My Thoughts on Wake Forest Football 1⁄4 of the Way Through the Season

We are now three games into the 2018 football season, meaning that we are one-quarter of the way done with the season. As such, I thought I would give my thoughts and observations through the first few games.

1) Sam Hartman is good, and could be a four year starter

Sure, Sam has made several freshman mistakes that at times make me want to scream and throw things. But he is an 18 year old kid who still has time to mature and make better decisions with the ball under pressure. He has a strong arm and has already shown the ability to make precise throws to his best weapons. I’m excited to see what he can do with four years under Dave Clawson

2) Greg Dorch is still REALLY good

We knew Greg Dortch was good last year and got a small taste of what he could do. But he’s even better this year, showing us his skills not only in the receiving game, but also returning the ball. He’s going to set all kinds of Wake Forest records this year, and at least in my book will go down as one of the best Wake Forest receivers ever.

3) The Deacs are loaded at wide receiver

Everybody knew what Greg Dortch was capable of coming into the season, and saw why the entire offense was going to revolve around him. But what we didn't anticipate was the rest of the receiving corps being this good. Sage Surratt broke records in the first game against Tulane that not even Dortch approached in his first game. Alex Bachman continues to amaze with one-handed catches and is providing the senior leadership needed among this group. Scotty Washington hasn't even fully returned yet. Jaquarii Roberson and Steven Claude were expected to play a role in the passing game and haven't even played many snaps due to the huge roles played by Dortch, Bachman, and Surratt.

4) Wake essentially has two starting running backs

Matt Colburn II basically took over the running back job at the end of last year after injuries to Cade Carney and his dominant performances in late season games. But Dave Clawson has repeated said that he has two starting running backs, and after some early struggles by Colburn, Carney has once again had his chance to prove why he can start. The game against Boston College further validated Clawson’s statement when both guys ran for over 100 yards.

5) The secondary continues to need work, and is the worst I’ve seen it be in probably over a decade

I’m not going to sugarcoat anything here-the secondary has been downright awful. When guys are getting beat by 10-15 yards and look like they don't even care that there is a wide open receiver there is some kind of major problem. As Coach Clawson said, Essang Bassey has been good, but the others have not. Clawson has said that he is going to have to be more involved, and personally I think a couple of coaches need to be put on notice if they don't improve over the next couple of games. We’re in for a LONG season if we don't see massive improvements from the secondary soon.

What have you observed through the first three games? Comment below.