Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest Practice Report - August 3
8/3/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 3, 2008
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest football team resumed preseason practice this afternoon with a two-hour session held on campus at the Doc Martin Practice Complex.
The Demon Deacons practiced in just helmets, jerseys and shorts, getting significant work in at each individual position group.
One position that Wake Forest is set at is quarterback where the Deacons have seven players in camp, including incumbent starter Riley Skinner.
Entering his third year as a starter, Skinner has already tied the school record for career victories by a starting quarterback with 18. Skinner took the reigns as the starter in the second game of the 2006 season and helped engineer the Deacons' remarkable 11-3 season and ACC Championship. As a sophomore in 2007, Skinner led the nation in completion percentage at 72.4 percent and helped lead the Deacons to a 9-4 record and a win over Connecticut in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
Skinner and the rest of the Deacon quarterbacking crew are under new leadership this season. Former Wake Forest quarterbacks coach Jeff Mullen departed this past spring to become the offensive coordinator at West Virginia. Tom Elrod, who has oversaw the tight ends and fullbacks the previous five seasons, has shifted over to coach the quarterbacks.
"The transition has been good," said Elrod. "It makes it easier when you have two veterans guys like Brett (Hodges) and Riley (Skinner). Both of those guys are hard workers. The young guys are coming on as well. We have a good group right now.
"It's kind of an ideal situation. You have two guys who are juniors that have played a bunch. Then you have Ryan McManus who is also a guy you can count on. And then you have a mix of youth behind him--you have Skylar (Jones) and Ted (Stachitas). I think with the older guys and the younger guys we have a good balance."
Behind Skinner are a number of young and talented quarterback prospects. Brett Hodges, also a redshirt junior, started a pair of games in 2007 after Skinner suffered a separated shoulder in the season-opener at Boston College. Hodges led the Deacs to a win over Army and proved he is more than capable to playing in the ACC.
Ryan McManus, now in his fourth year in the program, is also in the mix at quarterback. While he is yet to take a snap in a game from under center, McManus is one of those players that will do anything to get on the field. After seeing considerable special teams action last year, the Greenville, N.C. native is also on the depth chart at long snapper and holder.
The coaching staff has high hopes for Skylar Jones, a redshirt freshman. The fastest quarterback on the team with 4.4 speed in the 40, Jones was an outstanding high school passer in the state of Ohio, and his speed would rank him among the fastest quarterbacks in the ACC.
"I feel like I'm more comfortable this year," said Jones. "Last year I was kind of overwhelmed being a freshman. Now, being a redshirt freshman and having that year of experience is a huge difference. I see myself fitting in as doing my job and when it's my time, be ready for it. I just have to come out here and compete and try to get better."
A trio of freshmen will begin their apprenticeships this fall. Ted Stachitas, from Jacksonville, Fla., was a second team all-state selection and was rated the 25th-best quarterback in the nation by one scouting service.
A pair of walk-ons will also be in the mix. Freshman Christian Hartford, the younger brother of wide receiver Matt Hartford, joined the club before the start of preseason practice. True freshman Turner Faulk, a Winston-Salem native, also joined the Deacons this summer.
