My Take on Wake - Grobe’s Decision Was Made For Him

Grobe’s Decision Was Made For Him

So a guy named Reynolds shows up in Winston-Salem looking to make something of himself.

Where have I heard that story before?

From my perch on high in Deacon Tower, I had my binoculars trained on the offensive huddle as Wake readied to take the field with 11 minutes remaining last night against Notre Dame. I could see what was up. The kid was bouncing on his toes. Teammate Michael Hoag reached across to slap his hand. Billy Mitchell, the offensive backs coach, passed words of encouragement through the earhole of the kid’s helmet. The kid kept bouncing on his toes, like a boxer waiting for the bell to ring. It was exciting stuff, as I watched along with the BB&T Field crowd of 36,307 and a national television audience as Orville Reynolds ran out on the field to play football.

The easiest decisions I’ve ever made in my life were made for me. Where to go to school, who to marry, when to have children, when to buy our first home, were all calls that were so patently obvious I never gave them a second thought—or had to. In the same vein, I imagine coach Jim Grobe feels the same way about his decision to do something none of us thought we’d ever see, play a freshman for the first time in the ninth game of the season.

As I wrote in a piece that will run in tomorrow morning’s Journal, Grobe really didn’t have any choice. The lingering hamstring that has hamstrung Josh Harris’ sophomore season didn’t leave him with one. Three games remain and Grobe is down to one running back he can count on, Brandon Pendergrass. A trip to the ACC championship game is still on the line, but, unfortunately for the 5-4 Deacons, so is a chance to play in a bowl for the first time since 2008.

It would have been true Hollywood fare if Reynolds had dashed for two touchdowns to upend the Fighting Irish on ABC. But as Nikita Whitlock of the Deacons mentioned last week, Notre Dame has already cornered the market for movies about college football teams.

Saturday nights’ loss, as frustrating as it was, didn’t decide the Deacons fate for this season. That will be determined next week at Clemson, and down the road at home against Maryland and Vanderbilt. Grobe couldn’t see Wake making something special out of the remainder of the season with just one reliable running back, and neither could I. He did reiterate after the 24-17 setback that Reynolds will be plugged into the game plan and can expect a significant role against the Tigers, Terps and Commodores.

The playing time has to come from somewhere, which will apparently make Harris at least the short-term loser. Only time, or specifically the next three weeks, will reveal if Wake turns out to be the winner.

Back to the main page.

By Dan Collins on 11/06/2011 (3:36 pm)

Comments

Matt, Josh Harris said in a later WSJ story that he himself “waived off” his substituition, which I suppose was Pendergrass and was also quoted as saying he felt fine until he lined up for the play and realized he was still gassed. The play had been sent in already I suppose. How can Grobe be responsible for that?

pensive1 on 11/07/2011 (9:06 pm)

Mrs. Harris,

I can say with absolute confidence that neither the author of this blogger or the reader of this blog view Josh as a loser in the general sense. I personally do not know any Wake Forest fan who does not consider Wake Forest fortunate to have a play with Josh’s attitude and ability.

The author of this blog simply meant to say that Josh will lose rushing opportunities to the other backs in the short-term because of his recent string of injuries. I hope that you will see that no one thinks badly of Josh. The truth is truly the opposite.

John Sanders on 11/07/2011 (7:33 pm)

Frist of all Mrs Harris, I agree with everything that has been said about Josh. We are lucky to have him. Hamstrings are tough and can take a while to heal….rushing it can make it worse. He’ll be back stronger and faster than ever and we’ll need him.

I also agree with much that has been said about the coaching issues….the defensive coordinators totally let the kids down. Why do we need two guys giving signals anyway? If it so complicated that it allows the other team to call a play, line up and wait a couple of counts in amazement that no one is paying attention then it is probably more complicated than it needs to be. And then there was the slow developing, non option-option pitch out seven yards deep with a wide out trying to block the 4 or 5 guys that had more than enough time to get to the perimeter. After 5 or 6 times you would think the message would have gotten through….IT DOESN’T WORK!

All that rightfully lands at the feet of Coach Grobe because he is the CEO….BUT…. blaming him for Josh’s hamstring. Come on Matt, get a grip. That’s what workhorse backs do, run the ball, get up and run it again. I don’t seem to remember Chris Barclay, James McDougal, Larry Hopkins or Brain Piccolo or Bill Barnes for that matter being pulled after every long run…generally they got (and wanted or in some cases demanded) the ball again unless they couldn’t breathe.

