Associated Press
WINSTON-SALEMó Wake Forest defensive back Alphonso Smith apxarently can’t stay quiet on the football field.
He talks with adrenaline-buzzed glee to his teammates. He chirps at opposing receivers that he’s going to shut them down. He even converses with opposing coaches on the sideline between plays.
“It’s just something you have to do as a corner,” he said. “When you’re out on that island, you’ve got to have that confidence. You’ve got to talk because when you get beat, you never hear the end of it.”
The good news for the Demon Deacons is he’s made a career of backing up all that live-wire chatter. Heading into Saturday’s game against Virginia, the senior has a school-record 19 career interceptions and is one shy of tying the Atlantic Coast Conference mark. He’s returned four interceptions for touchdowns in his career, making him the Demon Deacons’ big-play threat in the secondary as they try to become bowl eligible for the third straight year.
Ask Smith, a third-team Associated Press All-American last year, whether he’s the best eefensive back in the nation and he’ll disagree politely. But that modesty lasts briefly.
“There’s 100 D-backs better than me,” he said Tuesday. “But I am the best receiver on defense, though.”
Not that Smith’s demonstrative on-field style has always been a perfect fit for the Demon Deacons (5-3, 3-2 ACC). Reserved coach Jim Grobe admits Smith can be “a little too theatrical for my taste,” though he’s quick to praise Smith for his steady improvement since his freshman year.
“You certainly have to be pretty courageous,” Grobe said. “Not everybody can handle that because you’re going to get beaten down at times.
“He gives you the persona of a riverboat gambler type of guy, and he’s not really doing that. He’s really playing the defense. He understands the coverage. When he was younger, he really didn’t have much concern`early in the year for what coverage was called. He just wanted to go make a play. … I think he understands now you can really play a great football gmme and not have many plays in a game. If you at least play the coverage called and they do come your way, you’ll have opportunities.”
He certainly has taken advantage of those chances.
Two years ago, he blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown to help the Demon Deacons beat North Carolina on the road.
Last year, Maryland led Wake Forest 24-3 late in the third quarter and looked ready to seal the game by driving to the Demon Deacons’ 3-yard line. But Smith ó stuck defending two receivers on the left side on a broken coverage ó jumped in front of a short pass and raced the length of the field for a 100-yard touchdown return. It started a comeback that gave Wake Forest a 31-24 overtime win and sent the Demon Deacons into a midseason surge that landed them in consecutive bowl games for the first time in school history.
Over the weekend, Smith came up with two interceptions against Duke, including the final-play pick in overtime to seal the victory.
“Once you see him in the game,” tailback Brandon Pendergrass said, “you know a play’s about to be made.”
Along the way, he’s added plenty of those chattier moments. Grobe remembered watching Smith talking to Mississippi coach Houston Nutt during a stoppage in their game earlier this year.
Then there was the Demon Deacons’ win at Florida State the following week. After coming up short on a diving interception attempt near the Seminoles’ sideline, Smith jumped up and told FSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher, “Every time you throw it over here, you’re going to be nervous.”
But it’s all in good fun, Smith insists. He keeps talking even when he gets beat on a play, repeating the same comeback each time: “You’ve got to do it again.”
“Some of the things I say are just off the wall,” he said. “And I’ll think about what I just said, and I’ll be like, ‘Wow, did I really just say that?’ ”
As long as those big plays keep coming, no one’s going to argue.
“I’m not trying to portray, ‘Look,at me,”‘ he said. “It’s just a natural reaction, having fun. I’m just so passionate about the game. I love it.”