this article was going into today's practice........
========
Deacons improved in final scrimmage, Grobe says
Several players, Barclay included, among those hurt as BC game looms
An impressive number of more than 100 spectators braved the late summer heat yesterday to watch Wake Forest's final preseason scrimmage at Groves Stadium.
To Coach Jim Grobe's regret, the onlookers included a number of players he hopes to see on the field on Saturday for the Deacons' opener at Boston College.
Tailback Chris Barclay, defensive tackle Goryal Scales, tight end Josh Warren, offensive tackle Mark Moroz and defensive end Jyles Tucker were among the walking wounded who missed the scrimmage with assorted pulls, sprains, bumps and bruises.
Although a sore hamstring sidelined Barclay and Scales was on crutches after spraining a hip flexor on Friday night, Grobe said he expected to have both starters back in practice soon.
Moroz isn't expected to play after spraining a medial-collateral ligament on Aug. 13. Grobe said Monday's practice would decide the availability of Warren and Tucker.
Warren has an injured shoulder and Tucker has missed every practice since Aug. 16 with a sprained ankle.
'We've had some nagging injuries that haven't healed,' Grobe said. 'It will be a solid 48 hours before these guys will practice again, so hopefully with the two-day span they'll have enough chance to get healed up a little bit.
'Our defensive line's banged up, and so is our offensive line. We've talked about moving some people around, but we've kind of put that on hold until Monday. When we come back on Monday afternoon we're going to have to make some hard, fast decisions on who's going to travel and who's going to play.'
Grobe said the coaching staff decided to hold out Barclay, who gained 703 yards on 144 carries last year.
'The nice thing about Barclay is that some guys take themselves out, but he's a guy who would have never said a word if we hadn't pulled him out. So it's nice for a change to have a guy who you've got to tell to come out, rather than he's begging you to come out.'
In Barclay's absence, Dominic Anderson took advantage of his extra work to rip off several impressive runs. Anderson, a redshirt sophomore who played safety last year, is listed as third-team tailback behind Barclay and Cornelius Scales, though Grobe said Anderson may also be used this year as a backup fullback.
'I don't know if there's anybody on our football team that wants to play more than Dominic Anderson,' Grobe said. 'He wants to play tailback and fullback. He would kick extra points if we let him.
'When you have guys who want to be out there as much as he does, you want to find a way to put them out there.'
Though rare is the football coach fully satisfied with preseason drills, Grobe said the Deacons made some noticeable improvement in key areas from their scrimmage on Aug. 16. Yesterday's scrimmage also marked the conclusion of preseason camp, as the Deacons will begin game week preparation for Boston College when they report back to practice on Monday afternoon.
'We're still a tired football team,' Grobe said. 'I don't see a lot of legs and zip. We're a little better than we have been.
'I think we're learning assignments a little better. We're making more plays than missing plays. I thought in our last scrimmage we were so sloppy we were not making many big plays. We made more big plays today.
'Hopefully we're coming out of the doldrums and we're starting to think a little better. We looked a little crisper today.'
========
Deacons improved in final scrimmage, Grobe says
Several players, Barclay included, among those hurt as BC game looms
An impressive number of more than 100 spectators braved the late summer heat yesterday to watch Wake Forest's final preseason scrimmage at Groves Stadium.
To Coach Jim Grobe's regret, the onlookers included a number of players he hopes to see on the field on Saturday for the Deacons' opener at Boston College.
Tailback Chris Barclay, defensive tackle Goryal Scales, tight end Josh Warren, offensive tackle Mark Moroz and defensive end Jyles Tucker were among the walking wounded who missed the scrimmage with assorted pulls, sprains, bumps and bruises.
Although a sore hamstring sidelined Barclay and Scales was on crutches after spraining a hip flexor on Friday night, Grobe said he expected to have both starters back in practice soon.
Moroz isn't expected to play after spraining a medial-collateral ligament on Aug. 13. Grobe said Monday's practice would decide the availability of Warren and Tucker.
Warren has an injured shoulder and Tucker has missed every practice since Aug. 16 with a sprained ankle.
'We've had some nagging injuries that haven't healed,' Grobe said. 'It will be a solid 48 hours before these guys will practice again, so hopefully with the two-day span they'll have enough chance to get healed up a little bit.
'Our defensive line's banged up, and so is our offensive line. We've talked about moving some people around, but we've kind of put that on hold until Monday. When we come back on Monday afternoon we're going to have to make some hard, fast decisions on who's going to travel and who's going to play.'
Grobe said the coaching staff decided to hold out Barclay, who gained 703 yards on 144 carries last year.
'The nice thing about Barclay is that some guys take themselves out, but he's a guy who would have never said a word if we hadn't pulled him out. So it's nice for a change to have a guy who you've got to tell to come out, rather than he's begging you to come out.'
In Barclay's absence, Dominic Anderson took advantage of his extra work to rip off several impressive runs. Anderson, a redshirt sophomore who played safety last year, is listed as third-team tailback behind Barclay and Cornelius Scales, though Grobe said Anderson may also be used this year as a backup fullback.
'I don't know if there's anybody on our football team that wants to play more than Dominic Anderson,' Grobe said. 'He wants to play tailback and fullback. He would kick extra points if we let him.
'When you have guys who want to be out there as much as he does, you want to find a way to put them out there.'
Though rare is the football coach fully satisfied with preseason drills, Grobe said the Deacons made some noticeable improvement in key areas from their scrimmage on Aug. 16. Yesterday's scrimmage also marked the conclusion of preseason camp, as the Deacons will begin game week preparation for Boston College when they report back to practice on Monday afternoon.
'We're still a tired football team,' Grobe said. 'I don't see a lot of legs and zip. We're a little better than we have been.
'I think we're learning assignments a little better. We're making more plays than missing plays. I thought in our last scrimmage we were so sloppy we were not making many big plays. We made more big plays today.
'Hopefully we're coming out of the doldrums and we're starting to think a little better. We looked a little crisper today.'
