Wake Forest Football Practice Report No. 13
8/20/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 20, 2010
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest football team practiced Friday evening in full pads under excellent weather conditions at the Doc Martin Practice Complex.
"We had a really good practice tonight," said head coach Jim Grobe. "We had a crisp practice all night. Our quarterbacks were throwing the ball better - they had more zip on the ball tonight. Overall, we just seemed fresher - like a team that's starting to get its legs under it a little bit."
The Demon Deacons were originally scheduled to have a morning practice as well, but with several freshmen in the mix to see the field this year, Wake Forest's mandatory freshman orientation all morning and afternoon caused the team to cancel the session.
"The rest was good for the varsity guys. They needed to get off their feet a little bit, and we were able to have a lot of good meeting time with the guys," said Grobe. "We have to look at some of our freshmen right now, so orientation really made it impossible to have two practices today. My basic plan is to try to not waste eligibility for young guys, so if we put them on the field as a freshman, they have to be the real deal. A morning practice would have done us no good without the freshmen."
At this point in the preseason, the coaching staff has started to develop what they believe to be a two-deep roster at several positions.
"At a lot of positions we are pretty aware of who our ones and twos are. In some cases, we're still looking at some threes who are still in the mix to play," said Grobe. "Certainly quarterback is one of those positions. I think we have three tailbacks who can all play right now. We're also that way at defensive tackle. I don't know if we have a front runner at defensive tackle, but we have about five or six guys who are competitive to play at those two spots."
Although Wake Forest opens up the 2010 season against Presbyterian in less than two weeks, the players are still focused on competing against each other and battling for time on the field.
"Our guys are still competing for jobs out here, so I'm not sure if any of them are really thinking about the first game yet," said Grobe. "We're taxing our guys in practice, and they are a little more focused on their own performance right now. We are posting a depth chart every day. If you have a bad practice you're liable to slide down, and a good practice for a guy might move him up to second or first team."
The Demon Deacons will practice again tomorrow evening after another day of freshman orientation.