Far from a neutral observer, Sage Surratt balances divided allegiances at UNC-Wake game
Sage Suratt thinks he understands the emotional roller-coaster he’s about to go through Saturday, when he watches his older brother, Chazz, play for North Carolina against Wake Forest, the team still foremost in Sage’s heart even after the record-setting wide receiver opted out of this season.
Most of the time, he can root freely for his brother, since Wake Forest and North Carolina have followed different paths — and been in different television windows — but those paths converge Saturday, and Sage will be with his parents in the stands at Kenan Stadium, his former team on one side, his brother playing linebacker on the other.
“It’ll be tugging from both sides,” Sage Surratt said this week. “I could never root against my brother, but I’m Deacs all the way.”
As his words betray his divided loyalties, it’s worth listening to a quick word of warning from his mother, who found herself in a similar position last season when the Tar Heels and Demon Deacons played in Winston-Salem, with Sage and Chazz lining up opposite each other: “We couldn’t even enjoy it,” Brandi Surratt said.
That September game was excruciating for Kevin and Brandi Surratt and all their friends and family in the stands. There was so much hype leading up to the collision of their sons, with not only TV cameras but the eyes of the other parents watching them closely, they had to be excruciatingly careful not to betray any emotion in the stands. Or in the week beforehand.
“We never really told either of them the kind of stress we endured leading up to that game,” Brandi Surratt said Friday. “They have their own things to think about. That’s what you do as a parent. So Sage will get a little taste of that.”
If Sage Surratt wasn’t fully aware of what his parents were going through last year, now he’s going to go through it himself.
“I hadn’t really considered that,” Sage Surratt acknowledged.
A second meeting between the brothers wasn’t even a prospect before COVID, but the ACC’s adjusted schedule threw the teams together again, just before Surratt — who missed Wake Forest’s final four games last season with a shoulder surgery — called an early end to an amazingly productive Wake Forest career to prepare for the NFL draft.
That deprived the ACC of one of its biggest stars and Wake Forest of one of its best players, a 1,000-yard receiver who cracked the top 10 in school history in touchdown catches in a mere 22 starts. But it only deprived the ACC of one Surratt: Chazz, in only his second year at linebacker after moving from quarterback, played on.
This isn’t the first time the brothers have followed their own muses. After playing together at East Lincoln High in Denver, Sage transferred to Lincolnton for his senior season when Chazz went off to UNC, then chose a rival college. But Sage’s decision to opt out wasn’t made on his own; Chazz was an integral part of the process.
“It was ultimately my own personal decision, but I talked to my family, including Chazz, about what I was going to do,” Sage Surratt said. “It was a personal and a family decision based on what we felt was best. I’m grateful to have that kind of support system, and he was part of the whole mix of it.”
So while one Surratt is still playing, the other has been working out with a personal trainer at Brandon Marshall’s gym outside Fort Lauderdale, finishing up his Wake Forest economics degree online for a December graduation and watching his former teammates from afar — including his former roommate, Jaqaurii Roberson, having a breakout season in Surratt’s absence.
“It’s been hard to watch, especially because I miss being out there with my teammates, having fun out there and winning games,” Surratt said. “It’s hard to watch from that aspect. But it’s great to see the four-game winning streak they’ve been on, the leadership of coach (Dave) Clawson during this uncertain season.”
He’ll watch them from up close Saturday, without regrets, but with some new emotional baggage. He’s still figuring that part out. There’s no way to balance those particular loyalties ahead of time. He can only go through it.
Although he does have some prior experience. Sage came home for the Virginia Tech game last month, and his mother offered him one of Chazz’s North Carolina jerseys to wear. Sage refused. Some allegiances don’t fade quickly; the bonds of brotherhood have their limits.
This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 3:04 PM with the headline "Far from a neutral observer, Sage Surratt balances divided allegiances at UNC-Wake game."
