Basford's prep coach: 'Wake is not a secondary option anymore'

I just talked to Jacksonville (Fla.) Bishop Kenny coach Mark Thorson about Wake Forest’s newest recruit, TE Neil Basford. And I asked him how the Deacons beat out schools like Florida State and Miami, each of whom had offered.

“It really came down to a comfort thing,” Thorson said. “He just had a better feel for Wake than for anywhere else. We’re a Catholic school with 1,400 students, and Wake is a small private school, so the atmosphere is similar.

“Then there’s the success Wake’s had recruiting in Jacksonville in recent years. He knows some of their players from here, like (quarterback) Riley Skinner. And the thing is, Wake is not a secondary option anymore to kids. They see how they’ve played against schools like Florida State, and they remember that.”

So what are the Deacons getting in Basford?

“He’s really athletic with that 4.7 speed, and we used him more as a pass-catcher than a blocker. We split him out at wide receiver to try and get mismatches and much as we can, where he’s got a 5-foot-10 or 6-foot cornerback trying to cover him.

“And he’s going to grow; he has the frame for it.”

The Deacons appear to have won a good one in Basford. You may hear his name often in the coming seasons. And while you can say Wake beat a bunch of bigtime schools for his commitment, the Deacons just may be on their way to becoming one of those bigtime schools themselves.

- Stan Olson