No No. 59 on This Year’s Team
A lot of jerseys that conjure up a lot of memories were passed out last spring by Demetrius Gibson, Wake Forest’s equipment manager. Matt Robinson’s old number, No. 42, is being worn this season by fullback Tommy Bohanon. Alphonso Smith’s No. 2 is being worn by receiver Chris Givens. Chip Vaughn’s No. 9 is being worn by receiver Jordan Williams. Stanley Arnoux’s No. 43 is being worn by linebacker Kyle Jarrett. Kevin Patterson’s No. 10 is being worn by running back Turner Faulk. And Demir Bolden’s No. 4 was scarfed up by cornerback Josh Bush.
“What we do at the end of every season drives (Athletics Director) Ron Wellman and my wife Holly crazy, because we change numbers all the time,’’ Coach Jim Grobe said yesterday afternoon. “We let the kids go to Demetrius and if they’ve got a number as a freshman they’d like to change—or even if they’re sophomores or juniors, we let them go to Demetrius and sign up and say `I’d like to have this number and that number.’ We just kind of work it around.’‘
But one number conspicuously absent from the 2009 Wake Forest football roster is the No. 59 worn the past five years by Aaron Curry, an All-American linebacker who recently signed a six-year, $60 million contract as the No. 4 pick overall by the Seattle Seahawks.
“It just happened to turn out that way,’’ Grobe said. “My guess would be everybody would be afraid this year to wear No. 59 after Aaron, because you’ve got too much to live up to.’’