Wake Forest Athletics
Deacs Beat The Heat with Monday Night Practice
8/4/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 4, 2008
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest beat the heat on Monday with a 7:15 p.m. practice session at the Doc Martin Football Practice Complex. The Demon Deacons will don full pads for Tuesday's 8:00 p.m. practice session.
The Deacons practiced for nearly two hours on Monday evening, mixing in special teams work with passing drills and pass defense assignments.
Wide receiver Chip Brinkman was sidelined for Monday's practice with a strained hamstring and freshman tight end J.T. Dixon continues to watch while nursing a sore back.
"(Today was a) good work day," said head coach Jim Grobe. "We're sluggish, we're really sluggish mentally and physically. I don't like the way our defensive guys are getting off blocks. I think we're laying on blocks too much. Offensively, we're just not real sharp taking steps and getting angles. Up front, we're hitting the ground too much.
"As far as effort, we're getting plenty of effort," continued Grobe. "Mentally, we're not very sharp, especially our young guys. Our young guys are, when they get a little bit tired and they're trying to think, their brain's not going real well. I think in two or three days from now, we'll start to see our legs coming back a little bit, we'll get a little sharper physically and hopefully, we'll get a lot sharper mentally. Our old guys are closer, but the young guys, in some cases, guys we think have enough ability physically to play for us right now, just aren't there mentally. So they're going to have to do a good job concentrating."
Putting on the pads shouldn't present much difference to the Deacons on Tuesday.
"We're not much different in pads than we are in shells," said Grobe. "I think the pads, more than anything, keep us from getting the goofy thigh bruises. We'll be about the same as we were today. We'll do more when we get to Saturday and we scrimmage but right now, it's all about learning what to do. That's our biggest hurdle right now, getting better mentally."
Wake Forest enters the 2008 season with a solid corps of running backs, highlighted by redshirt sophomore Josh Adams. Adams, the ACC's Rookie of the Year in 2007, finished third in the league in rushing with 953 yards, an average of 79.4 yards per game. Adams collected three 100-yard rushing games last year and showed he has the breakaway speed needed to play in the ACC when he sprinted 83 yards for a score against Florida State. Adams set school records for rushing yards, attempts, receptions and touchdowns by a redshirt freshman and was a second team Freshman All-American by The Sporting News.
Adams underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in June to clean up some cartilage that had bothered him during the 2007 season. While not quite back at full speed, running backs coach Billy Mitchell expects Adams to return to the form that made him an elite rusher in the ACC in 2007.
"I expect Josh to come back where he left off and actually be a little better," said Mitchell. "He's got a year behind him in the weight room, another year behind him mentally and he's maturing. Some of the things he might not have been sure of before, he has more confidence now. As he continues to grow and do the things we ask of him, he's going to get better."
Much is expected of redshirt freshman Brandon Pendergrass, a highly recruited running back from Royal Palm Beach, Fla. Rated the 20th-best running back in the nation by ESPN coming out of high school, Pendergrass is expected to be Adams' primary backup this season.
Mitchell said that Pendergrass compares favorably to where Adams was a year ago, on the verge of his first competition.
"Brandon may be a little further along (than Josh) because Josh, strength-wise, was not where Brandon is now," said Mitchell. "Josh, as he came along got stronger but Brandon's pretty strong right now. As far as the mental part of the game, Brandon's about where Josh was (last year)."
A host of running backs will also vie for playing time this season. C.J. Washington, a graduate of Winston-Salem's Carver High, has shown explosive speed, both in the spring and again this fall. Junior Anthony Williams is taking reps at running back along with redshirt freshmen Willie Dixon and Jose Domenech. Lovell Jackson is the lone true freshman in camp at running back.
"For what we're doing right now, they're doing okay," said Mitchell of the backs. "Of course, we haven't gotten into pads yet and that will tell us a little more. Right now, as far as the drills and the agility stuff we're doing, catching the ball, they're doing a pretty good job. Josh isn't quite 100 percent right now but he's doing well with what we're doing. Anthony, CJ, Brandon, they're doing some good things. We're looking forward to actually hitting and having some contact."
Grobe is also pleased with his backs through the early part of camp.
"I like the kids that we've got," said Grobe. "We're kind of in the mode right now where we're trying to take one running back in each class so we don't get stockpiled with kids that don't have a chance to get reps, kind of like we are at quarterback. We have very talented running backs but we just don't have too many of them so we have to stay healthy. Josh Adams and Brandon Pendergrass are both doing a real nice job for us. The other kids are competitive. I think CJ Washington's had some real nice runs so far. I feel good about where we are and the key is for us to stay healthy."
