My Take on Wake - With Grobe on Your Side

With Grobe on Your Side

For those of you who want to see Wake Forest run more plays from the I-formation, especially in short-yardage situations, I have good news.

You have an ally in high places. His name is Jim Grobe, and his job description is head football coach.

“That’s part of our offense,’’ Grobe said. “That’s what we do.’‘

The fact the Deacons didn’t show any plays with the quarterback under center in the opener against Presbyterian had less to do with the coaching staff’s intentions than it did the condition of the personnel. The Deacons have only one scholarship fullback, Tommy Bohanon, and although he’s a good one Grobe remains concerned about Bohanon’s left shoulder, the one that popped momentarily out of place in the first scrimmage of the preseason.

“I wish Tommy hadn’t knocked his shoulder down,’’ Grobe said. “I think that was going to give us an opportunity to be a little bit more in the I and run some power football. And our linemen are bigger than we’ve had in the past, and that would lend us to do that a little bit. But we’ll see as we go, if Tommy stays healthy.

“You need somebody to go back there and block and I think he’s our guy. If he can prove to us that shoulder is going to stay put, he’s pretty special doing that blocking stuff. But I think if you just do it to get in that set without a good lead blocker then you’re not in very good shape. You’ve got to have a fullback that can do dig people out.’‘

Grobe also wants a fullback who can do more than dig people out. He entered the season talking about wanting to get more carries for Bohanon, and followed through in the opener when Bohanon carried six times for 47 yards.

“One of the things about Tommy is he’s got some of the best vision of all the running backs,’’ Grobe said. “He sees creases. He seems natural as far as finding places to go with the football.

“I thought he had some pretty good foot speed the other night too. He got to motoring pretty good a couple of times. He gives you a little different flavor in there because he’s so powerful and so strong. When he runs it, there’s a little authority behind it.’‘

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By Dan Collins on 09/08/2010 (3:32 pm)

Comments

I am very nervous about the game on Saturday. I personally feel Wake is going to have to handle a quick punch from Duke as they are going to be very jacked. I think if we can hold through the 1st qtr., we’ll be alright.

Jim on 09/09/2010 (12:07 pm)

Hey Dan,

In the event that there is a lull in the chatter on the Wake Forest football season (perhaps a bye week?), I am most curious about your perspective on the Reggie Bush/agent and UNC cheating controversies that has been taking place over the last few months. I don’t really care about the recent Reggie Bush Heisman Trophy story (aside from the fact that Chris Barclay clearly got robbed!), but I would appreciate your take on the larger issues such as the accessibility of players to agents, the complicity of schools and coaching staffs by ignoring indiscretions, and the widely held notion that players are used without getting properly compensated. Have you discussed this with anyone at Wake such as Ron Wellman, Coach Grobe or Coach Bzdelik?

As a member of the Wake Forest community, I think that it is easy to think that this type of thing will never affect our school due to our smaller stature and the integrity of our coaching staff and athletic department. However, as we put more competitive teams together with more NFL prospects, the temptation to cut corners on the rules will continue to grow. In particular, the recent academic scandals at UNC and FSU should serve as a wake up call that the potential for program-crippling mistakes is always there, especially at an academically rigorous school like Wake.

Thanks as always.

DC on 09/09/2010 (10:58 am)

The heck with Bohanon blocking…let him run the ball like he did Thursday night until he shows he can’t…which I don’t think will happen.

Ken Green on 09/08/2010 (8:33 pm)

I think we have another scholarship fullback in Emert a lot of people thought would play the role Bohannon played last year as a true freshman.

Jimmy on 09/08/2010 (5:30 pm)

I would love to see more runs out of the I-formation by the Deacs. In addition to adding another dimension to our running attack, the I-formation gives the offense better opportunities for play-action passes.

But in addition to a good lead-blocking fullback, which Wake Forest has in Bohanon, a power running attack requires an offensive line that can impose its will on the defensive front. I haven’t seen that at Wake Forest since 2007 (and not consistently since 2006). But Coach Grobe seems to be excited about this current group, so hopefully they are up to the task.

DC on 09/08/2010 (4:09 pm)