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WINSTON-SALEM -- You might remember John Russell as the man who got Riley Skinner to Wake Forest. That's a nice designation if you're a coach. When you're a defensive lineman, you would rather be known for hitting a quarterback than recruiting one.

And as it turns out, Russell's playing resume is surpassing his reputation as Skinner's high school buddy, and that's the way the Demon Deacons' coaches sort of envisioned it all along.

"Watching him on film, you see he's pretty special," Skinner said.

Evaluating an interior lineman based on tackle totals is like judging a National League pitcher by his slugging percentage. Russell's job is to gum up the middle and turn teammates into heavy hitters. As a constant presence on the field, he's a major reason the Deacons (5-2, 3-1 ACC) head into Saturday's home matchup with North Carolina riding a five-game winning streak, his coaches say.

"To play well, you have to expect certain things from yourself," said Russell, a sophomore. "I expected it, but you never know for sure. You have to have a swagger about yourself. Not to be an arrogant person in that regard when you say that, but you have to be sure of yourself. Even if it doesn't happen, you have to know that you have the ability to do it."

Russell's play was impressive even while Wake gave up 328 yards rushing to Navy last Saturday. (That figure was 17 yards off the Midshipmen's pregame average.) In the second half, the Deacons slowed Navy's execution of its triple-option, and that led to a pair of fumbles, one of which Russell recovered, helping his team pull away.

Another one got away. Sort of. Russell and end Matt Robinson were in the vicinity when Alphonso Smith forced a fumble on a hit of the Middies' backup quarterback in the second quarter. Robinson got the pickup, the touchdown and the glory. Russell got in the friendly jab.

"You know that was mine, right?" he told his teammate.

All kidding aside, Russell has made an impact with a story similar to so many Wake players. He weighed 245 pounds at the Bolles School in Jacksonville, Fla., and most coaches at major schools thought he wouldn't grow big enough to excel. Even at 277 these days, he's 15 pounds lighter than the average ACC defensive tackle.

But his motor, as some call it, was enough to make an impression on three Deacons assistants: Tom Elrod, who recruits Florida; Keith Henry, who coaches defensive ends; and recruiting coordinator Ray McCartney, the tackles coach. Russell's quarterback, an unknown fellow named Riley Skinner, wasn't surprised when the interest started trickling in.

"He was a man among children," Skinner said. "It was funny to watch. He was throwing people around."

McCartney and Henry immediately decided they wanted Russell, and now that he had Wake's attention, Bolles coach Corky Rogers put a bug in the Deacons' ears about Skinner, a 6-footer targeted by Hawaii, Miami (Ohio), Samford and nobody else.

"Ray McCartney really coveted him, as did Keith Henry," coach Jim Grobe said of Russell. "And they wanted to package-deal the thing because they thought Riley and John were so close that if we went ahead and offered Riley, John might come along. But I really didn't want to be in that situation. We wanted to look at Riley on his own merits."

Grobe admits he took a huge gamble in waiting on Skinner, who has completed 72 percent of his passes this season after winning ACC rookie of the year in 2006.

"But we weren't going to play games," the coach said. "When John committed, that's when we went after Riley. It has turned out that it has been a great package."

Russell visited Wake on a weekend when the Deacons basketball team upended North Carolina at Joel Coliseum. Chris Paul and his cast made the place electric. Russell committed less than a week later.

Wake then looked at Skinner, but didn't make an offer until two weeks after signing day. Without Russell, there wouldn't have been a Skinner.

"People have said that, but it's so long ago," Russell said. "I'm just happy he's here and he has done so well. I'm glad I got recruited and Riley got noticed and offered. Everything happens for a reason, and it has worked out beautifully. I don't think you could have planned it any better."

Contact Rob Daniels at 373-7028 or rdaniels@news-record.com