Wake Forest Athletics
Redshirt Freshmen Stand Out in Deacon Debuts
9/5/2013 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sep 5, 2013
By Emma Lingan, WakeForestSports.com
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The days leading up to Wake Forest's season opener against Presbyterian brought a great deal of hype about the veteran talent that was expected to anchor this year's football program. When the Demon Deacons took the field on Thursday night, however, the young guns stole the show.
Head coach Jim Grobe's unprecedented decision to play 10 true freshmen in the game has earned the rookies much attention this week, but this acclamation of collegiate debuts would be incomplete without a nod to the 16 redshirt freshmen who also did much to contribute to the Deacons' 31-7 victory.
In the absence of veteran receivers Michael Campanaro and Matt James, who were sidelined with injuries, redshirt freshman Jonathan Williams emerged as quarterback Tanner Price's go-to target for the night.
"It was kind of easy," Williams said about his connection with Price. "During the summer, we worked on timing a lot. I stayed during the summer for the first session and second session, so we got a lot of work done. Also, in camp the whole offense was fighting to get stuff done."
Williams caught a 53-yard pass from Price to put the Deacs on the Presbyterian 11-yard line, ultimately resulting in a touchdown at the end of the second quarter. He finished the night with five catches for 143 yards, setting a school record for receiving yardage by a freshman in his first game.
"It was kind of a surprise to me," Williams said. "I just went out and played the best I could. Presbyterian was a hard battle for me, being that it was my first college game. I just went with the flow and played the best that I could."
Price was especially impressed with Williams' performance in light of Campanaro's absence from the field.
"We really need that number two receiver to match [Campanaro], and it's going to be really good if [Williams] continues to develop confidence," Price said.
Linebacker Steve Donatell and safety Ryan Janvion were the other redshirt freshmen who joined Williams as starters in Thursday's game. In addition, tailback Joshua Wilhite capitalized on his first collegiate carry with a 21-yard touchdown following a Presbyterian fumble in the fourth quarter, the final scoring play of the night.
Despite these standout debuts, the team is wary of the challenges that this week's matchup against Boston College presents. The Deacons have more to gain from a conference win, and Grobe is hopeful that the added difficulty of opening ACC play in an unfamiliar environment will not faze these young players.
"Every environment that we go into on the road is a tough environment, so one of the issues you've got is not only having young guys that can make mistakes in practice or at a home game, but when you take them on the road, the mistakes typically get magnified," Grobe said. "We're just trying to get them ready for a little bit of a hostile environment, a little bit louder environment where you don't have everybody on your side. In fact, most of them are against you. You hope they're able to go up there and get focused and do a good job."
