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Filling Holes: Wake Forest defense will have a new look next season after losing seven starters
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Published: March 31, 2009
Having waited in the wings for three seasons, Matt Woodlief knows that it's now showtime.
"It's time for everybody to see what I'm really made of," he said.
Woodlief, a redshirt sophomore linebacker from Catawba, is one of several players who will be counted on for increased contributions on a Wake Forest defense that lost seven starters to spent eligibility.
The list is as star-studded as it is long. Linebackers Aaron Curry, Stanley Arnoux and Chantz McClinic, cornerback Alphonso Smith, safeties Chip Vaughn and Kevin Patterson and defensive end Matt Robinson were senior starters who played their final game in Wake Forest's 29-19 victory over Navy in the EagleBank Bowl.
Brad Lambert, starting his second season as the defensive coordinator, said that rumors of Wake Forest's defensive demise are, if not exaggerated, at least premature. He opened spring practices last week with Woodlief, Jonathan Jones and Hunter Haynes penciled in as starters at linebacker, with Cyhl Quarles and Alex Frye at safety and with Josh Bush joining incumbent Brandon Ghee at cornerback.
Lambert's efforts to retool the defense were complicated when Bush and Ghee collided at full speed last Tuesday, during the first practice. Ghee will miss the rest of spring with a torn MCL. Bush, who suffered a concussion, might return this week.
The spring game is set for Saturday, April 11.
"We've got guys who have been around the program, and the game won't be new to them," Lambert said. "But they haven't been relied on to be an every-down guy. So that's going to be the fun part.
"I told my wife the other day, the exciting thing is that last year we had a role change (to defensive coordinator), and that was really exciting. And this year I'm really excited because we've got a new group of guys and a lot of people don't think we're going to be real good.
"So we're going to go out and see what we can do."
The strength of the defense, at least early in the season, should be a four-man front that returns three starters -- tackles John Russell and Boo Robinson and end Kyle Wilber. Lambert can take solace from the fact that Russell and Robinson will be two of the six fifth-year seniors he'll have to work.
The other four are Ghee, Jones and tackles Dominique Midgett and Michael Lockett.
"If there's one spot you can really build a defense around, it's a three technique and a nose guard," Lambert said. "I really feel good about Boo and John. Kyle Wilber I think is going to be a fabulous player in the ACC. So we have something to build around there.
"And we still have six fifth-year seniors on defense. So it's not like we have guys who the game is going to be new to them. They'll know what to expect.
Jones has one of the biggest jobs on the team, filling the shoes of Curry. Woodlief has the first shot at replacing Arnoux, and Haynes will be sliding into the position filled by McClinic last season.
Haynes had 24 tackles last season, and Woodlief 22. Both played in all 13 games for the 8-5 Deacons.
"I've got to do it my way, and whatever happens, it happens," Woodlief said. "Stan was a bit faster than me, and I'm more of a hard-nosed hitting type.
"I'm more of a hard-nosed downhill person, and he's more of a speedy hitting person."
With Ghee out for the spring, redshirt freshman Kenny Okoro will probably get a longer look at cornerback. Another player who will get a chance to make a splash is D.J. Jones, a freshman who entered Wake Forest this semester, in time to practice this spring.
Okoro is one of the 14 players who redshirted last season to preserve a season of eligibility. Several from the class will be expected to provide defensive depth.
"That linebacker crew should really compete," Lambert said. "I like Joey Ehrmann, Scott Betros, Riley Haynes. They're very athletic guys. We'll see what they can do coming in.
"Then in the secondary, I think Kenny Okoro has a chance to be good. He needs to have a good spring. He's a very athletic guy, so I'm really excited about watching him play.
"(Defensive tackle) Ramon Booi is another guy who's going to have to fill in and be the guy to give John and Boo a rest."
■ Dan Collins can be reached at 727-7323 or at dcollins@wsjournal.com.
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