Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Price Is Rising

My thinking all along has been that it would be too much to ask Tanner Price to step on the field as a recently-arrived freshman and win the battle for Wake’s starting quarterback. That said, I do recognize that you can ask more from some people than you can from others.

Price, a 6-2 lefty from Austin, has been the buzz of the early practices. He has a sleight-of-hand release on his passes, thrown from the left ear-hole of his helmet—not unlike a catcher pegging a runner out at second. And the ball gets to the receiver on a line, at times before the receiver is ready.

“He’s got a quick release and he’s got a lot of zip on his throws,’’ Coach Jim Grobe said. “He gets it there in a hurry.

“It’s caught our receivers off-guard a little bit. They’re saying it’s the spin of the ball. I’m thinking it’s just on them a little quicker sometimes than they’re expecting out of a freshman.’‘

The first dozen or so passes I saw Price throw were right on the money. I never saw him throw a bad one until Saturday, and as you might expect, that was against a live secondary looking to make plays. In that drill, he threw one into the ground and threw another well over a receiver’s hands. I mentioned to Grobe the difference, and he said that’s because Price was having to make reads and checks.

“But we can teach that,’’ Grobe said. “What we can’t teach is that release and the zip he gets on the ball.’

My first conversation with Price was at Saturday’s media day. He said all the right things, making sure he didn’t ruffle any feathers. But he does have presence and seems like a sharp, straight-ahead young man. Grobe said he received some advanced lessons for a high school player during his glory days at Westlake High School, the same school that developed Drew Brees.

“He played in the state championship game and it went into overtime (before a 41-38 loss to Euless Trinity) at the highest level in Texas,’’ Grobe said. “They’ve got pretty good football. He comes from a great program.

“It’s still a little unexpected when a freshman quarterback shows the maturity he’s shown so far. He doesn’t get rattled. We’ve been doing some stuff on a pretty quick pace and that doesn’t seem to upset him at all. He’s obviously got some ability. It’s been fun to see him.’‘

If I had to predict—and I might as well, seeing’s how it’s my blog—I still don’t think Price will start against Presbyterian in the Sept. 2 opener. We forget sometimes how much ballyhoo the other quarterbacks on the roster, Skylar Jones, Ted Stachitas and Brendan Cross, had when they signed with the Deacons. The competition is stiff. If Stachitas can finally stay healthy for the whole preseason, then my bet is he starts the opener because of his ability to both run and throw. He has looked good the first week, more of what I expected to see from a guy who was named the Florida Times-Union’s Player of the Year after helping Nease High School reach three straight state championship games—one as a backup to a quarterback named Tim Tebow and the next two as the starter.

But if Stachitas, Jones or Cross does take the first snap, this much I know. He’ll be looking over his shoulder at a freshman from Austin wearing No. 11.

Saturday, August 07, 2010

An Attitude Adjustment at Wake Forest

Jim Grobe, coming off his first losing season since 2005, has laid down the law to this year’s team.

No more Mr. Nice Guy.

“I’ll just tell you, I was too nice last year,’’ Grobe said at today’s media day gathering at BB&T Field. “I tolerated some average attitudes on our football team. If you don’t have a good attitude this fall, you will not be on this football team. That’s just the way it’s going to be.’‘

Grobe’s comments came in response to a question about Alex Frye, the senior cornerback from Fayetteville who was removed from the active roster for three games last year for reasons Grobe never fully explained—other than to say that Frye’s attitude was not what it should be. Frye had a good spring, and is back in the good graces and running first team at the cornerback opposite sophomore Kenny Okoro.

“He had a good attitude in the spring,’’ Grobe said. “Of course we’re not with our players in the summer. We’re not allowed to be NCAA-wise. So I don’t really know how the summer went. But so far, the first couple of practices, he’s been fine.

“I think Alex’s biggest issue is going to be consistency. Every once in awhile he’ll take a lazy step. He won’t quite be full-speed. And we’re not going to play anybody like that. But I will say he has responded to everything we’ve asked him to do. So far he’s been a pleasant surprise, and he’s working for the right guy right now because Brad (Lambert, Wake’s cornerbacks coach and defensive coordinator) is not going to put up with anything.

