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Wake Forest Football News and Notes

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By Riley Johnston
Sep 8, 2012; Winston Salem, NC, USA The Wake Forest Demon Deacons hold up helmets after defeating the North Carolina Tar Heels at BB&T field. Wake defeated the Heels 28-27. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-US PRESSWIRE
Sep 8, 2012; Winston Salem, NC, USA The Wake Forest Demon Deacons hold up helmets after defeating the North Carolina Tar Heels at BB&T field. Wake defeated the Heels 28-27. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-US PRESSWIRE

Wake Forest had their normal media today at 11 on campus. That means that there is plenty of information and notes coming out about last weekend as well as this coming weekend. Basically this is your one place stop for all Wake information up to this point in the week so far.

The biggest thing so far is that Nikita didn't practice last night according to My Take on Wake, and it just came out a little while ago that Wake won't update his injury until Thursday's depth chart release

Coach Jim Grobe (from WakeForestSports.com)

On the junior Nikita Whitlock playing status for this Saturday...
"My guess would be that he may be ready go by Saturday. But I don't know how much practice time he'll get. I think unless they can find something that's torn or damage that we don't know about, it's going to be how quickly he heals up. That's going to be a day-to-day thing."

Click through the jump for some quotes and other tidbits gained from today

Also in that Dan Collins article was the following:

Pretty sure Kevin Johnson will be cleared, and Colin Summers and Spencer Bishop returned against UNC. I’ll batten all that down for sure tomorrow at the gathering to eat chicken and talk football.

On another training room front, junior defensive end Zach Thompson will have his eye examined tomorrow, at which time we shuold know more about the possibility of him playing at FSU.

That's pretty good news because the Deacs can't afford many more injuries at this juncture.

Coach Grobe Quotes

Player Quotes (From the Official Wake Forest Twitter)

Michael Campanaro

Daniel Mack:

Mike Olson:

Tomahawk Nation Articles about Wake (Must Reads)

Wake Forest's Defensive Front

They play an "Okie" front which has a heads up nose (not shaded to either side) so 6'0, 260-pound nose guard Nikita Whitlock can go to either side on any given play depending on which way the defense is called. Combine that with his quickness and it's very difficult for a center to snap it, get back into his stance, figure out which way he's going and block him.

The problem that centers have had in past is not being strong enough to handle a nose crossing their face playside. I tend to believe Stork has enough bulk to handle it. Barron would worry me some and I think this scheme could slow the running game down. I don't anticipate any assistance from the playside guard being necessary. Any backside stunts will get owned by sophomore guards Josue Matias or Tre Jackson just because they are animals.

FSU's Offensive Line

The new-look starting unit, consisting of Cam Erving, Josue Matias, Bryan Stork, Tre Jackson, andMenelik Watson, will have to prove that they can handle the nuance of the Wake defense, which relies on a variety of shifting, angling, and stunting to keep opposing offensive lines off balance and guessing. As we’ve discussed, there’s not too much doubt that the Seminoles’ blockers possess impressive athleticism and size compared to last year. However, it remains to be seen how they will perform when presented with a defense that will test their ability to process, communicate, and adjust on the fly.

The toughest target for the Seminole line to hone in on will likely be Wake Forest nose guard Nikkita Whitlock. While Whitlock’s status for Saturday remains somewhat up in the air as he deals with an injury, Fisher remains extremely leery of the 5’11 junior.

"Oh, he’ll play," Fisher said when asked about Whitlock and his status. As to what Whitlock brings to the field if he does indeed play, Fisher seems to think quite highly of him. "He sets the tone inside, he’s quick, he’s athletic. He’s one heck of a football player."

First Look at Wake Forest

Wake Offense v. UNC Defense: I have always been a big fan of QB Tanner Price. Price has very good accuracy, great touch, a good arm, and really does the little things well. Wake did a good job moving the pocket and price throws well on the run. Carolina did not rough him up at all. Some of these throws he makes are ridiculous.

Wake Defense v. UNC Offense: Wake's defense is a good unit. UNC missed opportunities, seemed out of sync. QB Brynn Renner was concussed at the end of Q1 and missed time, and stud RB Gio Bernard missed the game with a knee injury. Before the concussion, UNC was averaging 6.6 yards/play. After? 4.9. Just 35-percent more before the injury.

Miscellaneous Tidbits

  • Since 2001 there had only been one game (Sam Swank vs. Army in 2007) that a Wake Forest punter downed five balls inside the opponents 20. Alex Kinal has done it twice in his first two career starts #AUSSIEAUSSIEAUSSIE #AYEAYEAYE
  • Wake Forest has 31 players hailing from the state of Florida. No doubt nearly all of them want revenge on FSU for not recruiting them.
  • Wake is ranked 42nd in the nation according to the USA Today poll this week. First time in nearly a year that the Deacs have received votes (October 11th, 2011).
  • Michael Camapanaro leads the country in receptions with 22 through 2 games. Those 22 are the most ever by a Wake Forest player through two games.
  • Wake Forest is 21-117-1 all-time against ranked opponents, but each of the last two wins over a ranked team have come against FSU. Last year (#23), and in 2008. Overall, the Deacs are 1-8 vs. ranked FSU teams in Tallahassee
  • The Deacs are 1-31 all-time against top 5 teams and have lost 30 straight games. The last game against a top 5 opponent was Louisville in the 2007 Orange Bowl.
  • With 9 wins Tanner Price is one win away from moving into the top-ten all-time in career wins at Wake Forest.
  • Wake Forest is 5-8 under Jim Grobe in games airing on ESPN. (ESPN, 12 ET).
  • The Deacs are 21-43 under Jim Grobe when the opponents score first, yet 2-0 this year.
  • In the weirdest and final stat, Wake Forest is 26-38 when accumulating fewer penalty yards than their opponent, yet 40-28 with more penalty yards. The Deacs are 4-1 (1-0 this year) under Coach Grobe when they accumulate the same amount of penalty yards as an opponent.

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