The progression project that is Wake Forest football continued through day three of Fall camp on Thursday. The defense is still ahead of the offense. Is the defense that good? Or is the offense lacking? Or is it some of both? The offense closed the gap a little Thursday, emphasis on “A little.” Thursday was the first day with shoulder pads and helmets for practice.
Familiar Legacy
Wake has three players with an NFL gene pool on their resumes. Defensive linemen Langston and Camden Hardy are the sons of former NFL all-pro Kevin Hardy.
And on Thursday, the media met with another NFL legacy player. Defensive lineman Gabe Kirschke is the son of former NFL defensive lineman Travis Kirschke.
Travis played his college ball at UCLA from 1994 to 1997. He had 104 total tackles and six-and-a-half sacks over his Pac-10 career. Kirschke went undrafted in 1996 but signed a free agent contract with the Detroit Lions. He played five seasons in Detroit before signing as a free agent with San Francisco. After one season with the 49ers, he moved on to Pittsburgh, where he played another six seasons. He’s got a Super Bowl ring from the 2005 team.
Now his son is a redshirt junior defensive end at Wake Forest. Gabe Kirschke spent his freshman season at Wisconsin, where he redshirted, and then moved on to Colorado State for two years before arriving in Winston-Salem.
Father and son bear a profile resemblance. But Travis was bigger in his playing days than his son is. Travis was 6’-3”, 298 pounds in his playing days. Gabe is currently listed at 6’-5”, 250 pounds.
Transition for the Younger Kirschke
Gabe said he has bulked up a little bit since his move to Wake Forest. “I feel like I have put on a lot of good muscle. I love the strength staff,” he said Thursday.
He said the defense under new head coach Jake Dickert is similar to what he had at Colorado State, so the on-field transition has been easier for him.
Of course, he also grew up with his dad being quite a position tutor. “I’ve been in a three-point stance since I was like four years old,” he joked. Or maybe it wasn’t so much of a joke. “I was hitting the pillow and working on my get-off.”
Life Lessons
It turns out the tutoring went well beyond football. “Having him in my life and being able to speak to me has been huge,” Gabe said. “Being able to bounce back from things. Being able to process through football and life, and how to balance everything is really, really awesome.”
Gabe said he and his dad have worked on football technique, but there has been more. “The big part is the mindset and what he’s allowed to pour into me with that.”
The athletics are not confined to Gabe. His sister Ella was a swimmer at UCLA, and his younger brother Blake is on the Lacrosse team at the University of Denver. Dad Travis is a high school football coach in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.
The Pass Catchers
There may not be the marquee name in the Wake Forest receivers’ room as in years past. There is no Donavon Greene or AT Perry. But what lacks in big name is being made up for in depth. Micah Mays, Jr. has ascended to become one of the leaders of a position group that goes several deep. Carlos Hernandez, Sterling Berkhalter, Karate Brenson and Jeremiah Melvin are among the names that likely will be factors in the Wake offense this season.
Mays said for the most part, the receivers have the offense down but are getting used to catching passes from three different quarterbacks, each with their own style and rhythm.
Mays said he worked with freshman Steele Pizzella a lot during the Summer. “The thing about Steele is, he’ll come 30 minutes earlier, do his stretches, bring his sheet (with pass patterns). He’s fully locked and loaded.” Mays said Pizzella is different than any freshman he has played with before in the level of preparation he goes through.
He said the team has loosened up from that rough first day. And being from Palm Beach Gardens, FL, the heat and humidity of the early days of camp have not been an issue for Mays. He says he has been assisting his teammates.
“I’ll get the water bottle and I’ll go around and pour it down their neck, pour it down their shirt, pour it on their head, just pour it everywhere,” he said. “You’ve got to just get used to the heat, because the heat’s not going anywhere,” he opined.
Main Image: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images
