A Big Heart: Deacons like the attitude, and athleticism, of Wilber on the defensive line

You can tell so much about a man by how he reacts with blood pouring from his nose and tears streaming from his eyes.

At Miami last season, assistant coach Keith Henry of Wake Forest found out all he needs to know about defensive end Kyle Wilber.

"He and that guy from Miami got into it, and he came off the field with his nose bloody," Henry said. "It was the first time I saw him cry.

"He was (peeved). He wanted to get back out there."

The defensive line is a prime place for a young, undersized player to find out just how much of a man's game college football can be.

Some players thrown into the fray before their time never recover from the ordeal. So Henry, who coaches defensive ends, knew he was taking a chance last season by putting Wilber in the starting lineup. A redshirt freshman, Wilber weighed all of 230 pounds.

It's rare to find an offensive lineman in college who weighs less than 280.

"The O-linemen, they're a lot bigger than they were in high school," Wilber observed. "In high school we were about the same size.

"Now I'm the littlest guy on the field."

Wilber today weighs just 236 pounds. He said ideally he would like to weigh about 260. But in the meantime he'll make do with what he has.

"You've just got to have heart," Wilber said. "You've got to have a big heart, that's all it is."

It's Wilber's heart that helps give Coach Jim Grobe heart that the Deacons will be all right on defense this season despite the loss of seven starters to graduation, including four who were drafted by NFL teams. Wilber showed ample toughness and foot speed as a redshirt freshman, when he played all 13 games and started seven.

Grobe expects him to show even more this season.

"What he's got is Kyle's a great athlete," Grobe said. "He's got good foot speed, and sometimes the best thing you can do is go away from him because once he sees where the ball is, he'll go run you down.

"We've got to get him a little bit better at the point of attack. But the good thing about Kyle Wilber is he's a really tough guy."

If there's a skirmish on the practice field, Wilber is more than likely involved. He admits he has a temper. And he admits he doesn't like to take any guff from anyone, regardless of their size or age.

Grobe and Henry said that Wilber's personality changes once he steps onto the field.

"He's got a little bit of a mean streak in him," Grobe said. "He's a great kid. He's one of those guys where if you met him on campus, you'd never know how tough he is.

"But he is a really tough, hard-nosed guy. He reminds me of some of the other guys, like (Steve) Vallos and (Steve) Justice and people like that, that when you just bump into them on the street you say ‘What a nice guy.' But when they get on the football field, they can get after it.

"And that's the way he is. He brings a little toughness to your defense."

Wilber's career overlapped Jeremy Thompson's for one season, in 2007 when Thompson was a senior defensive end and Wilber was redshirting as a freshman. Wilber was impressed with Thompson then, and became even more impressed when Thompson made the Green Bay Packers last season as a fourth-round pick.

"It's because he plays for my team, the Green Bay Packers," Wilber said.

Thompson, who showed his mettle by returning from a torn knee ligament to play as a junior when the team needed him, was a good role model for a young player such as Wilber. Wilber said his goal is to join the list of memorable defensive ends at Wake Forest.

"I'd like to be an All-American, be recognized as one of the top defensive ends at Wake Forest," Wilber said.

When does he expect to be recognized in that fashion?

"Not this year," Wilber said. "Maybe next year or the year after that."

Henry said that, in time, he expects nothing less. It might take a few more pounds and a bit more experience, but Henry said he sees a star in the making.

"I told him we've got to quit feeding him potato chips and feed him some steak and potatoes," Henry said. "He'll grow into it.

"When he does, he's going to be a great one. He'll be one like a Jyles Tucker or Calvin Pace or Jeremy Thompson. I think he can follow those guys' shoes."

■ Dan Collins can be reached at 727-7323 or at dcollins@wsjournal.com.