Thursday Football Practice Report
4/8/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 8, 2011
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest enjoyed its warmest weather of the spring as the Demon Deacons worked out in helmets and shoulder pads on Thursday afternoon at the Doc Martin Practice Complex on campus.
With clear skies and 70-degree temperatures, the conditions were just right for the Deacons to get back at it on the gridiron. Wake Forest is finishing up its next-to-last week of spring practice and is looking ahead to Saturday's scrimmage, which will be the team's third of the spring.
The offense and defense have been going back and forth to see which unit has the best day at each practice, which is something the coaching staff finds encouraging.
"When the offense has a good day on Saturday, you expect the defense to bounce back on Tuesday and that's what happened," said head coach Jim Grobe. "They just keep going back and forth, but it's good to see competition."
The offense shined in last weekend's scrimmage at BB&T Field, as the Deacons scored three touchdowns--two of which went for 65 yards. The defense is well aware that they need to turn that around and have a strong showing in this Saturday's scrimmage.
"We (the defense) just have to pick it up more [on Saturday]," said senior safety Cyhl Quarles. "The offense is getting better at knowing our tendencies of when we blitz and when we don't blitz. We need to call the right defense. We just have to pick it up and get the young guys on board and also get the older guys to understand what we're doing as well."
Despite seeing room for improvement, the veteran Quarles is pleased with how the spring workouts have gone thus far.
"We're doing well as a team," said Quarles. "We're really bonding this year, putting last season behind us and getting on board with the coaches and what they're trying to do."
The Deacons had a host of on-lookers at Thursday's practice, as the football team from Hough High School in Cornelius, N.C., was on hand to take in the workouts. Grobe's son Ben is an assistant coach at Hough.
Wake Forest also welcomed a few familiar faces to practice yesterday, as former Deacon staffers and current Charlotte 49er assistant coaches Jeff Mullen and James Adams were on hand.
The Deacons will hold the third of their four scheduled scrimmages on Saturday at 10 a.m. at BB&T Field. Wake Forest's annual spring scrimmage is scheduled for Saturday, April 16 at 1 p.m. at BB&T Field. All spring scrimmages and workouts are free and open to the public.
