It may only be the third week of Spring training camp. And it may only be practice number eight of the scheduled 15. But there is a lot riding on Wake’s scrimmage Thursday. And head coach Jake Dickert is focused on who is stepping into that concept.
A Lot Riding On Wake’s Mid-Camp Scrimmage
This is not the traditional Spring scrimmage. There won’t be one of those. There will be more of a “fan fest” type of setup for that on April 19th. But it is a scrimmage nonetheless. It is going to be full pads and full speed. Dickert told the media this week that the plan is for 90 plays, with the first 60 being what he termed “Live” and the other 30 will be more of a “Thud” set-up with the play stopping on real contact.
Dickert was not happy with the energy or effort levels with much of Tuesday’s practice and the team heard about it in no uncertain terms at the end. He told the media that he was hoping players were not looking ahead to the scrimmage. “I don’t know if we were thinking about that. But we did not come with the right energy and execution today,” Dickert said on Tuesday.
A Big Day Thursday
Players might be forgiven for looking at the scrimmage a little differently. After all the transfer portal window opens in two weeks for nine days. The end of Wake’s Spring camp falls within that window.
On a few occasions since taking the job at Wake, Dickert has referenced the new world of college football, which includes players leaving or coming after Spring camp. “We’ve got some big decisions to make at the end of this camp,” Dickert said. “The guys know that. We’ve been very upfront and honest with the guys and the need to compete to make this roster.”
The Changes
If that sounds more like pro football, or Deion Sanders at Colorado, you are not wrong. “It’s just college football now,” Dickert said. It is a concept he has repeated since mid-December. To put it bluntly, the future looking like this is going to be easier for coaches who have come of age during the five-year evolution of college sports.
There is going to be portal shopping regardless of the post-practice analysis from the scrimmage. There are 11 offensive linemen active in camp right now. That is not nearly enough depth to make it through a season. It will be a priority for Dickert when the portal opens, as will his numbers in the secondary.
“We’ve got a mixture of a bunch of different guys. It’s getting those veteran guys those looks in the thud period,” Dickert told us. “It’s a big separation day as far as who’s going to be doing what and carving out some roles and seeing who can execute the base fundamentals.”
The Plan
Dickert said he won’t be asking the players to do too much in terms of new concepts. “I told the coaches we’re going to be very basic schematically so we can see our guys play extremely fast, and that’s exactly what we need to see. That’s the main goal.”
With the high volume at a couple of positions for Wake, the practices after the scrimmage are also going to be an indicator for players to see if they are better off staying and Wake or if their football future is somewhere else.
Main Image: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
