Before Saturday's loss to Virginia, Alex Wade ranked second in the ACC in rushing. He stood tied for first in the nation for most 100-yard games. Even after giving way to Chris Douglas Saturday and finishing with just 53 yards of his own, Wade's star still burns brightly, as he has burst on the collegiate football scene like no other Duke running back in the last 10 years.
And yet, just this past spring, the 6-foot-1, 250-pound Wade walked into head coach Carl Franks' office unsure of his place on the team and the amount of carries he might receive backing up Douglas, the Blue Devils' leading rusher in 2001.
"He came to me in the offseason and said, 'Hey, what's my role on the team going to be? I feel kind of lost,'" Franks said. "I said, 'Alex, we're going to be in a lot more games than we have in the past.... You're going to get a chance to get a lot of carries."
Wade left the meeting less than totally convinced that he might become a feature back.
"He told me that he wanted to use me when we got a lead and needed to pound a time down in the ground, basically what we did against ECU," Wade affirmed. "But going into the season, I have to admit I was a little skeptical."
Franks, though, kept his word, and Wade, of course, has delivered. As the season got underway, Douglas had been unable to completely shake an ankle injury, so the Alex Wade show took center stage.
One hundred nine yards against ECU, 134 against Northwestern, 114 against Florida State and 123 plus a couple touchdowns two weeks ago against Navy. His four 100-yard games at the start of a season represent a nearly unprecedented performance. Robert Baldwin in 1992 is the only other Blue Devil to accomplish the feat.
Who would have thought that an unheralded junior coming off a debilitating shoulder injury the season before could put up such impressive numbers? Probably no one outside the Duke locker room. Wade's teammates did believe in him, however, particularly after witnessing his offseason dedication.
"I expected this from Alex this year," said offensive lineman Rusty Wilson. "He worked hard the entire offseason and preseason and really put his time in so as to put himself in this position."
Pushing through the pain wasn't easy, Wade admitted. Rehabbing an ailing shoulder required special discipline, and with so little success to show for his first two years of hard work, Wade found it difficult preparing himself for a third try.
"It was hard, and that was something the entire team had to deal with," he said. "After not winning a game for two seasons, and for me, not really playing that much for two seasons, you feel that all of the work you've done before was basically worth nothing. You could have not lifted one weight, you could have not ran one sprint and still lost every game and not play.
"But that's what coaches are for. They have to push us every day, because sometimes you really can't get through it on your own."
The effort has paid off, as Wade spent the season's opening month reaping the rewards of his hard work, both on and off the field. He adds that it sometimes feels a little weird having so many sudden supporters.
"It's a little different," Wade said "First of all, all of us get to walk around campus with our heads a little higher. But I've noticed that I walk around and people know my face, they know my name... and it feels good, especially when it's other students, because for so long we weren't winning a game and no one was coming out and supporting us."
The even-keeled Wade has not struggled to keep things in perspective, though.
"It's also difficult," he candidly admitted. "Against ECU, that was a novelty. The second 100-yard game against Northwestern was a surprise. After that, people start expecting it, and sometimes... well, I keep myself from getting a big head about it, but I sometimes have to remind other people this is football and you're not going to run for a 100 yards every game. You aren't going to be the star every game."
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