Ryan Smenda Jr. to miss opener vs VMI

SIGHHHHHH

In the latest edition of, “how dumb can the NCAA get”: this time it affects Wake Forest.

Ryan Smenda Jr. picked up his 3rd targeting call of the year in the Gator Bowl last year. The play was garbage, exacerbated by Kenny Pickett’s fake slide, and there was incidental contact made to the quarterback’s head while he was a runner and sliding, but there was zero way anyone trying to make a tackle before he began sliding couldn’t make contact.

Now if this was any normal year, we’d understand a full game suspension as that was the normal penalty for a third targeting penalty in a season. WAS. There was a rule change between the 2021 season and the 2022 season allowing for a review of targeting in games which it occurs in the second half, and that one did.

It was a garbage call then and would be a garbage call to uphold, and yet: here we are. The NCAA has decided to deny Wake’s appeal and Smenda will be missing the entirety of the VMI game.

Just so stupid.

The positives, I guess, are that we’ll get to see more of guys like Quincy Bryant, Dylan Hazen, Jaylen Hudson, and Eldrick Robinson II in action to help replace that production against a cupcake opponent.

Thanks for nothing, again, NCAA.