Wake Forest Athletics
Deacons complete final practice before donning pads
8/9/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 9, 2007
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest completed its fourth practice of the preseason Thursday night at the Doc Martin Football Practice Complex and will now prepare to go with full pads on Friday.
Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe sensed a better level of energy in tonight's practice.
"It was kind of a workman-like performance yesterday but today I thought we had a little more bounce in our step," said Grobe. "We were flying around a little bit tonight. I'm hoping that by the time we finish Saturday's practice we'll be in great shape for the next week to really get some work done."
The Deacons have been injury-free through the first four practices and Grobe attributes that to Wake Forest strength and conditioning coach Ethan Reeve and his assistant Mike Tolloti.
"The best thing we've got going is our strength coach, Ethan Reeve, and his staff," said Grobe. "He takes our guys and they lift pretty hard, they run pretty hard. They do a great job with flexibility so that when we get them for the start of preseason practice, they're ready to roll."
Remaining completely healthy may be a bit more difficult when the team puts on full pads for the first time on Friday.
"We continue to teach every night," said Grobe. "We did a little pass rush tonight and we may do a little bit of team (offense vs. defense). We'll gradually get into (hitting).
"The thing you notice is that the kids aren't used to wearing pads, even though we finished spring practice not that long ago," said Grobe. "You feel like you're wearing armor and you're not bending your knees as you normally do and you're not moving like you do without the equipment. It's our job to get them feeling comfortable and athletic and then we can start doing more team stuff."
Each of the next two practices, on Friday and Saturday, will begin at 8 p.m. as several players finish up summer school exams. The Deacons will have Sunday off and then hold their first double session on Monday, August 13 with practices at 9:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
