THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 21, 1995 TAG: 9502210379
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines
Duke football coach Fred Goldsmith spoke proudly of his incoming recruiting class and its supposed 1,100 average SAT score..
But he told the Norfolk Sports Club Monday there are other numbers he likes about this class as well.
Such as the fact it includes the No. 1 high school player from Alabama. And the No. 2 tight end out of Florida, who was wooed by Florida State, Florida and Miami.
Then there's a tailback from South Carolina, the state's No. 1 prospect, who turned down Clemson to join Goldsmith in Durham.
``That 1,100 score isn't completely accurate - it's more like 1,050,'' Goldsmith said. ``And it's not what we shot for. We went after the best players we could working with our (academic) parameters. We recruited against North Carolina, Clemson, Virginia, not merely against the academic schools.
``I looked at the lists of the kids Rice and Northwestern signed. All of those guys we rejected.
``Duke's been recruiting too long against only the academies. If we're going to line up and compete, we've got to recruit against the very best. And the kind of guys we got, we went up against the best.''
Even when he hasn't had the best talent, Goldsmith has held his own against top competition.
At Air Force, he was an assistant coach on a team that beat Notre Dame two straight seasons.
In 1992, Goldsmith led lowly Rice to a 6-5 record and was named national coach of the year by Sports Illustrated.
At Duke, Goldsmith inherited a team that went 3-8 in 1993 and guided them to an 8-3 regular season record - the greatest turnaround in school history. Picked to finish ninth in the ACC, the Blue Devils twice were ranked as high as 13th nationally.
And it could have been better.
Duke lost to North Carolina and N.C. State by a combined two points. Goldsmith was voted ACC coach of the year and was a finalist for the Bear Bryant Award as national coach of the year.
Not bad for a guy who turned down the Duke job the first time it was offered.
``I had the impression people thought we had to have a football program at Duke so the school could compete in ACC basketball,'' Goldsmith said. ``That was getting to be the attitude.
``Somewhere along the line, people had gotten the impression you couldn't have good grades and be a football player at Duke.''
But Duke athletic director Tom Butters asked Goldsmith for a second meeting to discuss what it would take for the Blue Devils to be a football force again. Butters took Goldsmith's suggestions to Duke president Nan Keohane, who approved them.
One of Goldsmith's first tasks was to abandon the pessimism that had pervaded the Duke program for so long.
``We had a good nucleus of seniors and most people respond to what you expect of them,'' he said. ``So we talked positively instead of poor-mouthing them. There was none of this, `We'll have to wait until our next class to win.' ''
Goldsmith installed an offseason conditioning program that he says some players, including star running back Robert Baldwin, couldn't handle at first.
``The kids were soft; the worst physical football team I'd ever seen,'' he said. ``Like Robert. I did not know how he could play for me. But he called me at home one night and said, `Don't give up on me, coach, I'll be ready.' ''
Baldwin finished the season a third-team All-American, the ACC player of the year, and a semifinalist for national offensive player of the year.
The Blue Devils opened the season with a 49-16 home victory over Maryland before 20,000 fans at Wallace Wade Stadium. They ended it with a one-point home loss to North Carolina before 40,103 - 5,000 above capacity.
``I got a letter from a man in Wrightsville Beach whose group I'd spoken to,'' Goldsmith said. ``He said I had told him to jump on the bandwagon before it was full. He said he told his wife he hoped I didn't have my bubble burst.
``Then he sent his check in for tickets to the Carolina game - and we sent it back, because there weren't any tickets left.'' ILLUSTRATION: LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
[Color Photo]
Duke football coach Fred Goldsmith: ``If we're going to line up and
compete, we've got to recruit against the very best. And the kind of
guys we got, we went up against the best.''
by CNB