Wake Football Spring practice updates

jamesda3 said:

Yea I never could find out the specifics just a knee and he had surgery which bothered me a bit. An ACL year during the Cuse game would be pushing to be back for the start of the season but Clawson said he would be ready by summer

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He came back in and played a few snaps or a series after he was "injured" which usually doesn't scream ACL.

That said, former Charger QB Philip Rivers played a playoff game against the Patriots on a torn ACL he had ruptured either in the 1st half or the week before (cannot remember). He is/was a freak though.

jaybone said:

He came back in and played a few snaps or a series after he was "injured" which usually doesn't scream ACL.

That said, former Charger QB Philip Rivers played a playoff game against the Patriots on a torn ACL he had ruptured either in the 1st half or the week before (cannot remember). He is/was a freak though.

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As was Mickey Mantle who probably played 17 years with an unrepaired ACL

jaybone said:

Going into Spring camp:

QB: Hartman (rSo), Kern (rFr), Griffis (Fr)
RB: Walker (So), Beal-Smith (rJr), Flowers (rFr)
WR1: Surratt (rJr), Stewart (Gr), Banks (Fr)
WR2: Greene (rFr), Perry (rSo), Groulx (rFr)
Slot: Roberson (rJr), Isaac (rSo), Morin (rFr)
TE: Chapman (rSr), Whiteheart (rSo), Hite/Ford (rFr)
LT: Clapp (rJR), Rappleyear (rSo), Gordon (rFr)
LG: Nya (rJr), Maginn (rJr), Forbes (Fr)
C: Jurgens (rSo), Tom (rJr), Petibon (Fr)
RG: Davis (Gr), Suhren (rSr), ?Fr?
RT: Tom (rJr), Nash (rJr), Elmonus (rFr)

DE: Basham (rSr), McCollum (So), Allen (rJr)
DT: Kamara (rSr), Bergen (Jr), Fox (Gr)
DT: TWilliams (rJr), Bothroyd (So), Allen (rJr)
DE: Francis (rSo), Johns (rSo), Smart (rFr)
ROV: Masterson (rSr), Burley (rJr), Ranson (rFr)
MLB: Smenda (Jr), Taylor (rSo), Monroe (rJr)
BUCK: JWilliams (rSr), Jones (So), Hudson (rFr)
CB1: JTaylor (Sr), Dicks (rSo), AJ Williams (rFr)
FS: Redd (rSr), Rucker (So), Woulard (RSo)
SS: Greer (Jr), CDavis (RJr), Hardimon (RJr)
CB2: Essissima (So), Keith (rSo), Holmes (Fr)

K: Sciba (Jr), Mora (rFr)
P: Murphy (rJr) or Mora (rFr)
PL: Murphy (rJr), Driscoll
LS: Zuhr (Fr), Cobb (?)
KO: Crane

Edited per the feedback below - I too am not sure where Dicks and Keith fit in going into Spring camp. I guessed based on size more than anything.
Thanks for the feedback

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The OL is going to be interesting to watch shake out. Nya/Maginn is up in the air. Could see Tom at LT and Nash at RT. I feel like a Nash is ahead of Clapp/Rappleyea.

Your defense looks a bit mixed up. Francis plays the field end behind Basham. Johns and McCollum are drop ends, and I expect Johns starts. I'd be surprised if Bothroyd doesn't start, unless his injury slows him up. I don't think Burley is a rover, and Redd is, unless I missed a position switch. Probably look at Rucker or Davis to start at FS.

I think Slot receiver is a position that is completely up for grabs. Roberson hasn’t shown much. He hasn’t seen a ton of action, but doesn’t seem to be the big play threat that Camp, Hines, Dortch and Hinton were. He seems to have some straight line speed, but not very shifty. Also, he is around 6’1” or 6’2” (I think). It seems like he would be a better fit as an outside guy.

Hopefully, Isaac or Morin has a good spring or maybe one of the incoming freshmen can push for playing time.

Whocares said:

The OL is going to be interesting to watch shake out. Nya/Maginn is up in the air. Could see Tom at LT and Nash at RT. I feel like a Nash is ahead of Clapp/Rappleyea.

Your defense looks a bit mixed up. Francis plays the field end behind Basham. Johns and McCollum are drop ends, and I expect Johns starts. I'd be surprised if Bothroyd doesn't start, unless his injury slows him up. I don't think Burley is a rover, and Redd is, unless I missed a position switch. Probably look at Rucker or Davis to start at FS.

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agree with all of this

Conor tweeted this morning after the conclusion of Spring Practice #2 that Justin Williams was getting #1 reps at DE today.

A crowded position. He's a redshirt Frosh ... Interesting.

Would be so typical for Justin Williams to emerge as a stud for WF.

