Wake Forest Football Practice Report No. 7
8/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 12, 2010
"Today was the first really hot day we've had, so it was a little bit of survival for the guys today," said head coach Jim Grobe. "Even with the heat, though, our kids worked hard. No one was lazy out there today. I'm pleased with what we got done today, even though it certainly wasn't pretty."
During the second half of practice, the players were able to go through their first true hitting drills as the offense practiced its red zone playbook against the defense.
"I thought the defense had the upper hand today despite the fact we weren't having the offense go very far down the field. We did have the offense put together a couple of good drives and get into the endzone, though," said Grobe. "Once we look at the video of that session, we're going to be able to see who was able to play when they were tired and who stepped up. The important part of that drill was the guys had fun since it was the first real tackling session that we've had."
On the offensive side of the ball, the first week of practice has consisted mostly of getting the quarterbacks and the wide receivers on the same page. Grobe will be looking to get the running backs involved more, particularly at the team's first scrimmage on Saturday.
"The running backs are doing fine right now. I think we probably need to get them the ball more so that can get their touches in practice. As we go further into practice, we will be able to get that done," said Grobe.
Leading the group of running backs is senior Josh Adams. The Cary, N.C., native is currently 11th in Wake Forest history with 1,896 career rushing yards.
With just over 100 yards, Adams will become the 10th Demon Deacon to rush for 2,000 career rushing yards, and as a redshirt freshman in 2007, he was named the ACC Rookie of the Year.
"Josh has been a leader on this team for four years. Even when he was a freshman, he's been the guy with a great work ethic in the weight room, in practice and in the games," said Grobe.
The Demon Deacons will now gear up for their first double session of the preseason with practices tomorrow from 9:30 am-Noon and 7:30 pm-10 pm.
"For us, that won't be a big deal. We just have two practices tomorrow and two opportunities to make ourselves better," said Grobe. "We've been doing something we haven't done before by giving the freshman about as many reps as the upperclassmen. With that, I anticipate tomorrow we will probably make some mistakes, but the two practices will be about keeping the effort level high and getting everyone a lot of reps."