“He’s been a real high-maintenance guy for us in the past, and now he’s a low-maintenance guy. And I like that. I tell our kids, `I go to bed with heartburn, you’re going to pay the price the next day.’ ‘’

Friday, August 06, 2010

Wilber: “We’ve Got Something For You’’

Some of you guys—and by guys, I mean it in the more modern non-gender-specific sense—in the Peanut Gallery have wondered what the Wake Forest players feel about being picked by the media to finish fifth in the ACC’s Atlantic Division, and how they might use what some would consider a slight as motivation going into the 2010 football season.

Well once again, here at MTOW it’s a case of Ask And Ye Shall Receive.

Each season, just before practice begins, I like to talk with a number of players to get their take on what to expect. This time around, on Tuesday, I conducted a series of interviews with Jimmy Newman, Joe Looney, Kyle Wilber, Kenny Okoro and Tommy Bohanon. Bonnie Rae, Coach Jim Grobe’s executive secretary and gatekeeper extraordinaire, had them all lined up and we ran them, one by one, through this little film room like clockwork. I enjoyed all five sessions and learned a great deal, some of which I’ve already reported in Journal features on Newman (Thursday) and Looney (this morning). Tomorrow we’ll have a piece on Wilber, and what his return from a broken fibula can mean to a defense that a year ago was sorely lacking in playmakers.

I took the opportunity to ask each player his reaction to the low preseason ranking and whether it would be an extra burr under their saddle this season. Wilber, by nature, really doesn’t like to talk about himself, but he didn’t mind one bit addressing the low opinion others seem to invariably have of the Wake Forest football program. His comments were easily the best of the day on that subject.

“It’s kind of frustrating,’’ Wilber said. “I know our defense is, I would say, one of the best in the ACC. Our offense, we have crazy weapons just ready to explode out there on the field. It’s like that we’re like a small-time school and we’re underdogs all the time. We’re always overlooked. But we’re going to give them something to show this year.’‘

I opined that Wake Forest always seemed to play better as an underdog, and I asked Wilber if he agreed.

“I think it does, because we were all one or two stars on Rivals.,” Wilber said, referring to Rivals.com, an internet website that specializes in recruiting rankings. “We’re out to prove we’re somebody and we can hit you just as hard a five-star player can.

“We’re not going to take this being overlooked by everybody like that. We were overlooked in high school and we’re overlooked in college now. We’re ready to show you now. We’ve got something for you.’‘

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Newman Has Big Cleats to Fill

I’ve spent 35 years writing sports for what passes for a living and I might have to spend another 35 to see a kicker have a better game than Sam Swank had on Oct. 14, 2006. That’s the day Swank nailed one field goal of 51 yards and two of 53 in a 25-23 victory at N.C. State. Think Chuck Amato might have been cursing his luck that night, to give up three field goals from neighboring counties and lose at home by two?

There were two problems with Swank’s career. He pulled a quad that really marred his senior season, and he spoiled all of our expectations of what to expect from a kicker.

Jimmy Newman acquitted himself pretty well as a freshman last season, converting 11 of 14 field-goal attempts from inside 50 yards. He missed all three from beyond to go 11-for-17 for the season. But everything Newman did was compared, and will continue to be compared, against the greatest kicker in school history.

Newman appears to have every bit of Swank’s leg. But what made Swank great was his mental grip on his doubts and fears. In an effort to improve that part of his craft, Newman spent three days this summer working out with Morten Andersen, the man who many consider the greatest kicker in NFL history. Andersen, who holds NFL records for most points and most field goals, certainly has the credentials.

I talked with Newman earlier this week about the experience and have written a piece for the Journal. It’s scheduled to run tomorrow leading into the first practice, scheduled for 7:30 on campus.

Hope you check it out.

