Sometimes the more things change, the more they stay the same. As we have noted in recent coverage, there have been significant changes in the way Wake Forest is managing its Spring camp. With more players getting more snaps, the new blood and the younger guys are getting more work. But don’t overlook the “gray beards.” As Wake’s offensive line pushes forward this Spring, it does so with a real veteran vibe.
The Leaders of the Line
Luke Petitbon (in his fifth year at Wake Forest), and DeVonte Gordon (in his sixth year) are anchoring an offense line that has a lot of game action under their collective belts.
Recent years at Wake have required a lot of interchangeable parts on the offensive line. Injuries mean players have to be ready to be at left guard one day and center the next. Experience here is probably more critical than in other positions this Spring. That means the likes of Nick Sharpe (fourth year), George Sell (fifth year), Zach Vaughn (fifth year), and Erik Russell (fourth year) are going to hear their names called by the coaching staff a lot this camp. They are all very experienced and have seen plenty of game time. So the youth of the roster on the offensive line still has to bide its time. Maybe just not for as long as in previous years.
Petitbon says the simultaneous field work at practice is benefiting the older guys as much as it is the younger players. “We’re getting as many reps as we’ve ever gotten in practice in my time here,” he told us recently. “The tempo and the overall attitude of the Spring has been really good.”
The Older Guys As The Teachers
Gordon has clearly become a teacher as well as a presumed starter. Everyone agrees with the drills happening on two fields at the same time, the practice is on the field, but the teaching and learning is more in the film room than ever before. “Because I can’t see everything on both fields, I’m trying to help coach them [the younger players] up in the film room,” Gordon told us last weekend. “Watching it in the film room also allows us to replay it and replay it again and dive in deeper into what the mistakes were.”
Even with the significant age and experience of many on the line, that is not to say serve youth is not being served to some degree in camp just like at the other positions.
Gordon says that while the team is relying on the experience of the line, the ultimate goal is to have nine to 10 guys ready to go at any position as needed.
“Uber Ajongo and George Steih have both developed a tremendous amount from last year to this year,” Gordon said. They have come a long way. It will be interesting to see how they continue to develop the rest of the Spring and going into camp at the end of Summer.” Neither of them saw any playing time last year at Wake and both redshirted.
Youth Learning the Lessons
Petitbon said the increased pace of practice is teaching everyone that you always have to be ready. He said it is no longer a handful of snaps and then standing off to the side waiting for your next turn. “It teaches everyone that mentally you always have to be ready,” he said. “In a game, a drive is not going to just be four plays and then you go out and stand around. This practice builds for the eight to 10 play drives. So I think it’s really good for everyone. It’s good for the older guys for more experience. And it’s good for the younger guys to understand that you really don’t have much time to rest.”
Gordon laughed when he suggested he might have liked to have had this system when he was a younger player so that he could have developed his game quickly. It’s uncertain how much faster that could have come. He started 14 games in his third year (redshirt freshman) in 2021.
“It’s a different experience than what I had as a young guy. My development was kind of slower,” he said. “But the way we are practicing now, everybody is going to get a ton of reps.”
Aside from the learning curve, Gordon said the increased pace of practice means everyone has to step up their conditioning. He acknowledged, “Practice now may be a little more tiring now for some of the guys.”
