| Brad Lambert |
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Brad Lambert begins his sixth season with the Demon Deacons, his fifth year with the entire linebacking corps.
His position group in 2005 was arguably the strongest and deepest on the team, led most notably by sophomore Jon Abbate. He earned All-ACC honorable mention and led the Deacons in tackles for a second straight season, ranking 10th in the league in that category.
Under Lambert's guidance, some of the program's most exciting young talent began to emerge. Redshirt freshmen Stanley Arnoux, Eric Berry and Aaron Curry showed a great deal of promise in 2005.
Curry, in particular, took the ACC by storm. His 7.5 tackles for loss ranked among the top freshmen nationally. He earned second team Freshman All-America honors from The Sporting News.
Despite having only one senior linebacker, Wake Forest limited opposing rushing attack to just 133.5 yards per game. That equaled the fourth-best rushing defense in Wake Forest history.
Lambert's linebackers in 2004 were a blend of youthful and veteran players. Three of the team's top four tacklers were linebackers including Abbate (101), a freshman, senior Caron Bracy (57) and senior Brad White (55).
Lambert coached Abbate to honorable mention All-ACC honors and the runner-up for ACC Rookie of the Year. White ranked second on the team with 7.5 tackles for loss.
In 2003, White was the squad's third-leading tackler with 78 stops, while Brantley, a senior, posted a team-high four sacks to go with nine tackles for loss and 65 total stops.
During the 2002 season, White led the squad with 94 stops while forcing three fumbles. White spent one season at Georgia before joining his position coach, Lambert, at Wake Forest.
Lambert guided the inside linebackers during his first season with the Demon Deacons. Wake Forest's starting inside linebackers in 2001, Marquis Hopkins and Kellen Brantley, finished the season as the team's top two tacklers. Brantley tallied a team-high three interceptions and signed an NFL contact with the Buffalo Bills.
While the rest of the football staff moved south from Athens, Ohio, to Wake Forest in 2001, Brad Lambert headed north from Athens, Ga., to accept the position of coaching the Deacon linebackers. Lambert, now entering his sixth season at WFU, served as an assistant coach at the University of Georgia for the previous five seasons.
Lambert held a variety of roles within Georgia's defensive system over his five seasons with the Bulldogs. In 2000, he coached the secondary after working with the linebackers, special teams and defensive ends in previous seasons.
Lambert guided cornerback Tim Wansley to All-Southeastern Conference honors after he led the league in interceptions and became just the second player in Georgia history to return two interceptions for touchdowns in the same season. In fact, the Bulldog defense broke a school record for interceptions for touchdowns in 2000. In 1999, Lambert coached two All-SEC linebackers - Kendrell Bell and Orantes Grant.
The Bulldogs went to four straight postseason bowl games - winning all four - during Lambert's stint at Georgia.
Prior to his tenure at Georgia, Lambert coached five seasons at Marshall. In 1994, Lambert helped guide a defensive unit that led the conference and ranked 10th nationally in pass efficiency defense. In 1991, Lambert facilitated the moving of Roger Johnson, a running back, to free safety where he went on to become 1991 Southern Conference Defensive Freshman of the Year and later earned All-American status in 1993 and 1994. Under Lambert, MU defensive backs returned seven interceptions for touchdowns, twice for 100 yards.
Lambert began his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1988-89. A 1987 graduate of Kansas State University, Lambert played four seasons for the Wildcats, earning academic All-Big Eight honors three times. He was a second team All-Big Eight selection in 1984.
Lambert, a native of Hoxie, Kan., is married to the former Angie Townson of Charleston, W. Va. They have three children - daughter, Lucy, and sons, Layne and Beau.
