With all the possibilities that awaited Brian Kuklick after high school, few who knew him would have guessed that he would decide to play football at a small southern private school that won only two games the previous year.
But that is exactly what happened when the prep star from Pennsylvania turned away several major college football programs as well as professional baseball in order to attend Wake Forest.
"I really don't have any specific reasons why I chose Wake," Kuklick said. "But I liked what the school had to offer, especially the chance to play in football and baseball right away."
Three years later, Kuklick has gone on to prove he made a wise choice, having established himself as one of the top quarterbacks in the ACC and one of the keys to the revival of the Wake Forest football program.
The senior from Hatboro, Pa., enters tomorrow's contest against the Blue Devils in the top 10 of nearly every ACC category for career passing marks and is on pace to become the Demon Deacons' all-time leader in passing yardage.
In 1997, Kuklick engineered an offense that finished 25th nationally in passing as Wake Forest compiled a 5-6 mark, its best performance in five years. This year, expectations have run very high for the Deacons. Sports Illustrated highlighted Kuklick as one of the players to watch in college football and ranked Wake Forest No. 22 in its top-25 preseason poll.
Yet with the new recognition has come higher expectations. Inconsistent play by both the team and Kuklick has resulted in a win at Clemson but also a disheartening loss to division I-AA Appalachian State last Saturday. Although Wake's play has frustrated Kuklick, he remains optimistic for his team's chances for the rest of the season.
"It has been really frustrating this year because we were not ready to play in both those [losses]," he said. "I really think we should have been able to win all our games up to this point in the season. We just have to regroup for the rest of the season, because we still have a long way to go.
"We still have to play most of our conference games and we still have a chance for a winning season and a bowl game this year. That has been our goal since the end of last year."
High expectations and obstacles are things Kuklick has gotten used to in his career. He came out of Hatboro High School as an all-conference performer three straight years and was also the league MVP. Kuklick was selected to the Pennsylvania "Big 33" all-state team in 1993. But it was his accomplishments as a baseball player that got him the most recognition.
Kuklick was a three-time all-conference pick in baseball as a pitcher, and he topped that honor by earning a spot on the USA Baseball national junior team in 1993. The New York Mets quickly took notice and drafted Kuklick in the fifth round of the 1994 baseball draft.
Kuklick, however, wanted an opportunity to try his hand at both sports at the college level and decided to attend Wake Forest on a football and baseball scholarship.
During his freshman year, the rough times for him and the team began. Head coach Jim Caldwell was in the midst of a major rebuilding phase and the team finished 3-8. Kuklick served as the backup quarterback for Rusty LaRue.
He did not play in the first three games but was involved in all of the remaining contests. His first game action came against Maryland and the highlight of his season was engineering two touchdown drives against Duke in a 51-26 loss.
As promising as his football career appeared, the polar opposite could be said for his performance in baseball. Although showing some glimpses of the pitcher he was in high school, Kuklick suffered through a disappointing season with a 0-1 record and a 7.20 ERA in 35 innings. That was Kuklick's last year of baseball as he decided to concentrate solely on football.
In 1996, Kuklick competed for the starting quarterback job throughout preseason practice with LaRue, but eventually lost out to the incumbent. However, he did not spend much time on the bench.
Kuklick came in for LaRue in the Wake Forest's first game against Appalachian State and completed 9-of-18 passes for 177 yards as the Deacons came back from a 24-0 halftime deficit to nearly pull off the victory in a 24-22 loss. Kuklick was named the starter for the next game against Tulane but sustained a broken right arm that ended his year. Wake went on to a disastrous 1-10 season.
In 1997, Kuklick came in as the only quarterback with any starting experience and was named the starter going into the season. After a summer of rehabilitation and intensive conditioning, Kuklick had a breakthrough year as he led the ACC in total offense.
Kuklick's performance over the past two years has garnered the attention of many pro scouts, but it has not changed his priorities for this season.
"It's been tough with all the added attention," Kuklick said. "Right now, the most important thing for me is to worry about the team and not what will happen after the year. If we can perform the way I think we can, everything will take care itself after the end of the season."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.