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WINSTON-SALEM -- Kenny Okoro, a freshman cornerback from Dudley, has impressed Wake Forest's coaches enough to make the Demon Deacons' season-opening trip to Baylor, coach Jim Grobe said Tuesday.

Inclusion on the active roster for Thursday's game (8 p.m. Fox Sports Net) does not guarantee Okoro will play against the Bears. Grobe has used only 10 true freshmen in seven seasons on the job. Okoro will only be used in the event of emergency, but his presence on the travel squad suggests his development is ahead of the curve.

Okoro said he anticipated this sort of thing when he signed with Wake after helping the Panthers win a 3-A state title last season.

"A lot of schools had five defensive backs coming in," he said. "Wake Forest only had one, and that was me."

Okoro reported to campus for the second session of summer school and earned positive reviews from teammates during informal, player-directed passing drills in July.

The academic ineligibility of Channing Schofield and a knee injury to Marcus Williams, both cornerbacks, elevated Okoro's status from that of a conventional rookie to one who has at least an outside chance to play.

"Being coachable, that's the best thing I have," Okoro said. "Everybody has talent. I'm just able to be coached."

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