ACC Football Kickoff: Players Meet The Media

Some notes from the Charlotte Observer:

Wake Forest will unveil new uniforms when the Deacons open their season Sept. 2 at Groves Stadium against Syracuse. The jerseys will have a tighter fit and piping down the side, but nothing too flashy. Not like the alternate-color sleeves sported by teams like Florida and Virginia Tech. "I shot down that idea that day," said Deacons offensive tackle Steve Vallos. Groves' natural turf also was replaced by artificial FieldTurf in the offseason.

New uniforms, new field, ... new Deacs?

"We're ready to make some noise in the conference," Vallos said. "Move up from the doormat level we've been perceived at since I've been at the school. Wake has very little history in football. This is a very important year. Coach [Jim] Grobe's system is finally paying off and we can definitely move up to a different tier in the conference."

Is there anyone associated with Wake Forest who doesn't talk about tiers?

Also in the Times-Dispatch article: UVA's Christian Olsen responds to the barbs from one of ESPN's talking chowderheads.

Cowherd dismissed the Cavaliers as "soft" -- Olsen disagreed with that assessment, naturally -- and ripped the atmosphere at Scott Stadium. Cowherd claimed U.Va. fans' drink of choice is Zima.

"I've never seen that," Olsen said. "I would say most of the people drink, I don't know, beer, I guess. I've never been at a tailgate, but I don't think anybody drinks Zima. I didn't even know that was still out."

Okay, so Olsen may not have been the best person to consult on UVA tailgating.

Most players still aren't quite sure which division they're in:

The players - two for each of the 12 Atlantic Coast Conference teams - were asked to split into two groups. Atlantic Division one way, Coastal Division the other.

"Half of us were just standing there," said North Carolina tailback Ronnie McGill. "We didn't know where to go."

[snip]

"We're in the Coastal?" Duke cornerback John Talley asked with a dumbfounded expression. "I thought we were in the Atlantic."

This is the problem with having divisions that have been named arbitrarily. While logical designations, like, say, North and South, afford you an easy mental distinction, "Atlantic" and "Coastal" are so similar that they're meaningless.

"Wait, are we in the division that's near the ocean, or are we in the other division that's near the ocean?"

Leroy Harris and AJ Davis were NC State's representatives at the Kickoff. Said Harris:

"When Marcus took over, we were more of a running team...

Actually, we were more of a punting team. But I'm splitting hairs...