Carlos Basham Jr. – Noteworthy
In assessing Wake Forest’s first five spring football practices, Boogie Basham’s second sentence is pointing out that there are “a lot of young guys stepping up.” Though only a year has passed, a lot has happened for Basham since he was one of those young guys stepping up in spring practices. “I feel like over that year, I don’t feel too much different (as a player) but I feel like I’ve learned a lot in that whole season, and that’ll carry over to the next season,” the rising redshirt junior said Thursday morning. “I feel like I’m getting better each and every day, so I feel like that’s probably the best thing.” A year ago, Basham was busy establishing himself as the replacement for NFL-bound Duke Ejiofor as the Deacons’ field end – the defensive end position that’s relied on as a pass-rusher.<p>Basham was the only non-senior starter on the defensive line last season, along with defensive tackles Zeek Rodney and Willie Yarbary and defensive end Chris Calhoun. Basham started 12 of 13 games last season – he missed the Syracuse game with an injury – and was fourth on the team with 64 tackles. The 6-foot-5, 275-pounder was second with 4? sacks and recovered two fumbles, highlighted by the 23-yard touchdown return against Louisville. “Having Boogie Basham back is a pretty good place to start,” Coach Dave Clawson said of the Deacons’ defensive line. – Winston Salem Journal
