aWAKEthesideline

Congratulations to Michael Campanaro and Nikita Whitlock. Both players were announced as 2nd-team All-ACC performers today.  Punter Alex Kinal also received honorable mention All-ACC.  I imagine he will make the all-freshman team which will be announced later.

Campanaro proved his worth throughout the entire season and ended the regular season as the ACC leader in receptions.  He finished the season with 79 receptions for 763 yards and 6 TDs. He also rushed for a Touchdown and threw a TD Pass as well.  When he broke his hand early on in the season he was sorely missed by the offense.  I have no doubt in my mind that if it were not for missing two-and-a-half games he would have recorded at least 100 receptions on the season.  Hats off to Camp for continuing to get better as a player and I am excited to see what next year holds for him!

Whitlock was also hampered with injuries early on in the season when he sustained a high-ankle sprain against North Carolina.  He was able to return from injury and play in the majority of games this season.  Whitlock finished the season with 51 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, and 3 sacks.  His ability to make plays at his size (5’10″- 260 lbs.) is truly remarkable.  His statistics were not as impressive as last season, but Whitlock forces opposing teams to double team a player of his size. That rarely happens unless you are a stud, and Nikita Whitlock is a stud.

Whitlock and Campanaro will be seniors next year and I look for them to get even better in their final seasons as they continue to be emotional and physical leaders for this football team.

Hats off to Alex Kinal as well. Unfortunately, he punted more than we all would have liked, but he still managed to average 40.7 yards per punt on 95 punts.  That is very impressive in my opinion.  This guy works his tail off to perfect his craft and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for him.

Here is the link to the ACC’s article and the full All-ACC football teams.

http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/112612aaf.html

-Go Deacs!

Michael Hoag

This will probably be another short post as I don’t have much to tell you that you couldn’t have figured out yourself.  It was another bad loss for the Deacs on Saturday when they fell 55-21 to a much improved Vanderbilt team.  I give James Franklin credit for the job he has done at Vanderbilt, but his team is not that much better than Wake Forest’s.  The score might read differently, but I know what talent this team had and the Deacs just looked flat on Saturday night.  Tanner Price mentioned it in his post-game press conference, he said, “”I think one of the big problems has been we just haven’t played with a lot of heart and a lot of emotion.”  When players are admitting this type of thing it becomes a problem.  Here is my short and sweet recap of what happened against Vandy.

OFFENSE

• The offense struggled again this week, just as they had in previous weeks, and after their first drive of the football game the boys from Vandy shut them down.
• I thought WR Michael Campanaro showed up ready to play and had a good game with  8 catches for 98 yards.  He and Deandre Martin looked fired up and ready to play the whole game.  Martin proved again he can be the feature back after gaining 72 yards and one score. I’m anxious to see what Martin can do behind a stable offensive line.
• Tanner Price played ok.  He made some routine throws, but also missed a few of those same passes.  Price was sacked three times on Saturday, which had to mess with his head, and never looked comfortable in the pocket.  Most quarterbacks are going to miss throws if they don’t feel comfortable in the pocket and unfortunately Price has looked uncomfortable back there the majority of the season.
• The offensive line has been a weak link this whole season, but I’m not going to blame them for this loss. Wake got outplayed in every phase of the game.  This offensive line went from having two guys(Steven Chase and Garrick Williams) with any starting experience at the beginning of the season to seeing seven players earn their first career start. That is the main reason this group struggled, but I see that becoming an advantage moving forward because now you have eight players returning next year with staring experience.

DEFENSE

• The defense had its fair share of struggles this week too.  Vandy RB Zac Stacy ran wild, just like he did last season, and torched the defense for 180 yards rushing.
• WR Jordan Matthews simply looked better than our defenders.  He is one of the best wideouts in the country, but a couple plays our DBs just looked lost.
• I would like to point out that I thought Chibuikem Okoro played well in his last game as a Demon Deacon. He finished with 9 solo tackles, a great interception, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown.
• Senior Hasan Hazime also played well in his last game of his one season career for the Deacs.  He had 5 tackles and a sack.  Hazime is a guy who may not have lit up the stat sheet every week, but he was an excellent addition to this team. Our defensive line needed another player to make plays and he showed up and became that guy. Having a senior transfer in and have success like that (28 tackles, 7 TFLs, 2.5 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, and 2 forced fumbles) will make this coaching staff more open to senior transfers moving forward.
• The linebackers were a non-factor in this game.  Michael Olson lead all LBs with four tackles.  Justin Jackson only had one tackle, Betros had two, Haynes with zero, and Ehrmann had one.  That lack of production your linebackers is not a good sign.

SPECIAL TEAMS

• Special teams were bad all night.  There were a lot of new faces on specials this week as the coaching staff used a lot more starters on the coverage teams. This was an attempt to get better production, but I’m not sure it helped because most of these guys hadn’t played special teams all season.
• There is no excuse for the blocked punt. Vandy called a good block, but the Deacs had enough blockers and just didn’t make the blocks.  It was an awful play on Saturday and should have never happened.
• The punt return for a TD was another awful play.  It almost looked as if some of the Deacon defenders thought the Vanderbilt returner called for a fair catch. They were caught flat footed and out of position.  Credit the returner as he did make some good moves and break a couple tackles, but it should have never gotten that far.

This game is one that I’m sure everyone would like to wipe away from their memory bank, but I have one group who I hope never forgets this game.  The players that are returning next year should never forget how this loss felt.  The score was lopsided, the team looked unenthused, and the fans were almost non-existent.  I mentioned it on the radio on Saturday; if the atmosphere in that stadium didn’t anger those players and motivate them to turn things around next season they will have big problems.

I was on a 3-9 football team my first year as a starter and I would love to forget that season, but it taught me what it takes to win football games in the ACC. You have to come out every week fired up to play.  I can tell you that my senior class took a look around during that season and decided we weren’t going to go out in that fashion our senior year.  The players have to start the change. No one else can do it for them.  The boys in the black and gold have to believe and decide that losing is not an option.

Lastly, I would like to thank the seniors for their contribution to this football program. I had the privilege to spend four seasons with this years’ graduating class and they are a fine group of men.  I loved being around those guys and it was an absolute treat to cover them on the radio in their fifth year as Demon Deacons.  Seeing the emotion in the locker room after the game was tough for me. I remember being over come with emotion after my last game.  The realization that it’s over is something you can’t prepare for.  So again, thank you seniors!

-Go Deacs!

Michael Hoag

Just to clarify, I have not been told anything regarding the football program or the athletic department from anyone inside either the football program or the athletics office.  This is a subject that hits very close to home for me having been a former player.  I want this football program and entire athletic’s department succeed in every away.  It kills me to see any of our sports struggling, especially football.  Speculation will be coming from everywhere about this program and I understand that. I want the fans to know that I do not plan on spreading any rumors about what may or may not happen. I plan on waiting to hear concrete answers before giving you all my thoughts on the subject.  I think any former player can understand my position on this because I do not want to create any doubt on where my loyalty lies. My current position is in sports media, but my heart will always be full of Wake Forest Demon Deacon blood. I only want to see this program succeed. Sorry If I created any misguided thoughts that I knew something you all did not.

-Go Deacs!