Grobe says that Deacons' class, as usual, is heavy on players that will need to develop

Wake Forest once again followed its tried-and-true formula to assemble a recruiting class that will, once again, be ranked at or near the bottom of the ACC.

Meanwhile, Coach Jim Grobe and his staff will be left to chuckle their way all the way to another bowl.

There are few if any nationally ranked recruits in the 21-player class that Grobe unveiled yesterday. Some committed to Wake Forest before drawing widespread attention from other schools, but most were chosen more for what they might be able to contribute in three or four years than what immediate impact they might have.

"We're a development program," Grobe said. "I can't say it any other way. We believe in bringing in good kids with good character and not only developing them in the classroom but developing them on the football field.

"They may not be ready to play their first year at Wake Forest, but by the time they're juniors and seniors there are a lot of programs looking at our kids and saying, ‘It would be nice if we had that guy in our program.'"

Instead of addressing specific needs, Grobe was more intent on finally achieving the balance that has, for the most part, eluded him in his first eight seasons at Wake Forest. Seven are listed as offensive players, 11 as defensive players, two are players who might play either and one, Jimmy Newman, is a kicker and punter.

Grobe said he had hoped to sign another offensive lineman or two, but might consider moving a player listed as a defensive lineman to offense.

The two linemen whose position has yet to be determined are Devin Bolling of Lynchburg, Va., and Steven Chase of Frederick, Md. Chase graduated from high school in 2008, but didn't enroll at Wake Forest until this semester.

Derald Jones, a cornerback from Jacksonville, is the other player from the class who is already enrolled and will participate in spring practice.

"We got into that deal where one year we had the monster offensive class and the next year the big defensive class," Grobe said. "We're trying as much as possible to balance that out.

"We've got a few linebackers in this group. We've got some guys who can play in the defensive front. Obviously that's a need. We want to bring in a quarterback in each class.

"We're pretty much the same way at running back, although I do think that Mike Campanaro is a really good running back. We're probably going to put him in the slot. We kind of see Mike Campanaro a little bit like Kenny Moore. That's the way we'd like to use him, carrying the ball and going out and catching the ball."

The player recruited specifically for running back was Josh Harris of Duncanville, Texas, whom Grobe said may be the fastest player in the class. Harris missed most of last year while recovering from surgery to repair a knee ligament, but has been clocked at 4.34 seconds in the 40-yard dash.

The quarterback is Brendan Cross of Alpharetta, Ga., who, because of senior quarterbacks Riley Skinner and Brett Hodges, is probably the most likely of all the recruits to redshirt next season. Grobe said that Cross, whose father is Randy Cross, a former NFL lineman, will probably serve his apprenticeship this season and then start competing with Skylar Jones and Ted Stachitas in the spring of 2010.

Two typical Wake Forest recruits are defensive end Kris Redding of Douglassville, Ga., and linebacker Nikita Whitlock of Wylie, Texas, both of whom committed to Wake Forest late.

Redding wasn't widely recruited, partly because he missed his junior year while recovering from knee-ligament surgery.

"I think he's a guy who started out thinking basketball was going to be the deal and he found out more people were interested in him from a football perspective," Grobe said. "He's a little bit of a project guy. He's a young player who, because of an injury, has missed some snaps. But we feel he's a smart guy who can leave Wake Forest with a degree and will give us a chance to develop him."

Whitlock was named The Associated Press 5A Defensive Player of the Year in Texas, yet wasn't swamped with scholarship offers because of his size. He's 245 pounds, but is only 5-11.

"The best thing I can tell you is we've got a coaching staff that is pretty happy with the kids that are coming in," Grobe said. "And I've got to be totally honest, we wouldn't have some of the kids who are going to other programs.

"When I go in and a high-school coach tells me, ‘Coach you don't want this kid, this is not your kind of guy,' -- and they've got 15 offers from other schools -- those are not the players we want at Wake Forest.

"We really rely on the high-school coaches to give us the kind of kids that we need to win."

As a coach who won an ACC championship with a roster full of two-star recruits, Grobe said he's not too concerned with how the class is ranked. He said most, if not all, will redshirt and continue to develop.

Few of his players arrive with great accolades, but most feel they have something to prove.

"Probably our guys come in with a little chip on their shoulders, which isn't always bad," Grobe said. "I'll take our guys.

"I wouldn't trade the class that we've got right now for another class in the ACC."

Grobe said that fourth-year juniors Boomer Peterson, Gage Crews and Casey Hill have decided not to return for a fifth season. He also said he doesn't expect to add any other players to the class.

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