Five Questions with Warren Ruggiero

11/16/2020 12:30:00 PM | Football, Les Johns

“I think if you weighed everything that the virus has done to football and our program specifically, I think there’s been way more that has hurt Wake Forest more specifically than other programs." - Warren Ruggiero

By: Les Johns

The last three seasons have offensively been the most prolific in Wake Forest Football history, in terms of scoring and total yards.

But offensive coordinator Warren Ruggiero, because of graduations, faced a complete overhaul entering the 2020 campaign, having to replace every skill position starter and three of the five offensive linemen.

Assuming we're just passed the midway mark with an 11-game schedule and a presumed bowl appearance, the Demon Deacon offense looks largely on track.

We spoke with Ruggiero earlier this season for a Five Questions feature:

How did you come up with the short yardage package that features a direct snap to the running back?
Ruggiero: "We're going to have that in every week and expand what we're doing with it. We're only showing even 10 percent of what we can do at this point. We have a lot that we've practiced and haven't pulled out of the bag. It's a long season. We spent a lot of time building that package and a couple of heavier sets. That's been an emphasis. You will also see us in some spread sets down there too. Sam (Hartman) is a smart quarterback and will get us in the right checks. We've spent hours this summer watching red zone tape. He wanted to make sure we were in the right play and right adjustment down there."

On if they were resistant to going with that because it allows the defense to substitute players as well?
Ruggiero: "When you look at our strengths and deficiencies right now, we're probably a little deficient at making one-on-one plays on the outside. Sam (Hartman) is an adequate runner, but we don't want to shove him in there against nine guys in the box on the two-yard line all the time. I think it was a natural movement to find some other things to take care of the heavy boxes you see down there. I don't like slowing down in the open field at all, unless it's 3rd-and-1 or something. There's going to be times we keep going, but it's been a nice addition. Everyone has been open to it and working on it. It's been fun."

How are you able to utilize the explosiveness of both Christian Beal-Smith and Kenneth Walker III at running back?
Ruggiero: "Those guys are extremely talented. All those guys in the past years (Matt Colburn and Cade Carney have been effective in their own way, and we're always going to focus on running the ball. We're always going to need guys who have enough speed, but also have power. Both of those guys are elusive, fast and change direction. They are going to lower their pads and take the edge off the safety. Colburn and Carney did a great job of that, just running people over, spinning and going forward. But this has been a nice mix of speed, agility and power. They are a perfect fit of what we want to do with our run game."

How has the pandemic affected getting the offense ready with so many personnel changes?
Ruggiero: "I think if you weighed everything that the virus has done to football and our program specifically, I think there's been way more that has hurt Wake Forest more specifically than other programs. But our job is to find a way to dig ourselves out fast and figure a way out. This does not allow Wake Forest to easily be who Wake Forest is, in terms of developing kids and get together as a team. We have some catching up to do."

What are your thoughts on the start to the season by slot receivers Jaquarii Roberson and Taylor Morin?
Ruggiero: "If you look back in April, you wouldn't have thought that is where the ball was going to go a lot. Things change, as they do all the time. We knew Morin was going to be good. He had some good practices in the five spring camp workouts. Jaquarii has been frustrated at times, waiting for his opportunity — first behind (Greg) Dortch and then Kendall (Hinton). He's had an up and down rocky road. He's played a little bit, but is finally in a really neat spot. He's playing hard and competing for the football. Morin just has a competitive nature. He's reliable and talented. With Jaquarii finding his zone and Morin becoming who he can be, we've done some things to get the ball there more as the year goes on. That's been awesome."