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WFU group gets last laugh
Players: Class of 2004 is testament to hard work, coaching
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Published: April 27, 2009
Five years after Wake Forest's recruiting class was given a universal thumbs down, the scouts and general managers of the NFL rendered a somewhat different verdict.
Four players from the Deacons' class of 2004 were chosen in the first 118 picks of this season's draft. Linebacker Aaron Curry, cornerback Alphonso Smith, safety Chip Vaughn and linebacker Stanley Arnoux will join a former classmate, defensive end Jeremy Thompson, who never redshirted and thus has already spent a season playing in the NFL for the Green Bay Packers.
Picked by the Web site Rivals.com as the 95th-best class that season, the Fresh Deacs had the final say.
And it sounded like a hurrah.
"It's a testament to hard work and believing in your dream," Curry said Saturday night. "And definitely it has to do with Coach (Jim) Grobe and his staff and everything they've done for us as players helping us believe in our dream."
Curry and Smith were drafted the first day, Curry by the Seattle Seahawks as the fourth overall pick and Smith by the Denver Broncos in the second round as the 37th overall pick. By early yesterday afternoon, Vaughn and Arnoux learned their professional fate as well when both were chosen by the New Orleans Saints in the fourth round.
Vaughn, who was projected in certain mock drafts to go as early as the second round, was the 116th overall pick. Arnoux was chosen two selections later, as the 118th overall pick.
Although two others -- receiver D.J. Boldin andsafety Kevin Patterson -- were not drafted, they could land with an NFL team as a free agent. Kicker Sam Swank signed a free-agent contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. Swank is the school's all-time leading scorer with 337 points.
That's from a class that Rivals.com ranked just below an eight-way tie for No. 87th among Temple, Baylor, Wyoming, Arkansas State, Central Florida, Louisiana Tech, Connecticut and New Mexico.
"Somebody told me we were one slot behind Temple," Grobe said. "What that probably speaks to as much as anything is our staff's ability to develop players. I try to tell everybody all the time that we've got as good a group of assistants as there is in the country.
"It's pretty gratifying to think that you've helped the kids develop their skills a little bit."
Smith, never shy about voicing his opinion, scoffed at those who picked Wake Forest's class the worst among any school playing in one of the top six conferences -- the ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and Big East.
"It's unfortunate how off-target those (rankings) can be," Smith said. "It really doesn't matter to us. What I attribute that to is Coach Grobe and his coaching staff. We're the 95th recruiting class coming out of high school, yet I think player for player, position for position, we can compete with anyone in the country."
To see what no one else does takes a good eye, which Grobe and his staff have proven to have. But procuring the talent is just the first step, particularly when that talent is often not as developed or refined as can be found at rival schools.
A first-rate strength-and-conditioning program is important for any successful college-football program. At Wake Forest, where almost all of the freshmen are redshirted to develop their bodies and skills, it's essential.
Curry, for instance, weighed 190 pounds when he arrived at Wake Forest. He now weighs 254.
"If anything he was a little bit light when we brought him in," Grobe said. "But that's fine for us because we always feel like if we're able to redshirt kids and put them on the back burner for a couple of years, they'll develop.
"And that's what happened with A.C."
Grobe gives credit to Ethan Reeve, the Deacons' strength-and-conditioning coach. Since both Grobe and Reeve arrived together from Ohio University, along with four other coaches on the current staff (Steed Lobotzke, Billy Mitchell, Ray McCartney and Keith Henry), the Deacons have had 14 players drafted by the NFL.
In the previous 10 years, only seven Deacons were drafted.
"We're in the developmental stage with a lot of kids," Reeve said. "We're developing them in the weight room, on the speed and agility-type stuff, to make them more athletic.
"What happens is with these guys, they know they weren't the highly recruited-type guys. So they come in a little humble. They're more coachable, they're more teachable. I think some of the schools have a hard time telling a kid who is a four- or five-star, ‘Hey this is what you're going to do.'
"And that's where we can start catching up with those teams who have the great athletes."
Reeve said that although the class of 2004 will be gone by next season, the standard it set for hard work and success will remain.
"That class you're talking about was phenomenal, phenomenal," Reeve said. "I actually think some of the kids that we have right now are actually better athletes than a lot of those guys. Now what they have to do is they have to learn from those older guys, look at their work ethic and what they did, and the price they paid to put Wake Forest where we are."
Although WFU won the 2006 ACC championship and has played in three straight bowls, it continues to be panned by those who rank recruiting classes. Some might consider it progress that Rivals.com has ranked the Deacons' most recent class No. 64, except that every ACC team except for Boston College is ranked ahead of them.
Grobe continues to prove he knows what he's doing, even if there are those a little slow to catch on.
"We'll try to rake in another Top 100 recruiting class," Grobe said, looking ahead to 2010. "If we can get ranked somewhere in the mid-90s, we might have a good class coming."
■ Dan Collins can be reached at 727-7323 or at dcollins@wsjournal.com.
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