I am an idiot. I know I am. Every year everyone, including me, picks Wake Forest to have an average year, finish about 4th or 5th in the division and maybe make a bowl game. Every year Wake Forest has good to great years and threatens to make the ACC Championship game. So this pick for them to be fifth in the Atlantic division and maybe make a bowl game is probably ridiculous.OFFENSE
QBs: There is really nothing to write about here. Riley Skinner seems like he has been the QB at Wake for about a decade, as if this were an NFL franchise. He is extremely consistent, rarely makes the big mistake, and occasionally can win you a game as well. In his senior year I predict another good year for him, especially with Josh Adams back and fully healthy this year at the running back position to take some of the pressure off Skinner. Skinner does lose both of his top wide receiver targets from a year ago which could be a concern butalmost everyone else is back and Skinner simply usually finds a way in Grobe's system and I see no reason for that to be any different this season.
RBs: Wake has had some really good backs recently. Chris Barclay left as the all time leading rusher at Wake in 2006. Josh Adams had a great rookie year in 2007, nearly rushing for 1000 yards. Wake's running game was expected to be really good last year as Adams was back and considered one of the top backs in the ACC. Unfortunately he was injured for much of the year and could only play in spurts. Brandon Pendergrass filled in as the lead back last year after all of Adams' injuries and did a respectable job, leading the team with 528 and 5 TDs. This year should be a better year for the Deacons running game. Adams is back and fully healthy and had a great spring and fall camp. Pendergrass will provide a great 1-2 punch and the entire offensive line returns for them to run behind. A look for a potentially very big step up for the Wake Forest running game in 2o09.
WRs: Wake Forest had a very experienced receiving corps in 2008 and it was consistent. Some of the big play potential had graduated the year before (Kenny Moore) but the receivers still were consistent targets for Riley Skinner. The receivers are also used to run the ball in Grobe's offense and usually are successful when doing that. This year they lose their two starting receivers from a year ago (DJ Boldin and Chip Brinkman). This group will be less experienced but has some younger talent because Grobe does such a great job recruiting and redshirting players. Wake never seems to be very young at any position. This group probably will be slightly down from the year before, but not very much.
OL: Grobe usually does a good job of building solid offensive lines with which to run the ball in all of the creative ways that they do. Last year was a bit of an abberation from Wake as the offensive line was at times inconsistent, mostly due to their lack of experience. They had to replace four guys who had started multiple years and moved on in 2007. This year will be much different. The entire starting offensive line returns from last year and will be much more experienced. If they stay healthy this could be one of, if not the, best offensive line of the Grobe era which is saying something.
DEFENSE
DL: Grobe has played multiple defenses during his tenure at Wake, always trying to put a set on the field that plays to his defense personnel strengths of a given year. This year they might play five DL as this will be the strongest unit of their defense, which has lost a ton due to gradation this year. Three of the four starters from a year ago return and two of them will be seniors. DT Boo Robinson will get some votes for all-ACC. This will Wake's most experienced defensive front in quite a while and will have to carry the load if Wake is going to stop anybody becuase the rest of the defensive units will be replacing some serious talent.
LBs: uh-oh. Wake Forest, under Grobe, has been great at redshirting players and always having experience at every position. Not this year at linebacker. Gone are all three starters from a year ago (which just happened to be their top 3 tacklers as well). The major loss is LB Aaron Curry. He was simply a beast which is why he was a top 5 NFL pick in last April's NFL draft. He led the team in tackles with 105 with 13.5 of those being for loss. He made it very easy and covered a ton of field for the Deacons. They also lose number two tackler from last year in Stanley Arnoux who was a fourth round draft choice. The new linebackers will be upperclasmen (two juniors and a senior) and that may help some but this unit will obviously be much weaker than last year.
DBs: This unit will also be hurt this year by the departure of their top corner, maybe in school history, in Alphonso Smith. He left Wake last fall as the ACC's all-time interception leader and really shut down half the field for the Deacons most Saturdays. He was a second round draft choice in the NFL draft. They return one starter (CB Brandon Ghee) but other than that they will be breaking in three new starters this fall. They will, unlike the LBs, be young as well. The probable new starters will be two sophomores and one redshirt freshman. This unit will obviously be down a notch or two (like the LBs) with the loss of their top guy and two other starters.
OVERALL
Wake Forest, like I said earlier, always seems to surpass expectations under Grobe. This year will be tough to do that, especially defensively. They lose seven starters from a year ago, two of which that were the best in school history at their positions. They have the talent and experience on offense to score some more points this year and they will need to as the defense could be much worse. Wake will probably make a bowl game winning six or seven games but I do not see them getting past that mark this year.
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