DeGeare Getting It Done

As a proud father, Brian DeGeare is someone I can empathize with. He’s also a good friend, from the days we spent talking on the wall at Wake’s football practices.

Brian was so good as to send along news from his son Chris, a mainstay on the Deacons’ offense line these last few seasons who is now a rookie with the Minnesota Vikings. A 5th-round draft pick, Chris has impressed Coach Brad Childress and the staff in the early going. DeGeare Imressive Chris made a mistake at Wake by falling behind academically and having to sit out his first senior season of 2008. He could have let the sad and embarrassing episode beat him, but Chris was raised better than that. He came back strong and focused last season, and given the woes of the offensive line, I would hate to think where the Deacons would have been without him. Thanks for the news. I know I’m not the only one from around these parts wishing Chris has a long and storied NFL career.

There was more good news for the Wake community out of Kansas City, where the Chiefs have signed John Russell to a free-agent contract. I’ve never known a player who played harder than John Russell, who was signed and released earlier by the Packers. He deserves a shot, and I hope he gets it.

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Deacs Need to Make a Stand

Came in last night at half past 10, and that baby of mine, well, she actually did let me in. The whole family, in fact, was here when I got back from covering the Dash. We’ve got Rebecca here another week and Nate another 10 days or so before they head off for their next round of college, Rebecca to her junior year at that liberal arts university somewhere in the general vicinity of the geographical center of the state that will go unnamed and Nate to Dallas to pursue his Masters in performance at SMU. These are precious, and fleeting, days.

But in that I’ve always had trouble settling in after a night’s work, all were sacked out long before my head hit the pillow. While unwinding, my mind drifted to last season at Wake and what happened to keep Riley Skinner and the other seniors from having the kind of sendoff they wanted and, by all rights, deserved. I stumbled across a statistic that I, for one, found particularly telling. I recognized the Deacons struggled last season on defense, but Coach Brad Lambert’s troops came across as at least respectable by ranking seventh in the ACC in the most important statistic of all, scoring defense. In total defense, the Deacons ranked 10th.

Closer inspection, however, showed that what defense success the Deacons had last season came, for the most part, against non-conference opponents. The ACC doesn’t compile for public consumption statistics in conference games only, at least not in football. So I had to do the calculations myself, and found out that in the games that mattered most the Deacons gave up more points (254) than any team other than Florida State and N.C. State. And both the Seminoles (278 points) and Wolfpack (315) were real sieves on defense.

Wake ranked so low partly because it didn’t stone any ACC team all year. Virginia held UNC to 3 points and Maryland to 9. Duke beat Maryland 17-13 in an impressive performance by both defenses. But the Deacons’ best defensive showing was the 24 points they gave up to N.C. State. BC scored 27 and Miami 28, and the other five scored at least 30.

Aaron Curry, Alphonso Smith, Chip Vaughn, Stanley Arnoux, et. al, wouldn’t have been missed so badly if Kyle Wilber hadn’t been sidelined seven games with a broken leg and if Boo Robinson had enjoyed the kind of dominating senior season he and the team wanted. But as it turned out, the Deacons had a defense that didn’t force many turnovers, didn’t put great pressure on the quarterback and didn’t get off the field often enough on third down.

So for all the talk about who’s going to play quarterback this season, and how will the offensive line come together, none of it will make enough difference if the Deacons don’t tighten up on defense. Grobe has said many times that the talent is there. This would be a good season for it to show up.

Monday, August 02, 2010

Waiting for Football With Bated Breath

Football, for all its appeal, has no phrase to match baseball’s four most magical words in the English language.

Pitchers and catchers report.

Even the day players are scheduled to report for fall practice—which is Wednesday at Wake Forest—has lost its suspense. Everybody who is anybody is already on campus attending the second semester of summer school, which will run through Aug. 11. So the Deacons will only be required to walk across campus and check in with Bonnie Rae, Jim Grobe’s executive secretary, if that’s not too much to ask.

