Callahan, who hosted Frazier on his official visit when he was a prospective recruit, said, “Louis is one of a kind. He’s a smart kid with a great personality, and he works hard. He’s definitely a success story.”

The Diploma Hunter

If Coach Grobe is the father of the Wake Forest football family, then Hunter Willard is the mother who makes sure her children eat their vegetables and brush their teeth.

But she looks at herself in a more horizontal role.

“I like to think of myself as the hyphen between the student and the athlete” the small but forceful Willard said, when asked to describe her role.

A 2002 Wake grad with a double major in sociology and health and exercise science, Willard fills many needs for the players, from arranging study hall to providing counsel on tough decisions.

“My role is to help them navigate the system,” the Charlotte native said.

But don’t dare think for a second that Willard and those in her office are doing anything underhanded. “They’re earning the same degree I earned,” she said. “And they’re going to earn it, because I earned it.”

“She’s probably one of those people that you have a love/hate relationship with,” Bryant said.

“She really pushes you where if you don’t want to do something, she’ll make you do it. But when you look back on it in the long run, you really appreciate the type of things that she’s done for you over the years. The student athlete services are definitely one of those things where if you’re not taking advantage of the opportunities they’re giving you, you have to be pretty silly.”

Willard’s contact with football players begins in their recruitment.

When the staff targets a player, they run the transcript by Willard to see if the person will be a good fit for Wake Forest. Willard insists that she tells recruits the truth; that in order to graduate from Wake Forest, you’re going to have to work your butt off.

“The whole time they’re here, the goal is preparation for the future” Willard said. “It’s planning now to prepare for later.”

For Willard, there is one day every year that proves just how fulfilling her job is.

“Graduation is the most rewarding thing” she said.

“It’s my Orange Bowl.”

And one look around her office confirms that graduation is the ultimate goal. Willard has framed photos of all five graduating classes of football players that have passed through under her watch. She even bought a pin that says “the tassel is worth the hassle” as a quick reminder to the players that the work they do now will pay off in the long run.

Mason can attest to the helpful guidance Willard has imparted. The senior safety came to Wake Forest with dreams of being a veterinarian, but the lack of time afforded to a student-athlete caught up to Mason and he realized that it was unrealistic to continue as a Biology major.

Willard told Mason to take advantage of the school’s resources, and go to career services to find out more about the other departments. As a result, Mason is now on track to graduate in the spring with a GPA above 3.0 and a degree in communications with a minor in sociology, and plans to go to graduate school for criminal justice near his home in Kentucky.

“I think, as an athlete, it’s kind of hard to swallow that you may not be able to do something at that particular time,” Mason said.

“Hunter in the academic office, they pushed me, but it’s up to the individual to make the final decision of what you’re going to do, and for me, failure is not an option. It’s a great resource … They’re great people in there and they’re always willing to lend a helping hand.”

Not So Long Gone

The post-interview scene in the Student-Athlete Services offices is one of joy and excitement. Wachovia employee Jamil Smith has stopped by to say hello and there is a crowd of six women around him, eyes glued to his new businessman look.

“Jamil is our hugger,” Willard said, as she disappears into his arms.

As the crowd disperses so that Smith can be interviewed, he asks one of the ladies how her family is doing, and she says that they’re doing well.

“Family. That’s what it’s all about,” he said.