THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, August 22, 1994 TAG: 9408220143
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DURHAM, N.C. LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
The 1989 football season is a happy memory for Duke fans, but Blue Devils tight end John Farquhar just wants to forget it.
In '89, Duke had an 8-4 record, tied for the ACC title with a 6-1 mark and went to the All-American Bowl.
Farquhar, a fifth-year senior, wasn't there to enjoy it, but he has heard all of the juicy details.
Heard too much, actually.
That's why Farquhar appreciates another fresh start for Duke football this season.
All of the players from '89 are gone. So is Barry Wilson, the head coach for the last four years and the top assistant under Steve Spurrier in '89.
``I got awfully tired of hearing about that '89 team, not only from the coaches, but from the players who were on it,'' Farquhar said.
``They kept saying, `We did this, and we did that,' but in the last three years it became harder for those of us who were not there to relate to that.
``I don't mean to take anything away from that team. They did have a great season, but things changed.''
They changed for the worst, too, when Spurrier left after that season for Florida and Wilson took over the program.
Wilson's teams won only 13 games in four years, and the Blue Devils never finished higher than seventh in the ACC.
He was fired at the end of last year and replaced by Fred Goldsmith, the head coach at Rice the last five seasons.
Farquhar said he isn't quite sure what happened to the Duke program the last four years.
``It seems like a combination of things,'' he said with a shrug. ``Bad luck, lots of injuries, all contributing to a vicious cycle of guys getting down from losing so much.''
Most players agreed with the coaching change, if only because it created fresh optimism and a new start.
The seniors, like Farquhar, were delighted, too, when Goldsmith proclaimed he didn't have a four-year plan. He wanted to win this season.
``At some places when a new coach comes in, he seems more interested in rebuilding for the future, and some don't even want the fifth-year players back,'' Farquhar said.
``But coach Goldsmith made a point early that he was committed to the current players and wanted to win this year, not in four years.''
To do that, Goldsmith will have to overcome the same obstacles that derailed similar ambitions by Wilson.
The Blue Devils have a thin line of quality players but are missing the depth and quickness that the ACC's top teams enjoy.
But Goldsmith, who had 6-5 records the last two seasons at Rice, has the Blue Devils believing in themselves again.
And for Farquhar, it is a welcome second chance.
``The group that I came in with really hasn't done much,'' he conceded, ``and I keep reminding myself that this is my last shot.''
Farquhar grew up on the campus of Stanford University, where his father was a member of the faculty.
He said he loved Stanford and as a boy wanted to play football there. But when it came time to make a choice, he wanted ``to get away.''
He picked Duke because it had good academics and seemed to have a stable football program.
``I've never regretted my decision to get away, but I have second-guessed coming to Duke,'' he said.
``Some of my high school teammates went to Washington and Colorado, where they have done really well.''
Farquhar still has a chance, though, of having one winning season at Duke, and that is his goal.
Nothing would please him more than to give Duke football fans something other than the '89 team to brag about. by CNB