Briarcliff's Wolf Chooses Duke For Tight-Knit Team, Top-Notch Education

Highly-touted football recruit A.J. Wolf was counting the growing number of potential Division-I suitors on both hands.

Yet, when Wolf took a campus visit to Duke University, the Briarcliff Manor resident was immediately sold on a program that's no longer the stepchild to basketball and lacrosse.

"The major selling stones were already given," said Wolf, a Hackley School senior-to-be and second team All-State selection at linebacker.

"The main reasons were the quality education, the level of competition and the quality of the people. The coaches seemed like great people, and the players all seemed very close. That's something you definitely want on a football team. Also, the weather was appealing because it gives you a better chance to train outdoors year round."

While most coaches scour the landscape and football hotbeds for talent, Wolf was discovered after attending a camp at the Durham, NC, campus a month-and-a-half ago.

Duke Head Coach Dave Cutliffe and Defensive Line Coach Rick Petri were so impressed with Wolf's mobility and athleticism that they offered him to take an official campus visit.

The 6-foot-4, 250-pound behemoth jumped at the opportunity.

"I met all the coaches, got a tour of the campus and facilities, and stayed with an incoming freshman for two nights. He showed me around the dorms, introduced me to a bunch of other players, and gave me a quick experience of the social life."

Wolf elected to attend Duke at a transition period for the Blue Devils, once a lackluster program stuffed in college football's lower percentile.

The Blue Devils have acquired a top-notch Defensive Line coach in Rick Petri. Petri's long coaching resume includes pivotal gigs at Miami, Kentucky, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Arkansas State, to name a few.

Petri has been in the business for over 30 years and has molded a torrent of talent. He's had a hand in developing numerous NFL players, including Warren Sapp and John Abraham.

Petri helped nurture Kelvin Pritchett during his time at Ole Miss. Pritchett, who has described Petri as a major influence, authored a 14-year NFL career with the Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars.

The off-season arrival of Petri helped alter Wolf's perception of the program.

"I'm extremely excited to play for Coach Petri," said Wolf. "He definitely has an elite level of coaching experience. More importantly, he seemed like a great guy. He seemed willing to get to know the players and have a good relationship with them."

Petri has taken titanic steps towards reeling in a revamped 2012 recruiting class. The Blue Devils have netted a heralded recruit in defensive end Allen Jackson.

Wolf had been an immediate plug in the trenches since stepping foot on Hackley's Tarrytown campus. As a junior, Wolf was all-state and named all-league as both a linebacker and offensive lineman.

Wolf's unique blend of strength, athletics and awareness (he has an innate nose for the ball and insatiable thirst for stuffing runners) helped capture the eye of elite academic/athletic programs such as Duke, Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, LSU and Penn State.