| Cornelius Birgs |
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Scouting Report
A reliable and talented member of the offensive backfield... has made tremendous strides since his arrival on the Wake Forest campus, especially off the field and in the classroom... seems to have a sense of urgency that he only has two years remaining in his college career... has demonstrated toughness in the past, playing well at Boston College despite an ankle injury... will compete with Chris Barclay and others for a starting job... has a good combination of speed and power... a durable back... will team with Barclay to give opposing defenses a change of style.
2003
Saw action in 11 games, starting one... finished third on the team with 344 yards and five touchdowns on 103 carries... was WFU's top rusher with 65 yards on a career-high 19 carries, with a 25-yard scoring run, at Boston College... sprained an ankle in the first quarter but managed to play most of the game... came back from a sprained ankle to rush for 51 yards on 12 carries, including a 16-yard TD rush which sealed the victory against NC State... also caught one pass for 24 yards versus the Wolfpack... gained zero yards on two rushing attempts against Purdue before the ankle injury flared back up... rushed for 32 yards on 14 carries versus East Carolina... led the Deacs with 19 carries and racked up 45 yards to go along with a TD at Virginia... led the Deacs with 70 yards on 14 carries at Florida State... had eight carries for 29 yards, including a one-yard touchdown run, versus Clemson... scored his fifth TD of the season on an eight-yard run in the second quarter against Connecticut... carried the ball three times for 17 yards against the Huskies.
2002
Saw significant action early due to Tarence Williams' injury... scored one touchdown in each of Wake Forest's first three games... played in nine games during the year, compiling 260 yards on 67 carries (3.9 ypc) and four TDs... saw action as the No. 2 rusher at Northern Illinois, recording a season-high 75 yards and one TD on 17 carries... scored WFU's first TD of the year, a two-yard run... tallied 24 yards on nine carries versus East Carolina, scoring on a two-yard run... averaged 4.6 yards per carry, with nine rushes totaling 41 yards at NC State... also scored the Deacs' first touchdown against the `Pack on a seven-yard run... totaled 48 rushing yards on 11 carries against Virginia, including a 15-yard touchdown run... recorded 56 yards on 13 carries, averaging 4.3 yards per carry against UNC... did not see action in the final three contests of the year.
2001
Redshirted the season as a true freshman.
Background
A second-team all-state selection at Boyd Anderson HS, where he was coached by Ken Scott... completed his senior season as Broward County's second-leading rusher, totaling 1,741 yards on 203 carries... scored 17 touchdowns as a senior... had a stellar game versus Ft. Lauderdale Douglas, tallying 283 yards... tabbed to the All-Broward County and all-conference first teams... selected for the Broward County North Vs. South and Broward-Dade All-Star games... compiled 659 yards and nine touchdowns as a junior, ranking seventh in the county... named one of the Top 100 Florida recruits by the Orlando Sentinel... a standout track performer... earning All-Broward County honors... all-state selection and the state champion in the 100m dash... ran a 4.4 40-yard dash and clocked a 10.59 100-meters as a junior... was the top-ranked sprinter in Florida.
Personal
Majoring in Communications... born March 11, 1982... son of Rosemary Birgs... has an older brother, Cedric Jones (26) and sister, Sabrina Gordon (24)... chose Wake Forest because "of the academics, athletics and the opportunity to play in the ACC"... cousins Bennie and Brian Blades were NFL players (Bennie with Detroit, Brian with Seattle) in the late 1980s/early 1990s.
Birgs' Career Statistics
G-GS Car Yds Avg TD Lg
2002 9-0 67 260 3.9 4 19
2003 11-1 103 344 3.3 5 25
Career 20-0 170 604 3.6 9 25
Carries: 19 at BC, 8/30/03 & at Virginia, 9/27/03
Rushing Yards: 75 at Northern Illinois, 8/29/02
