Delaware Players to Watch

The Deacs are coming off a huge win on the road against the Blue Devils, and they are looking to pick up win number 3 at home against the Blue Hens this weekend. Before we get into which players for Delaware could keep Wake Forest from getting halfway to bowl eligible, lets quickly look at how the players to watch for Duke performed last week.

Daniel Jones: 31-48 332 yards and 1 Int, 2 rushing TDs, sacked 5 times

Breon Borders: 3 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss.

With that out of the way, lets look at a couple of Delaware’s players that could make things interesting on Saturday.

Offense: Thomas Jefferson, RS Soph. RB

Delaware, much like Wake Forest, doesn’t throw the ball very much. Through 2 games, quarterback Joe Walker has only thrown 24 times, while the team has run the ball 108 times. With starting back Wes Hills injured, Jefferson is likely to get a majority of the carries against the Deacs. Last season, Jefferson ran his way to Co-offensive Rookie of the Year honors in the CAA with 178 carries for 890 yards (5 ypc) and 7TDs. He also showed his ability to run against ACC caliber defenses last year, when he ran 22 times for an impressive 163 yards and 2 TDs against UNC. If the Deacs can shut down Jefferson on first and second down, forcing Delaware into 3rd and long passing situations, they should have no trouble getting to 3-0.

Defense: Blaine Woodson, RS Jr. DT

Woodson, a 2 time All-CAA Second Team DT, is the active career leader for the Blue Hens in sacks and tackles for loss, with 10.5 and 14.5 respectively. At 280 lbs, he is not big compared to other linemen the Deacs have faced, but he uses his speed to be effective in stopping the run and chasing down opposing QBs. He will likely be more of a threat on outside runs where he can use his lateral quickness to make plays. The best way to nullify his speed will be to simply run the ball right through the middle of the Delaware defensive line, something we will probably see plenty of times on Saturday.