Yes..it may be seen as a bandage today..Football as a temporary salve until you regain your “mo” from Skip’s tenure.
But it isn’t in the cards. Wake Forest is at the cross-roads..innumerable voices say “no way..no chance a small private school can compete in football. I perused your new facilities and I say you are mistaken. Look, the Petitbon commitment is exhibit A. Here a legendary NFL fam gets behind one of its own to attend WF and chase the NFL dream at Wake Forest. This is much larger than you can imagine and actually bears some mythical football markings — the first son, Ritchie, wound up part of the greatest dynasty in college history at Alabama. Ritchie was the #62 overall player and #5 G in the US. A knee in 2016 derailed the most vital part of his career with the Crimson Tide.
Now, it falls to the younger..and as if RE-scripted to correct the ‘Steely Dan Record’ as it were.. the confidence Luke and his family have in choosing ‘Deacon Blue’ will reverberate. The families out there are in tune with football, it’s history and legacy. It means a lot to the families of recruits to see where this “NFL Family” is behind their son’s decision for Wake Forest.
It is a terrific shot in the arm for David Clawson and his staff — Nic T in this instance. It is an enormous symbolic “get” that will resonate with this 2020 recruiting campaign. This cannot be over stated. Not only is Luke a top 500 national prospect and top 30 OG-C prospect but he is a bell-cow type of recruit.
I cannot begin to tell you the “night and day” difference between the prospects today and even those of Grobe’s best years.
Yes, many are still young..but never, ever, never have the Deacons had the type and number of pure football athletes as WE do today. I use “WE” liberally, I understand. But I am on your side and politics or anything else be damned!
I am so dam excited to see next years incarnation that it is hard for me not to grab the guy the guy on the street and exclaim “have you had a chance to see this guy, Dave Clawson, and what he is accomplishing at WF?”
* God Bless Wake Forest and it’s alumni..May they please, Lord, see the jewel in their presence and never find the day when “we realize too late” the blessing that has fallen right here in our laps.
Those who know my posting realize my loyalty to Jim Grobe (tied Peahead as the winningest WF Football Coach) and also remember my talking of the “EVOLUTION” of Wake Football. David Clawson stands on the shoulders of Jim Caldwell and JG.. he is the natural progression from our ‘Tough Guy’ instilling mentality to the All Time Winningest Coach in program history to this guy..a guy from the legendary “Cradle of Coaches” (Paul Brown,Parseghian, Schembechler, Hayes, Meyer)..a guy who did at Bowling Green what Urban Meyer could not..Win the MAC Championship and essentially run Dave Doerren to NCSU from NIU. He will do the same here — Dave Doerren is being hunted and he and Cutcliffe will be the first scalps taken in Clawson’s reign.
Mark this well. It has been seen.