Bollings coach discusses his choice

Wake Forest picked up a pledge late last week from a Commonwealth offensive lineman. The 6-foot-5, 270-pounder selected the Demon Deacons in a tough battle over in-state Virginia Tech.

"I think Devin Bolling for the most part wanted to establish his own legacy," Lynchburg (Va.) Brookville head coach Jeff Woody said. "He didn't want to follow in Logan Thomas' footsteps, he wanted to do something for himself. You look at Wake Forest and he sees a school that is a little smaller and that can give him individual attention in the classroom."

Other factors played into Bolling's choice as well.

"I think academically speaking, he felt Wake Forest was a better fit for him in the long haul," he said. "They also have had their entire offensive line graduate. He has an opportunity to play fast there at Wake Forest.

"Virginia Tech gave him some inspiring information and at one point in time last week he was spinning. He didn't know what he wanted to do. I told him to check off which school filling roles, academically, playing time, atmosphere and what was important to him. He came back the next day and Wake Forest had more checks. He is excited."

Woody went on to discuss the kind of player the Demon Deacons are getting.

"Devin Bolling is a hard worker," he said. "He came in ninth grade and needed redirecting. We noticed potential. He is definitely big, but wasn't taking football or school seriously. What we did was gave him positive words of encouragement and were hard on him at the same time.

"He responded well to that. If he knows there is a goal to work towards, he responds. He's going to work hard for Wake Forest to get better and achieve. They'll have to love him and kick him in the butt. Since his sophomore and junior year, he was 6-foot-4, 300-pounds and out of shape. Then we worked on him and he lost 25-pounds the right way lifting weights and working out. His grades picked up and he showed great feet. He still needs to improve his strength, but he has the potential to be a really good college offensive lineman. He has to make sure he puts the work in and Wake Forest will make him do that."