In addition to WF, his offers were:

Alabama A&M
Fordham
Kent State
MD

Of WF 21 recruits from the HS Class of 2019, he was ranked 18th... FWIW, the lowest ranked signee in that class... Kenneth Walker. Just another example that football recruiting rankings after the top tier guys have almost no reliability.

skinnydeac said:

I think Slot receiver is a position that is completely up for grabs. Roberson hasn’t shown much. He hasn’t seen a ton of action, but doesn’t seem to be the big play threat that Camp, Hines, Dortch and Hinton were. He seems to have some straight line speed, but not very shifty. Also, he is around 6’1” or 6’2” (I think). It seems like he would be a better fit as an outside guy.

Hopefully, Isaac or Morin has a good spring or maybe one of the incoming freshmen can push for playing time.

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Isaac wasn't mentioned when Clawson ran off the list of guys out for the spring, but he tore his ACL in either late Sept. or Oct., so I doubt he's back before fall camp.

Understand "Roberson hasn't shown much" for games, but he's looked really good in the last two spring segments. He's got all of the physical tools. Needs to stay healthy and I think he'll be decent. Not Dortch-level, maybe not even Hinton-level production, but decent. And with Sage and Donavon, you don't necessarily need 90 catches/6-10 TDs from your slot.

Whocares said:

The OL is going to be interesting to watch shake out. Nya/Maginn is up in the air. Could see Tom at LT and Nash at RT. I feel like a Nash is ahead of Clapp/Rappleyea.

Your defense looks a bit mixed up. Francis plays the field end behind Basham. Johns and McCollum are drop ends, and I expect Johns starts. I'd be surprised if Bothroyd doesn't start, unless his injury slows him up. I don't think Burley is a rover, and Redd is, unless I missed a position switch. Probably look at Rucker or Davis to start at FS.

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Rucker struggled a lot last year, particularly with tackling. He needs to make a big jump this year. Unless Davis hasn't fully recovered, I'd expect to see him over Rucker.

Buttermaker said:

Rucker struggled a lot last year, particularly with tackling. He needs to make a big jump this year. Unless Davis hasn't fully recovered, I'd expect to see him over Rucker.

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Coby was just as bad, if not worse to end the season. He played horrible in the bowl. Nasir Greer will be the starting SS. But it’ll be a complete competition for FS. I think Peyton Woulard will be in the mix with Rucker and Davis. I think i’ve heard Masterson is currently working in at safety. I assume he’d still be the starting rover with Redd as the backup, but I wonder if they are going to move Masterson back to safety and have Redd play rover with Dicks backing him up. I know that Masterson gives the defense a load of flexibility. Having Redd playing so much rover last year was great, he handled it pretty well. Just need to get Kenneth Ducks playable. He’s our future starting rover.

jaybone said:

Conor tweeted this morning after the conclusion of Spring Practice #2 that Justin Williams was getting #1 reps at DE today.

A crowded position. He's a redshirt Frosh ... Interesting.

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Coaches know what they have in Boogie and some others. Smart to let them sit and take a good look at some young guys. Keep looking for the "Boogie" behind Boogie.

CONeill said:

Isaac wasn't mentioned when Clawson ran off the list of guys out for the spring, but he tore his ACL in either late Sept. or Oct., so I doubt he's back before fall camp.

Understand "Roberson hasn't shown much" for games, but he's looked really good in the last two spring segments. He's got all of the physical tools. Needs to stay healthy and I think he'll be decent. Not Dortch-level, maybe not even Hinton-level production, but decent. And with Sage and Donavon, you don't necessarily need 90 catches/6-10 TDs from your slot.

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Thanks for the heads up on Isaac.

I hope you we don't need him to show out from the slot position, but I am concerned about the middle of the field threat. I really hope Chapman and Roberson can get it done and my worries have been for nothing.

Believe Les said that T. Williams has been out the last couple of practices. I think A.T. Perry may break out this year.

jaybone said:

Conor tweeted this morning after the conclusion of Spring Practice #2 that Justin Williams was getting #1 reps at DE today.

A crowded position. He's a redshirt Frosh ... Interesting.

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Pretty amazing. DE is one of our deepest positions. If he’s really equal to our other first/second stringers, that is very encouraging. Will watch this in the coming weeks.

And DE is probably the position at which depth is most important.

SDDeac said:

Coby was just as bad, if not worse to end the season. He played horrible in the bowl. Nasir Greer will be the starting SS. But it’ll be a complete competition for FS. I think Peyton Woulard will be in the mix with Rucker and Davis. I think i’ve heard Masterson is currently working in at safety. I assume he’d still be the starting rover with Redd as the backup, but I wonder if they are going to move Masterson back to safety and have Redd play rover with Dicks backing him up. I know that Masterson gives the defense a load of flexibility. Having Redd playing so much rover last year was great, he handled it pretty well. Just need to get Kenneth Ducks playable. He’s our future starting rover.

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Masterson at safety and Redd at rover (or vice versa) makes a lot of sense as long as Dicks is playable. If he's not, then someone else has to be ready to step up in 2021.

