Wake Forest Practice Report No. 12
8/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 18, 2010
The Demon Deacons donned full pads for the morning workout, which was held under clear skies and muggy conditions.
"I think we had a pretty good practice. It wasn't blazing hot, but it was warm enough to get everybody's attention," said head coach Jim Grobe after the morning session. "I thought we competed really well. I was disappointed we put the ball on the ground a lot. In that one period we had two balls on the ground and that will get you beat quicker than anything in the world."
The Deacons practiced in just shells for the afternoon session, which was moved up three hours ahead of the originally-scheduled start time due to the threat of rain. Wake was able to get an 18-period workout in under clear skies.
On the eve of Thursday's intrasquad scrimmage at BB&T Field, Grobe and his team have almost two full weeks of preseason preparation under their belts. Grobe was asked what he was looking for out of the Deacons in their second scrimmage of the preseason.
"To continue to compete hard," answered Grobe. "Every position is still up for grabs. Wherever you are on the depth chart--whether you're one, two, three or four--don't go to sleep. If you're fourth team right now, don't feel like you're out of it. If you're first team you'd better get after it tomorrow too.
"I'm not downplaying tomorrow's scrimmage, but I think what we found is we've got a few guys who are hot and cold from one day to the next. So what we're really trying to do is chart everything they do in every practice so that you don't just have one flashy scrimmage and all of a sudden you're the top guy...I think tomorrow in the scrimmage what we're probably looking for as coaches more than anything else is just a better mental focus--fewer mental mistakes, fewer assignments busts and just a better grasp of what we're asking them to do."
In addition to evaluating the Deacons' play on the field, Grobe and his staff will have their hands full off the field on Thursday as well. Weather reports are calling for a strong chance of rain, but the biggest obstacle may lie in getting the true freshmen players ready for the scrimmage. University orientation begins on Thursday and runs through Saturday.
"There are a lot of things that they have to do and a lot of things the school wants them to do before they start the fall semester," said Grobe. "We just have to be flexible. In at least one of our practices we're going to miss most of the freshmen, but we're kind of working practices around their schedule a little bit. We'll have to be light on our feet and try to figure out how we can practice and get the most kids."
Orientation conflicts usually did not pose much of a problem in the past when it was all but decided to redshirt the freshman class en masse. However, it is especially tricky this season with so many true freshmen competing to see action this year.
"One of our issues has been I don't know if we've ever had this many freshmen competitive to play," added Grobe. "In the past I've never really worried about it much. Now that we get kids here for second session of summer school, by the time we start practice they're pretty familiar with Wake Forest.
"So where you used to have a lot of freshmen when you started practice have that deer-in-the-headlight look, our kids aren't that way now because they've gotten to know their teammates. They've lifted with them; they've come out and done 7-on-7 together; they've pushed sleds together. By the time we get started all the guys are friends and not intimidated to start football practice. Consequently we've got a handful of kids right now that in two weeks might be playing."
Wake Forest will hold its second preseason scrimmage on Thursday at BB&T Field. The session is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. and is open to the public.