Wake Forest Athletics
Photo by: Jaylynn Nash LLC
Christian Beal-Smith Has Break-Out Game
10/15/2019 3:16:00 PM | Football, Les Johns
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Wake Forest football had one of the top one-two punches at tailback last season with Matt Colburn, II and Cade Carney combining for 1,764 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Colburn may have moved on to play professional football this year, but the Deacs now look to have not only a good combo at running back, but are offering a quick jab as an option with the emergence of Christian Beal-Smith Saturday night against Louisville.
Beal-Smith, a 5-foot-10 redshirt sophomore, led the Deacs with 123 yards rushing on 14 carries Saturday, his career-best output in a three-point loss to the Cards at BB&T Field.
"It felt great being able to contribute to the offense, but I'm just sad we didn't come out with a win," he said.
Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson knows what he has at the top of the depth chart at running back with senior Carney, who last year became the first Deacon to top 1,000 yards rushing since Chris Barclay in 2005. Carney pummels opposing defenses, often delivering more hits than he receives. But he's also missed a pair of games this season due to injury, and is second on the team with 297 yards and two scores on 73 carries.
The surprise leader in rushing at the midway mark of the season is true freshman Kenneth Walker, who emerged following a fantastic fall camp performance. Walker became the first Wake Forest freshman to lead the team in rushing yards in three straight games since Anthony Young in 2000. He's played in all six games this season, gaining 328 yards and two touchdowns on 37 attempts.
With Beal-Smith's output Saturday, the Deacs have had four different players churn out more than 100 yards rushing in a game (the three running backs, plus quarterback Jamie Newman). It's the first time that's happened since 1971.
Though Beal-Smith started twice this season while Carney was out, he got just eight rushing attempts combined in the two most recent games, at home in a 49-7 win against Elon then in Chestnut Hill in the 27-24 victory over Boston College.
"Christian wasn't happy with how much he played at BC," Clawson said. "We told him if you're not going to protect, you're not going to play. This week, I thought he did a much better job in protection. He took that personally."
Clawson turned to Beal-Smith early in the second quarter against the Cards, with the Deacs trailing by three touchdowns. He made an immediate impact, following up a modest four-yard gain on his first attempt with an explosive 17-yard rush up the middle that advanced the ball close to midfield. The Deacs scored four plays later on a Newman three-yard pass to Sage Surratt.
Four straight Beal-Smith running plays started the second drive of the third quarter that resulted in another Newman-to-Surratt touchdown pass. Beal-Smith earned two first downs to get the drive moving on runs of six, 10, nine and three yards in succession.
"We felt more comfortable with him protecting, so we got him in there more," Clawson said. "He was certainly very productive with the football."
Beal-Smith, a Winston-Salem product from East Forsyth High School, redshirted in 2017 then played sparingly in 2018 behind Colburn and Carney. He got in 13 games, gaining 231 yards on 47 carries. He's frequently shown flashes of brilliance in practices and scrimmages. Beal-Smith led Wake Forest running backs in the 2018 Spring Game with 97 rushing yards and two touchdowns. It's always been thought it was just a matter of time before he broke out in a game situation.
If that time is indeed now, it presents Clawson with a lethal trio of options at running back moving forward this season.
Colburn may have moved on to play professional football this year, but the Deacs now look to have not only a good combo at running back, but are offering a quick jab as an option with the emergence of Christian Beal-Smith Saturday night against Louisville.
Beal-Smith, a 5-foot-10 redshirt sophomore, led the Deacs with 123 yards rushing on 14 carries Saturday, his career-best output in a three-point loss to the Cards at BB&T Field.
"It felt great being able to contribute to the offense, but I'm just sad we didn't come out with a win," he said.
Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson knows what he has at the top of the depth chart at running back with senior Carney, who last year became the first Deacon to top 1,000 yards rushing since Chris Barclay in 2005. Carney pummels opposing defenses, often delivering more hits than he receives. But he's also missed a pair of games this season due to injury, and is second on the team with 297 yards and two scores on 73 carries.
The surprise leader in rushing at the midway mark of the season is true freshman Kenneth Walker, who emerged following a fantastic fall camp performance. Walker became the first Wake Forest freshman to lead the team in rushing yards in three straight games since Anthony Young in 2000. He's played in all six games this season, gaining 328 yards and two touchdowns on 37 attempts.
With Beal-Smith's output Saturday, the Deacs have had four different players churn out more than 100 yards rushing in a game (the three running backs, plus quarterback Jamie Newman). It's the first time that's happened since 1971.
Though Beal-Smith started twice this season while Carney was out, he got just eight rushing attempts combined in the two most recent games, at home in a 49-7 win against Elon then in Chestnut Hill in the 27-24 victory over Boston College.
"Christian wasn't happy with how much he played at BC," Clawson said. "We told him if you're not going to protect, you're not going to play. This week, I thought he did a much better job in protection. He took that personally."
Clawson turned to Beal-Smith early in the second quarter against the Cards, with the Deacs trailing by three touchdowns. He made an immediate impact, following up a modest four-yard gain on his first attempt with an explosive 17-yard rush up the middle that advanced the ball close to midfield. The Deacs scored four plays later on a Newman three-yard pass to Sage Surratt.
Four straight Beal-Smith running plays started the second drive of the third quarter that resulted in another Newman-to-Surratt touchdown pass. Beal-Smith earned two first downs to get the drive moving on runs of six, 10, nine and three yards in succession.
"We felt more comfortable with him protecting, so we got him in there more," Clawson said. "He was certainly very productive with the football."
Beal-Smith, a Winston-Salem product from East Forsyth High School, redshirted in 2017 then played sparingly in 2018 behind Colburn and Carney. He got in 13 games, gaining 231 yards on 47 carries. He's frequently shown flashes of brilliance in practices and scrimmages. Beal-Smith led Wake Forest running backs in the 2018 Spring Game with 97 rushing yards and two touchdowns. It's always been thought it was just a matter of time before he broke out in a game situation.
If that time is indeed now, it presents Clawson with a lethal trio of options at running back moving forward this season.
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