THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, August 21, 1995 TAG: 9508210125
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DURHAM, N.C. LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
The Duke football season of 1994 would have made a wonderful movie.
Players who experts contended were too devoted to academics to be successful on the football field lived a season-long drama in which they proved everyone wrong.
The leading man was first-year coach Fred Goldsmith, who showed up for the first team meeting wearing a military cap and telling everyone ``we are going to war.''
A few players thought their new coach was looney. They became more convinced when he began talking about a winning season and going to a bowl game.
Defensive tackle James Kirkland remembered an encounter at home the winter before Goldsmith arrived.
``During the Christmas break I went into this record shop in Atlanta wearing my Duke sweatshirt,'' Kirkland said.
``The lady clerk asked if I went to Duke. I told her yes, that I was on the football team. She replied, `I didn't know Duke had a football team.' ''
Duke proved in 1994 that it did, indeed, have a football team. When Kirkland was home for Christmas break this past winter, he said his sweatshirt provoked a different reaction.
``Hey, man,'' the record store clerk said this time. ``Saw you on ESPN. You guys were great.''
Told you this would have been a great movie.
The Blue Devils won their first seven games last season, soared into the national rankings, and survived a bumpy finish to earn an invitation to the Hall of Fame Bowl.
Fast forward to the present day, and the Blue Devils are being asked to follow up with a sequel and prove last season was not a fluke.
After all, the only decent team Duke beat was Virginia, when the Cavaliers had an off day, and it closed out the season losing four of its last five games.
This season, the Blue Devils won't sneak up on anyone.
``We realize most people believe last year was a fluke, and we still don't get much respect,'' linebacker John Zuanich said.
``I am looking forward to proving those people wrong again.''
Duke - which opens against top-ranked Florida State on national television - is picked to finish sixth in the ACC, and Goldsmith told members of the ACC media tour Sunday that he understood why ``most of y'all'' don't think much of us.
``But opening the season against Florida State, we got a chance to make a big splash,'' he added.
This is not just coaches' talk. Goldsmith is committed to proving that winning can become a habit at Duke.
After winning numerous coaching honors last year, he had several opportunities go to elsewhere for more money and security.
He decided to stay, he said, because he had made a commitment to Duke, where he felt more comfortable.
Both of Goldsmith's top aides did take advantage of the moment to accept more high profile positions, with defensive coordinator Craig Bohl going to the University of Nebraska, and offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger headed to the Denver Broncos.
But quarterback Spence Fischer says what counts is that Goldsmith remained - and brought back with him the best recruiting class in school history.
Speaking of his coach, Fischer said, ``There was a miracle. He came in and turned this place around. Football was fun again. The year before that I just wanted to get the hell out of here.''
Goldsmith insists he is not a miracle worker.
``It is just hard work. By me, by my staff, and by my players,'' he said.
Goldsmith said one of the first things he told his players was that they would start doing things that Florida State and the nation's other top programs did.
``Just because you are smart and go to class is no reason that you can't run in the offseason and work as hard on the field as players at those other schools do,'' he said.
``They go to class at Florida State, too.''
As far as his military-style leadership, Goldsmith said he realized some players thought he was crazy.
``I might have been a little crazy, too,'' he said, ``but I had to change their mentality.''
Goldsmith did that, and not just with the players.
Twice as many season tickets have been sold for this season, and Goldsmith says in the summer he received calls daily from top prospects who wanted to visit the campus.
But Goldsmith knows he has to keep winning, especially this year when everyone is looking to see if last year was just a fluke.
``There are few places like Notre Dame where top prospects are just going to come. You've got to win and you've got to go to bowls to get 'em,'' Goldsmith said. by CNB