Wake's Skinner returns to practice

 

After sitting out of Wake Forest’s final preseason scrimmage on Tuesday, junior quarterback Riley Skinner returned to practice on Wednesday, saying his sore hamstring felt much improved.

 

“It’s doing good,” he said. “We did some work on it today. It loosened up a little bit.”

 

Skinner, a starter for the Demon Deacons over the past two seasons, missed Tuesday’s scrimmage after tweaking his right hamstring in the weight room. He practiced in both sessions on Wednesday in what was the final day of two-a-day practices at Doc Martin Football Complex.

 

“I think it can only get better from now,” he said. “I think we have to be cautious with what we do. [But] there’s a lot of improvement from yesterday to today.”

 

Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe, who kept Skinner from Tuesday’s scrimmage, said several of his players were battling sore legs. 

 

“We’ve just got to be a little careful,” he said. “Our guys are tired. We’ve worked pretty hard. We just have to be careful so we don’t do anything silly.”

 

The Deacs open the season at Baylor on Aug. 28 and are currently 23rd in the Associated Press top 25 poll. 

 

After reviewing video of Tuesday’s scrimmage, Grobe said his team has progressed at every position, though he said they are not ready for the first contest of the season.

 

He said the fullbacks would like a do-over after Tuesday’s effort. He said the defense started slow but improved its intensity later in the scrimmage, showing crisper tackling and more overall aggression to the ball. He said the secondary seemed to hover around the ball.  He said receivers dropped a couple of balls they should have caught. 

 

A one-handed grab by D.J. Boldin, however, appeared as a highlight for the receiving corps. Boldin, a 6-foot, 220-pound redshirt senior, pulled down a spectacular 28-yard toss from backup quarterback Brett Hodges.

 

“I kind of wished he had saved that for a game,” Grobe said.

 

Still, that catch pleased Grobe, as well as the improved push of the offensive line, a unit that lost three starters to graduation and will be without senior Chris DeGeare, who will miss the season to work on academics.

 

“We’ve got a lot of things to do,” Grobe said. “I feel better about where we are right now.”

 

Grobe felt better after the defense awoke from its malaise and started applying the experience that will be talked about time and again this season. Nine starters return from that unit.

 

Defensive coordinator Brad Lambert, in his eighth overall season with the Deacs but first in charge of the defense, said the unit's emphasis has been on sharper tackling and creating turnovers. He said player's experience should translate into fewer mistakes this season.

 

Lambert said there have been few changes under his leadership. He replaced Dean Hood, who left to take the head coaching job at Eastern Kentucky.

 

His veteran players have provided the example for the newcomers.

 

"Our older guys have gone out and really been serious about camp," he said. "They are flying around and being very physical."

 

In Tuesday night's scrimmage, with the second and third team units getting some work, redshirt sophomore lineman Michael Carter led the defense with seven tackles, four solo. Senior defensive end Matt Robinson produced three sacks. 

 

Redshirt senior linebacker Aaron Curry, from Fayetteville, said the experienced guys are playing fast because they understand assignments. They are free to pounce, though he said the unit is a ways from reaching its potential. 

 

 "We've got some fine-tuning to do," he said. "We can do the big things like make plays. We know how to hit hard. We have to fix small things like our footwork and eye-placement."

 

Note: Six NFL scouts attended Tuesday night's scrimmage at BB&T Field. Several thumbed their stop watches as senior placekicker Sam Swank booted kickoffs. Swank also nailed field goals from 30-, 48- and 42-yards. ... Redshirt senior receiver Chip Brinkman, who had missed practices with an injury, caught an eight-yard TD pass. He adds depth to a receiving corps looking to produce without go-to receiver Kenneth Moore, who graduated.