Elon Player to Watch: John Silas

Each week, I'll be looking at a player or two from Wake's opponent so that Wake fans will be more familiar with the opponent by gameday.  Trying to pick a player to watch for the Phoenix was a bit of challenge. Elon has brought in a massive recruiting class in head coach Rich Skrosky’s second year, resulting in a roster with 37 true freshmen. It’s really hard to tell what impact a player will have when they’ve never played a single down of college football.

That being said, my player to watch is junior linebacker John Silas. Last year, as a sophomore, Silas started every game. He was second on the team in tackles with 100 (the most of any player still on the team), while also recording 7 tackles for loss and 2 sacks. He reached double digit tackles in 4 games with 10 against Richmond, 12 against Towson and 11 against both Maine and James Madison. Silas also racked up 7 tackles against an opponent similar to the Wake Forest in Duke. The Deacs desperately need to establish a running attack this year and Silas is the type of linebacker that will have to be blocked in order to get the ground game going.

Hopefully he's on the field a lot tonight.