Feb. 16, 2002

By Sam Walker

Coach Jim Grobe put his first significant stamp on the future of Wake Forest football, signing 20 prep standouts from 11 different states. Grobe and recruiting coordinator Ray McCartney commented on the group at a press conference held Feb. 6 at Bridger Field House. "We did about as good as we could do," Grobe said. "We balanced out pretty well. Next year we'll have a significant number of seniors on our starting football team, and the following year we'll need to replace a lot of guys. We looked at what we were going to lose after next season and decided to take care of our needs accordingly. Overall, the thing I'm most impressed with this group is that they're not only good football players, but everybody at their high school says good things about them. They're not only leaders on the football field but leaders at their high school."

Headlining the class is Bryan Andrews, Wake Forest's first Parade All-American recruit since James Brim, who signed with the Demon Deacons in 1984. Andrews is a talented linebacker from Lima High School in Lima, Ohio. Andrews was rated as one of the top eight best linebackers in the nation and was offered scholarships by Big Ten, Big 12 and Big East conference schools. Another highly regarded player joining the Demon Deacons is Jamil Smith, a defensive lineman from Black Mountain. Smith was named the 2001 lineman of the year by the Asheville Citizen-Times and was selected to the North Carolina Shrine Bowl squad.

"Bryan is a raw player," Grobe said. "His upside, his potential is unbelievable with his frame and good foot speed. It gives you a little pop when you sign a guy like that, but of course the proof in the pudding will be when he gets here and goes to work. Right now we've recruited him as a linebacker, but we'll see how that plays out, how big he'll get."

The line of scrimmage is where Grobe and his staff focused with this recruiting class. The offensive line was a critical area for the Deacons to replenish so they signed four offensive linemen. Dustin Ambercrombie, a 6-3, 280-pound lineman from Kannapolis; Dan Callahan, a 6-3, 275-pound lineman from Montclair, N.J.; Arby Jones, a 6-5, 258-pounder from Somerset, Ky.; and Steve Vallos, a 6-3, 285-pound lineman from Youngstown, Ohio, are players whom Grobe feels are well-suited for the Wake program. "We didn't want a bunch of file cabinets on wheels who get going one direction and can't stop," Grobe said.

On the defensive front, Wake signed three or four defensive linemen depending on where they decide they want Pierre Easley, a 6-0, 230-pound player from Stone Mountain, Ga., to play. Grobe said Easley could play linebacker or middle guard because of his strength and speed. Daniel Orlebar, whose brother, Smith, is already a defensive end on the Wake Forest squad, and Jyles Tucker add size and strength to the defensive line.

At quarterback, Wake signed Nate Morton from Hargrave Military Academy. According to McCartney, Morton could have attended college and played this season but felt he may have been under recruited as a senior coming out of high school and chose Hargrave as a place to polish his skills. Quarterback Zac Taylor is from Norman, Okla. Assistant coach Brad Lambert of Wake Forest played for Taylor's dad and convinced Zac to come across the country to Wake Forest rather than play in his home state at Oklahoma State. Wesley Bryant will transfer to Wake Forest from Florida this fall, and Grobe said a scholarship will be held for him. Willie Idlette, a 5-10, 160-pound prospect from Chattanooga Tenn., is not listed as a quarterback, but Grobe said he could play any skill position because of his speed and athletic ability. Wake also inked two players from Northern Durham High School in Josh Gattis, a 6-2, 180-pound free safety, and James Adams, a 6-3, 208-pound strong safety and linebacker. Chris Barclay is the only running back of the class, and Damon McWhite was described as an Ovie Mughelli-type of player who can play both fullback and tight end.

McCartney and Grobe felt good about the quality of players they went after. Grobe said that his staff started in North Carolina and fanned out to other states in their quest to bring to Wake Forest the type of student-athletes who will strengthen the football program and be able to play the style of football Grobe has implemented.

"Of the 11 kids we brought to campus, we lost nine who signed with top-20 opponents," McCartney said. "We're talking Tennessee, Florida, Virginia Tech, Ohio State, Michigan. We lost a great wide receiver from West Palm Beach to Wisconsin. He said coach, nine years, three Rose Bowls, six January 1 bowl appearances... That's what it came down to. When it came right down to it, we have not proven ourself here. But those are the kind of players we have to be on to win at Wake. We lost several of those type kids, but if we can go to bowl games and be successful, we'll get one or two of those kids."

When Andrews and Smith signed with the Deacons late in the recruiting period, Grobe felt it pushed an already solid group of signees to a group that was a little better than he expected. McCartney said the reason the class is as good as it is is because Grobe knows people and is a man of integrity who knows how to coach a football team.

"Coach is so humble, but don't let him fool you - we sell Jim Grobe 24-7," McCartney said. "He's the most relentless, tireless recruiter I've ever been around, and I've been at this 22 years. He loves meeting people and is tremendous with high school coaches. He's the kind of guy who can, for instance, be in Raleigh in an inner-city welfare home and just create a tremendous comfort zone and two hours later be in Chapel Hill in a million-dollar home and create a comfort zone there as well. There's just a down to earth humbleness about him. We've all (members of Grobe's staff) had chances to leave the guy, but we stick with him because we love him, but mainly because we respect him. We know he gives us a chance."

The 2002 football signees represent Grobe's first full recruiting class. Although Grobe was hired before last season, he didn't have time to fully evaluate talent and needs, and he called the first group his coaching staff brought to Wake as a "mixed bag." This group will join 38 returning letter winners and 17 starters this summer. Grobe hopes to be able to redshirt as many of the recruits as possible, but no final decisions will be made until after the players are evaluated.

"The thing that surprised us a little is that we were keeping company with some pretty big programs," Grobe said. "There were about five kids at the end that we didn't dream we'd get all five of them, but if we got any of them it would take us from a good recruiting class to a little better than we expected. We were able to get a guy like Bryan Andrews right at the end and the big guy from Black Mountain, Jamil Smith, and those two players pushed us over the top a little bit. When they committed at the end, that made us real strong. We were on the right guys, and this is a good foundation class."