Deacon23 on 11/07/2011 (3:42 pm)

Jim - Watch the replay of the run where Josh got injured (which came after his run of over 40 yards on the previouls play) and then tell me that you think it was not a mistake to give the ball to Josh again at that time. Josh clearly was out of gas, pulled up as he neared the sideline, and got nailed by the Florida State defender. I just think it was a foolish decision by Coach Grobe to put Josh in such a vulnerable situation after the long run. I know that some injuries can happen for no reason, but some also happen for a reason. I believe this to be the latter.

Matt on 11/07/2011 (3:28 pm)

Wow, I think blaming Coach Grobe or anyone, for that matter, in regard to Josh’s injury, is a little harsh. When we see Josh get in the game, we get very excited, knowing his potential to break the big one. Getting hurt happens. Having been a coach, I saw kids pull hamstrings, calf muscles, etc. sometimes for no apparent reason. Sometimes, these things unfortunately just happen. I’ll bet we’ll see more of Josh and, if we don’t because of the injury, we know we have a proven and exciting player back for next season.

Jim on 11/07/2011 (3:00 pm)

Ms. Harris - It was an unfortunate choice for Dan to use the word “loser”. I agree with the other responders who said it just meant that he would lose out on playing time, not that he is anything less than an amazing athlete and determined player. Josh has many successful games ahead of him in the next two years, and teaming him up with Orville Reynolds in the backfield should make for a very exciting running game in the next two seasons.

If you direct your frustration/anger at anyone regarding Josh’s injury it should be at Coach Grobe. After Josh’s long run against Florida State just prior to his injury, Coach Grobe should have either insisted that Josh come out of the game (after Josh waved off Brandon Pendergrass as he tried to come in for a substitution) or called something other than a running play to Josh. It was that poor decision that led to his injury, one that could have and should have been prevented. Had that not happened Josh probably would still be playing full speed and Orville Reynolds would still have been able to keep his redshirt. But hindsight being 20/20, we can only move forward from here. We all look forward to more spectacular games from Josh in the months ahead. Go Deacs!

Matt on 11/07/2011 (2:06 pm)

Can’t wsit for Josh to get healthy and start helping us out again. Hope he is feeling better soon, because we are going to have to have him if we are going to win these next two years. I also hope that Orville gets a lot of snaps this year because we really need to make this year count for him in terms of experience.

DannyB on 11/07/2011 (11:32 am)

I read this article too and understood the writer to be saying his injury is causing a short term loser. Not in now way saying our Josh is a loser. He is an enthusiastic player and we can only wish him well and a speedy recovery. We need him because hes all about winning. Go Deac

olivinne on 11/07/2011 (11:02 am)

Ms. Harris,

I thnk that Bo is absolutely correct here. I don’t believe anyone doubts Josh Harris’ desire. The problem is that despite his desire to rehab and help the team, he can’t be relied upon to be one hundred percent down this crucial stretch of the season. Now that Reynolds’ redshirt has been burned, it makes sense to shut Harris down for at least the next few weeks (if not for the year) and let Pendergrass and Reynolds share the carries for the remainder of the year. Hence, Josh Harris is the unfortunate short-term loser in this situation.

But make no mistake, Josh Harris is recognized as an awesome talent. And if this programs is going to be successful in the next two years, we really could use him. So I truly hope that he is able to get a handle of thes hamstring issues between now and next fall.

DC on 11/07/2011 (10:19 am)

I believe that Dan was just speaking to the potential loss of playing time for Josh. We can all tell that he is a special talent and we hope that he heals soon. He is young and I am confident he will help us win many games in the future.

Bo on 11/06/2011 (6:56 pm)

What do you mean that Harris appears to be the short term loser. I see none you know him at all. And I don’t think you ever will. Harris plays with heart. He gives his all all of the time. If he’s not going hard, it’s because he can’t. I can also say that him not being able to contribute fully is hurting him more than anything else in this world right now. Give him a break and quit making him feel worse for something he can’t control, injuries.

Beverly Harris on 11/06/2011 (5:58 pm)

Wake played a fine game. The fumble and “the standing around waiting for the defensive signal” really slowed them down. They now have a great deal of pressure to win six games. However they know they can play with the “Big boys” and should help them in the future. I still don’t know what happened on the defensive call. Was it the Coaches fault or the players.? It looked like the Coaches mistake. Their was no pass rush on the play. Wow, what a mistake. Go Deacs

cal on 11/06/2011 (4:41 pm)