And as bated as our breath might be for football, we’ll still have to wait until next week to see some real head-knocking. Under what is known as the NCAA acclimatization process, teams practice the first two days of preseason with the helmet as the only protective equipment allowed, and the two after that in helmets and shoulder pads. Not until the the fifth day will the Deacons be in full pads.

So most of the answers I’ll really be looking for as I hang out with the wall birds and stroll around the different practice stations won’t come until next week—at the earliest. But in the meantime I’ll share the main questions I have for Grobe and his players as they grind into shape for the 2010 football season scheduled to begin Sept. 2 at home against Presbyterian.

No. 1 (the obvious): Who’s the quarterback? Riley Skinner answered that one four straight years, but he’s gone. Junior Skylar Jones emerged from spring practices as first team, but Grobe said the issue won’t be settled until August. Well it’s August, and Jones will be trying to hold off the challenges from sophomore Ted Stachitas, redshirt freshman Brendan Cross and possibly first-year freshman Tanner Price.

No. 2: How can the Deacons best utilize the deepest and very possibly most talented position group on the roster, the wide receivers? Sophomore Lovell (Scooby) Jackson and redshirt freshman Michael Campanaro are actually listed as running backs, but with senior Josh Adams and junior Brandon Pendergrass ahead of them on the depth chart, I imagine Grobe and offensive coordinator Steed Lobotzke will look for chances to get their fastest and most explosive players on the field whenever possible. Nobody looked more explosive early last August than Terence Davis, before he tore a knee ligament and was lost for the season. He’s back in the picture now as a sophomore to compete against senior Marshall Williams, junior Devon Brown, sophomore Chris Givens, senior Jordan Williams, junior Danny Dembry and redshirt freshman Quan Rucker. Whoever emerges as quarterback shouldn’t be short on available targets.

No. 3: Is this the season the Deacons shore up their once dominant offensive line? There are two reasons Adams’ production has slipped from 953 yards rushing as a freshman to 541 as a junior. He has battled one injury after another while running behind an offensive line that has been only a shadow of those that opened holes during Grobe’s first six years as head coach, back when the Deacons regularly ranked among the nation’s best in rushing. Grobe has spoke glowingly of the athleticism and overall talent level of the linemen he has in the program, but truth is, only senior center Russell Nenon and junior guard Joe Looney have really established themselves in the ACC trenches. And Nenon is coming off a shoulder injury that sidelined him during the spring. As fall practices begin, redshirt freshman Steven Chase is listed ahead of junior Dennis Godfrey at left tackle, sophomore Gabe Irby is running ahead of junior Michael Hoag at right guard and junior Doug Weaver is first team in front of redshirt freshman Devin Bolling at right tackle. Look for Chase-Godfrey, Irby-Hoag and Weaver-Bolling to be three of the best battles of preseason.

No. 4: How devastating will the loss of tackles John Russell, Boo Robinson and Michael Lockett be to the defensive line? The ends look solid, with the return of junior Kyle Wilber from a broken leg and the continued development of senior Tristan Dorty. But other than Ramon Booi, who played sparingly last season as a freshman behind three seniors, all the defensive tackles will be brand new. Redshirt freshman Frank Souza, a weight-room star, is listed first team at the tackle opposite Booi. Redshirt freshman Nikita Whitlock, a 5-11, 235-pound whirling dervish who had a great spring, is listed behind Souza. Redshirt freshman John Gallagher, who like Souza, Booi and three others on the roster played at Nease High School in Florida, is listed behind Booi. There should be some great battles to watch there as well.

No. 5: Can Jimmy Newman’s consistency catch up with his ability? We all knew Sam Swank was good when he kicked four straight seasons. And we’ve seen what Grobe can do with a great kicker. The last year and a half—since Swank’s senior season headed south with a pulled quadriceps—have proven just how valuable that Swank was in his prime. Newman appears to have the leg. Does he have Swank’s cool head?

I have other questions, and I’m sure you do as well. Suggestions are being accepted.

Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Deacons Not Salivating over Sutton

Dominique Sutton, by pretty much all accounts, can play some tenacious defense. But unless there’s a change of heart around Winston-Salem, he’ll be playing it somewhere other than Wake Forest when he becomes eligible again in 2011-12.