To clarify:

- Justin Williams is a DT, not a DE. I only tweeted he's getting 1-reps.
- That has to do with Tyler Williams seemingly being limited. Kamara and J. Williams have been "first-team DTs," but it's been two practices with helmets only. Cohen has loads of time to figure out his rotation in the spring, and then in the summer he gets Bothroyd and Miles Fox to work into the mix.
- Also while I'm on DTs: James Ash certainly looks the part. I have no idea if he'll play because it's obviously a deep position -- but he's a strong-looking 6-3, 285.
- "Boogie behind Boogie" is probably Clawson's least-favorite quote that's been said on the practice field in 3 years, but it still cracks me up.
- Clawson told us Masterson can play 4 positions: both safeties, BUCK LB and rover. He'll play wherever he's needed, so without Nasir and while they still try to get Coby Davis back to pre-ACL form, Masterson is probably a safety.
- Rucker struggled more with angles than actually tackling. I think that's easier to improve on, and I think he'll be really good.

- To Pilchard's point: Again, can't stress enough how futile recruiting rankings are for Wake football. Greg Dortch was a 2-star. Justin Strnad and Jessie Bates III were the 16th- and 17th-ranked players of 2015 class; 1-4 were Kyle Kearns, Dionte Austin, Bowman Archibald and Rocky Reid.

CONeill said:

To clarify:

- Justin Williams is a DT, not a DE. I only tweeted he's getting 1-reps.
- That has to do with Tyler Williams seemingly being limited. Kamara and J. Williams have been "first-team DTs," but it's been two practices with helmets only. Cohen has loads of time to figure out his rotation in the spring, and then in the summer he gets Bothroyd and Miles Fox to work into the mix.
- Also while I'm on DTs: James Ash certainly looks the part. I have no idea if he'll play because it's obviously a deep position -- but he's a strong-looking 6-3, 285.
- "Boogie behind Boogie" is probably Clawson's least-favorite quote that's been said on the practice field in 3 years, but it still cracks me up.
- Clawson told us Masterson can play 4 positions: both safeties, BUCK LB and rover. He'll play wherever he's needed, so without Nasir and while they still try to get Coby Davis back to pre-ACL form, Masterson is probably a safety.
- Rucker struggled more with angles than actually tackling. I think that's easier to improve on, and I think he'll be really good.

- To Pilchard's point: Again, can't stress enough how futile recruiting rankings are for Wake football. Greg Dortch was a 2-star. Justin Strnad and Jessie Bates III were the 16th- and 17th-ranked players of 2015 class; 1-4 were Kyle Kearns, Dionte Austin, Bowman Archibald and Rocky Reid.

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Thanks Conor, sorry to cannibalize your tweet (wrongly).

Question: Do you have any idea what Nasir Greer's injury and surgery were off the Syracuse game???

jaybone said:

Thanks Conor, sorry to cannibalize your tweet (wrongly).

Question: Do you have any idea what Nasir Greer's injury and surgery were off the Syracuse game???

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No worries, man.

All I've got on Nasir is it's a right knee injury (don't know where shoulder thought came from on here). He's been walking around before and after practices, no boot or anything, and theoretically in the pit* during practice.

* we can't really see the pit anymore because it's moved into the new weight room, and where we sit in the indoor doesn't have an angle to see into very much of the weight room.

I am going to totally guess meniscus then '-). Meniscus tears don't de-stablize the knee really, just create discomfort and swelling and "stiffness" With athletes and young people, there is usually a determination to surgically repair a meniscus tear for the long-term health of the knee. For small tears on non-athletes and older people, they can just remove the small piece and you are essentially ready to go play tennis or golf a few weeks. The downside is you are more likely to develop an arthritic knee down the road w/ a small piece of your mensicus removed. But the surgical repair route requires months of healing before you can resume cutting activity, etc...

I am not a doctor, just a guy who has had 3 or 4 knee surgeries over the years (two ACL repairs and one or two arthroscopic procedures). Funny story, I have one set of scars on one knee and three sets of incision scars on the other, but for the life of me only remember two surgeries on it. The scars indicate three surgeries though.

ACL repairs suck ass. Two weeks of hell after surgery. If Nasir did have an ACL repair, he could be walking fine by now. The actual walking around recover is very very fast (three weeks?), but oh my those first two weeks. But to be clear, for ACL surgeries, there is not chance you'd go out and play or practice for minimum 4 months, 6 months for most. That is because the tendon they take from your hamstring to string through as a new ligament takes roughly that amount of time to grow a blood supply through the length of it. Yes that is right, tendons don't have a blood supply but ligaments do and the body is smart enough to start growing a blood supply through your new ligament beginning a few days after the surgery. That is why the length of time is different per patient. And it is a guesstimate, unless they can now go in with an MRI and confirm the completed blood supply, which I think is the confirmation that the new ligament is 100% strong.

Wake has tended to be very cautious on these surgeries with other guys (Burley last year), so if he had the ACL surgery, I tend to believe you'd have heard Clawson say that Greer is out for all or most of 2020. Greer is also one of the few frosh who played and has not redshirted, which would be another reason to just up and redshirt him this year (and announce it). Just a hunch though, I admit.