Wake Forest Athletics
O'NEIL: Offense Interrupted by Injury
10/23/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Brad O'Neil, WakeForestSports.com
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - In an earlier era, John Wolford might have kept playing Saturday afternoon. But this is 2014 and a hit to the head -- even if not deemed to have caused a concussion -- is enough to give any football trainers concern. For Wake Forest, the result of that necessary caution was another kind of pause in what became a 30-7 loss to Syracuse.
Through one quarter and part of the second, the Wake Forest offense showed signs of improvement behind a viable running game and resulting short passing. Undeniably tenuous to begin with, it snapped on one snap.
Pressured by Dyshawn Davis, Wolford threw a pass in the flat. At the moment Robert Welsh was intercepting and starting a 42-yard touchdown return, the Demon Deacons' true freshman quarterback was absorbing a hit to the head from Davis. He was evaluated for concussion symptoms and passed the tests.
But the science of the brain is still uncertain. Videotape was unequivocal: Wolford had been hit (legally) in the noggin. He would not play the rest of the day.
"We're not going to take any chances," coach Dave Clawson said. "You have to play it extremely safe, and we played it extremely safe."
This didn't sit well with Wolford, who indicated he felt no ill effects.
"I said, 'That's not your call.' And coaches don't make those calls," Clawson said.
Before the play, Wolford looked more comfortable than he had at any point in this, his true freshman year. The running game, previously muted, showed signs of life behind Dezmond Wortham, a redshirt freshman from Fisco, Texas who was elevated to the top job by injuries to others. Wortham displayed a propensity to make people miss. And with at least a slight threat established, Wolford was briefly able to make an impact with short, play-action passes over the middle, one of which was a TD toss to tight end Cam Serigne.
That made it 7-0 for Wake Forest, and it was the high-water mark.
Clawson was unequivocal that one play didn't kill his team's chances. But the loss of the only reasonably experienced quarterback didn't help. Tyler Cameron, Wolford's replacement, ran his way into a sack and lost a fumble that the Orange took for another score. The Deacs were unable to move the ball consistently under Cameron.
As has been its custom, the Deacon defense played well. It's an unfortunate matter of statistical rules that it's charged with 30 points allowed; it permitted only one touchdown on Saturday.
"When your defense allows one touchdown, you should be in the game with a chance to win it," Clawson said.
The loss of Wolford was compounded when Cameron went out with a knee injury. That left things to third-teamer Kevin Sousa, the scout-team QB who has limited exposure to the full extent of the offense.
Sousa, Clawson said, knows only about six plays in the playbook, which is why the Deacs weren't throwing the ball or going for it on fourth down while trailing in the fourth quarter.
Clawson said at the time it was too soon to speculate on the quarterback situation for the next home game with Boston College, but he maintained it's also too soon to dismiss the rest of his first season.
"It will get better," he said. "We're in the first stage of a long process of building a program. I do believe we are going to win here and at a high level, but we obviously have a long way to go."
