Deacons Hold Second Spring Scrimmage

4/13/2013 12:00:00 AM | Football

April 13, 2013

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe put the Deacons through a 75 minute scrimmage on Saturday morning at BB&T Field. It was the second of three planned scrimmages this spring which will culminate on Saturday, April 20 with the Spring Game at BB&T Field.

The Demon Deacon offense accounted for a pair of touchdowns with quarterback Tanner Price running for a three-yard score and running back Josh Harris going over from four yards out.

Harris led all Deacon rushers with 67 yards on 14 carries. Redshirt sophomore Deandre Martin added 63 yards on eight carries including the longest run of the scrimmage at 24 yards. Slot back Orville Reynolds also carried four times for 36 yards.

"Offensively, I thought we improved quite a bit," said Grobe following the scrimmage. "We've got a lot of talent in the young guys but they made some mistakes, going the wrong way, that killed drives. Our guys are just trying to figure out what to do more than recognizing the situation.

"I feel good about all our guys taking snaps at quarterback. I thought our running backs got better today. I thought Josh (Harris) was more comfortable, I thought DeAndre (Martin) was more comfortable. I was really pleased with the offensive line."

Redshirt freshman safety Ryan Janvion led the defense with nine tackles while defensive end Zach Thompson and inside linebacker Brandon Chubb each contributed seven stops. Britt Cherry and Shelldon Lewinson combined for the lone sack of the scrimmage.

"Defensively, you're going to give up some plays once in a while but I thought we had a lot of energy, lot of guys running to the football," said Grobe. "We've got a lot of young guys on the field who aren't real comfortable with what to do but when they know what to do, they're getting to the football in a hurry. I like that side of it."

Saturday's scrimmage focused on rushing the ball with the Deacons staying on the ground on 57 of 66 offensive plays.

"We didn't throw the ball as much as we have been but it was good for us to work on the running game," said Grobe.

Brandon Terry was the only receiver with multiple receptions, making two catches for 66 yards. He was on the receiving end of the day's longest play, a 42-yard reception from quarterback Tyler Cameron. It was Cameron's only pass attempt of the game. Terry also had a 24-yard reception from Patrick Thompson.

Thompson completed two of four passes for 39 yards including te 24-yarder to Terry. Brad Idzik, Jordan Garside and Orville Reynolds each added a reception.

Price and Kevin Sousa each completed one of two passes.

"Orville Reynolds has been one of the surprises of the spring," said Grobe. "He's come a long, long way.

"Our offense is stressing our defense out. They're making them be assignment-conscious, be in the right spot so we just don't have guys running around without thinking. They've got to know where they've got to be. I like the way we're playing right now.

"Our offensive line is playing pretty good right now," said Grobe. "Those guys are coming off the football. It's a tough group, we gave them a lot of reps today."

"The thing that I like on this defense is we have a handful of guys who are good at taking the ball away, they're athletic," said Grobe. "AJ Marshall has had a great spring, he's doing a good job coordinating that secondary. We haven't used Merrill Noel as much as we need to this spring because of his (off-season) shoulder surgery. Zach Thompson's had a great spring and he's one that nobody ever talks about. And Justin Jackson is a really good player. I'm happy defensively right now.

"I think with Jonathan Garcia and Des Floyd, Josh Banks, we've got depth in the defensive line and I didn't expect that coming into the spring. Des Floyd's had a great spring."

Placekicker Chad Hedlund converted both PAT opportunities but missed his lone field goal attempt from 43 yards.

Saturday's spring scrimmage at BB&T Field is scheduled to begin at 1 pm on Saturday, April 20.