The Wake Forest defense continued to be the prevailing story in camp as the Demon Deacons went through the annual rites of the Spring scrimmage on Saturday. In a very convoluted scoring system, the Wake defense beat the offense 47-38 in front of a few hundred fans at the Spring Fan Fest.
Wake Forest Defense Is the Story of the Day at Spring Scrimmage
The first and second stringers saw most of the action in the first half. Quarterbacks Gio Lopez and Steele Pizzella split most of the reps fairly evenly. Pizzella led three touchdown drives, including a five-yard quarterback run in the second quarter. Lopez had a pass intercepted in the end zone that was really more a byproduct of a terrific play by defensive back Deuce Blades than it was a poor play by Lopez.
The Wake defense was putting pressure on Lopez throughout the afternoon. In a system that would require a flow chart taped to the window of the press box as you work, the defense got assigned points for third-down stops, forced punts (which happen with third-down steps, but we digress), turnovers, etc.
As we have seen throughout camp, the pressure from the defensive line was enough that there were a few passes batted down at the line of scrimmage.
Fan Festivities
The field was split during the first half, with flag football games happening on the other half of the field from the scrimmage. The second half was second and third string players, with full tackling allowed. And no flag football competing for space.
After the scrimmage, head coach Jake Dickert, of course needing to see the film before giving a more thorough assessment, was mostly pleased with the day as a near cap on the Spring camp. His scrimmage started with him on the back of the motorcycle being driven by the Demon Deacon. “It was a little scary at first,” he said of taking part in the pre-game ritual. “It was a spur-of-the-moment thing.” He said the motorcycle was just right there in front of him, so he agreed to do it.
One thing that clearly needs to be cleaned up, aside from any daredevil motivation the head coach might now have, is the penalties. Although stats were not kept, it was pretty rampant on both sides. On the very first play of the scrimmage, defensive lineman Dallas Afalava just bulldozed his way through the left side of the offensive line prior to the snap. Maybe he was trying to make a statement for the afternoon. “He was so hyped up and ready to get off the ball on the first call,” Dickert explained.
On the To-Do List
But with the false starts, illegal man downfield, hands to the face, and holding calls throughout the day, there are some of the finer points of the game that will require work before the Fall.
Also on the wish list for Dickert is for the team to get more physical. While saying there was not enough of that on the offense on Saturday, Dickert said, “Obviously, we have a high expectation of what our defense is capable of doing, and I thought those guys did a really good job today.”
The Defense
At the suggestion that the defense is ahead of the offense right now after a month of camp, Dickert said, “At the end of the day, I think we have a lot more experience coming back on that side.” And that is with Aiden Hall missing all of camp, Davaughn Patterson missing a little more than half of it, and Langston Hardy being out. “I feel confident in our defensive ability and what those guys are capable of doing.”
Patterson joins in the confidence of his teammates. He had been working out throughout the Spring, but only last week returned to full activity in practice. “The guys are definitely excited to have me back,” Patterson said after the game. “The same goes for me. I’m excited to be back out there with them. I feel like the more we get back together, the better our unit will be.”
Patterson said working on the sidelines with the coaches during practice has also upped his game. He said the ability to better understand why certain calls are being made in certain situations will improve his preparedness.
Quarterback Readiness
Lopez, who went into camp and comes out of camp as the starting quarterback, said he thinks the offense is progressing well. And when camp ends next Wednesday, Lopez said the key is to not let the progression go stale during the Summer. “I’d say the biggest key is don’t get stagnant,” he said. “Always trying to get better, coming in and watching film, start studying opponents.”
It is a time luxury that Lopez did not have last year at North Carolina. He missed Spring camp with the Tar Heels. “When I got in, it felt rushed; it felt like I was behind.” He said he has time to build a relationship with his receivers and the rest of the offense.
The Current Assessment
The words that any coach focuses on the most after a Spring scrimmage are team health. With injured players starting to make their way back, and the few who remain sidelined expected back by Fall camp, “I have never been in a better situation coming out of Spring ball, than we are now, even though we have had a really physical 13 practices.”
The expectations are high, not because of the unexpected 9-4 season last year. But because Dickert keeps pushing them. “Internally, in year two, we expect the program to be a lot better than it was. Everybody owns that,” he said. “The program is in a better place than it was this time last year. But it’s nowhere close to where it ended. We’ve got to keep pushing. It’s not enough where we’re at.”
Wake has two more workouts next week to put a wrap on the Spring session.
Main Image: Tony Siracusa
