New Wake Forest tailback making the most of starting opportunity

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - All-ACC rusher Chris Barclay graduated and his top replacement was hurt. Now it&#39;s a former defensive back who is flourishing as Wake Forest&#39;s new running back.<br> <br> De&#39;Angelo Bryant is making the most of his sudden rise up the depth chart. After rushing for more than 100 yards in the first start of his career, he wants to build on that success this week against Division I-AA Liberty and continue the undefeated Demon Deacons&#39; reputation for producing big rushing numbers.<br> <br> ``At first, I thought it was going to be a lot of added pressure anytime you mention the name Chris Barclay around here, those are very big shoes to fill,&#39;&#39; Bryant said of the 2005 Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year who holds the school career rushing record.<br> <br> Barclay was a huge reason why Wake Forest (4-0) led the ACC in rushing in four of the past five seasons. During the offseason, one of coach Jim Grobe&#39;s top priorities was finding a replacement.<br> <br> The starting job went to Micah Andrews during preseason camp, but he tore a knee ligament two weeks ago at Connecticut and could be lost for the season.<br> <br> Suddenly, the job went to Bryant. He delivered in his first game as the starter with 105 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries in the Demon Deacons&#39; 27-3 rout of Mississippi.<br> <br> ``It was fun for me watching him run the ball the other night because I thought, here&#39;s a guy who&#39;s waited a long time for his chance, and he&#39;s having a good night,&#39;&#39; Grobe said. ``Now, that was last week, he&#39;s got a lot left to do, but it was nice to see him have a big night.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Bryant came to Wake Forest as a safety in 2003. He moved to running back that preseason and played in eight games, rushing for 122 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries while earning the nickname ``The Bus&#39;&#39; because of his 245-pound frame and his brawny, physical running style.<br> <br> He redshirted in 2004, and was one of Barclay&#39;s backups last season with 89 yards rushing and another score, then slimmed down during the offseason while trying to become more agile.<br> <br> After Andrews was hurt at UConn, Bryant found himself in the spotlight as the Demon Deacons&#39; top back.<br> <br> ``After sitting back and evaluating how Micah has handled the situation, coming in and becoming the featured back for the first few games, he really exemplified the job that can be done,&#39;&#39; Bryant said. ``But at the same time the encouragement ... and the hard play from my teammates has made this a lot easier on me.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Grobe said he enjoys watching Bryant become more comfortable in the run-friendly scheme that gives his rushers the freedom to improvise during a play.<br> <br> ``We&#39;re a football team that gives the tailback a lot of flexibility in where he runs the football,&#39;&#39; Grobe said.<br> <br> Bryant&#39;s role in Wake Forest&#39;s offense is twofold he&#39;s relatively inexperienced with only one start to his credit, but as a fourth-year junior he also is in position to counsel his teammates and set an example for them to follow.<br> <br> ``We look back on our freshman year, and it&#39;s not that we were immature, but we were in that gray area where there were certain decisions that we could have made and could have been better,&#39;&#39; Bryant said. ``But it&#39;s always good to share with the younger guys your experience, anything that any of us can do to help in general.&#39;&#39;