Wake Forest Player Countdown: No. 81 James Ward

Coming in at number 81 on our countdown is James Ward. Ward is a junior running back who comes to Wake Forest from DeLand, Florida. He committed to Wake Forest as a cornerback, where he played during the past two seasons, but had to convert to running back this offseason due to Wake's lack of depth at the position.

Ward comes in at number 81 because he's trying to learn a new position and I believe will find himself fairly low on the depth chart. During spring practice he was behind Orville Reynolds and Dominique Gibson and received very few reps. In the spring game itself he did not have a single carry. By August redshirt freshman Dez Wortham will have returned from injury and incoming freshmen Isaiah Robinson and Tyler Henderson will be on campus. He'd be higher on the list if he was still a cornerback, as he contributed during his first two seasons on campus, but at running back I don't believe he'll get many carries this season. It's possible that Ward will get more playing time than Henderson (because Henderson may redshirt), but I'm going under an assumption that most freshmen will play because of our lack of depth. Clawson started recruiting guys like Henderson late in the game and I believe he intends to use them early.