Sutton announced over the weekend that he will transfer from Kansas State in hopes of playing his senior season somewhere closer to his hometown of Durham. He said he wants to be closer to his two children. Two of the schools on his wish list are Wake and N.C. State, which, as it turns out, was apparently news to those around the Deacons program.

NCAA rules don’t allow coaches to talk about transfers until they get a formal release from their latest school. So I knew better than to call Coach Jeff Bzdelik and ask for a quote. But I did poke around and learn that, at first blush, there doesn’t seem to be any interest at Wake in Sutton. He’s tough and experienced, and can certainly help some program. He’s also a stopgap player who happens to play a position (wing forward) that appears pretty well-stocked with arrival of Travis McKie and continuing maturation of Ari Stewart.

I’ll check later in the week to find out if there are those at Wake who are warming to the idea, but if you don’t see any more about it you can assume that the original sentiment prevailed.

Monday, July 05, 2010

Catching a Coach on the Run

Somehow in the dead of summer, Jeff Bzdelik and I found time to pass an hour or so together last Wednesday. One of us has had a rather busy schedule.
I’ll let you guess who.

The fruits of our conversation will run in tomorrow’s Journal. Be warned that it’s short on real news, which I guess can be a good thing given that only three players (Gary Clark, Ty Walker and Nikita Mescheriakov) were in first semester summer school and the rest won’t arrive until second semester starts tomorrow. Instead, it’s just a catchup of what his first two and a half months as Wake Forest’s head basketball coach have been like.

A point he kept coming back to was how welcome he feels at Wake, and how taken he is with all the wonderful and supportive people he has met. He maintains it’s people, and not buildings or infrastructure that make a place what it is. I agree, and that’s why I’ve enjoyed covering Wake Forest going on 20 years now.

One person who has made Wake Forest a special place was honored and celebrated last month when Cook Griffin retired after his 26 years as the executive director of the Deacon Club. I’ve never seen Cook without his warm smile. He’s a good man who did a tough job well. I know his work will be missed, but I hope he’s not. That would mean he’s no longer around, and I can’t imagine Wake Forest without Cook or Julie Griffin.

Hope you enjoy the piece on Bzdelik. I’ll pick up some scraps that fell off the plate and serve them up here in the next day or two, unless I just happen to head off to Timbuktu for a week or two.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

To Everything There Is a Season

Since I volunteered to write a blog on Wake Forest sports some 20 months ago, it has been a labor of love. I’ve had a blast, and have been immensely gratified by the following it has attracted.

Since I volunteered, and wasn’t assigned the blog, I never saw it as an excuse to give short shrift to my coverage of Wake Forest for the daily newspaper or website. Instead it has been an extension of that coverage. And because I’ve enjoyed it so much, I’ve never resented the added work it entails. I’ve actually never really seen it as work because I’ve written when I felt like it and had something I wanted to say. If you’ve followed My Take On Wake during the meat of the football or basketball season, you know I’ve felt like writing often and have had much to say.

The calendar turns, though, and it’s no longer football or basketball season. As a result, I have other responsibilities, to the Journal and to myself and my family. I’m enjoying covering the Winston-Salem Dash at its splendid new digs, BB&T Ballpark, and I enjoyed writing an extended profile on a local softball umpire that will appear in the Journal in June. I’ve also enjoyed some time away from sports. Because I’m old, and have been at the Journal so long, I get five weeks vacation. But the unspoken caveat is that I best take them in the time between the end of the school year and the start of football practice in the first days of August.

To keep My Take On Wake fresh and current at this time of year—given how seldom I’m on campus and how few people are around and available—would be a chore. And for it to be good, it can’t be a chore. It has to remain a labor of love.

That’s why you haven’t seen much from me these past few weeks and why you probably won’t until the pads start popping in August. By then I’ll be tanned, rested and ready to fire it back up.

Hope you understand.

Hope to have you back.