Season two of the Jake Dickert era at Wake Forest begins Thursday night. The Demon Deacons are at home to face the Akron Zips at Allegacy Financial Stadium.
Wake Forest vs Akron Preview
Still Questions for Akron
There are a lot of unknowns about Akron, forcing the Wake Forest coaching staff to do some extra homework this week. But Dickert will say the same thing every coach says. It is about his team and how they perform and execute, as to whether they win or not.
Everyone is still in a holding pattern as to whether the NCAA is going to grant Zips quarterback Reese Poffenbarger a medical waiver for an extra year of eligibility. Based on the timing of everything, it would be reasonable to assume that Poffenbarger would not get the waiver in time for Thursday night’s game. If he does, he will be ready, as he has been QB1 through much of camp for Akron.
Braydon Roggow would likely get the nod if Poffenbarger can’t go. Roggow actually threw more passes last season than Poffenbarger has in the last two years combined. Dickert told the media last week that some of his coaches have been going back and digging up old high school footage of Akron quarterbacks just to make sure they are prepared for anyone and anything.
And Questions About Akron
And it is already hard to plan for Akron. The program has averaged 35 players leaving for the portal per year over the last three years. Head coach Joe Moorhead said the Zips have 41 new players on the roster this year.
Dickert said since the staff at Akron has remained primarily intact over those same years, it is about what he called rules and principles. “You kind of do systematically 90% of what you do year over year. We’re trying to prepare for that the best we can.”
Akron Talks Wake Forest
Moorhead said earlier this week that he thinks he knows what to expect from Wake Forest. It’s not just that he knows Dickert from their time opposing each other in the old Pac-12. Moorhead was the offensive coordinator at Oregon when Dickert was at Washington State.
He is impressed with what he has seen at Wake Forest. He said they had a couple of what he called “bonus practices” in moving out of camp mode and into Wake Forest prep mode. “We can’t be surprised by their speed or physicality in the game,” Moorhead said this week of Wake Forest.
He went on to compliment his former Pacific Northwest adversary and the job he did in year one at Wake Forest. “Certainly, we have the utmost respect for Coach Dickert,” he said. “Any time you can win nine wins at a Power 4 program, particularly at a selective academic institution like Wake Forest, it’s a huge accomplishment.” Moorhead went on to describe the Wake football program as smart and tough, “and they play sound physical football.”
Dickert’s Confidence
Dickert is feeling pretty good about the result from camp also. “I appreciate this team’s work. I appreciate the way they show up every day. I appreciate how they meet every challenge. And I appreciate how they communicate with me,” he said.
Dickert added that the play calling on both sides of the ball will not be holding anything back. He made it clear they are not saving anything in the Akron game to keep it off the film for the conference opponents to see. “We’re going out there to win a game.” He said, “We can beat anybody if we don’t beat ourselves.”
Dickert has said multiple times in recent weeks that there is a Wake Forest standard that has been created over the last nine months and that is the bar that has to be met. “Standards are internal. Expectations are external,” he said at his weekly press conference on Friday.
Needing to See a Faster Start
The Deacs got off to a very slow start in the season opener last year against Kennesaw State on their way to a less-than-compelling 10-9 win. Dickert said on Friday that he could feel a nervousness in the program before last year’s season opener. He said this year he senses a confidence and excitement from the team to get started. He said the veteran leadership on the team and the fact that so many on this year’s roster are back from year one in the Dickert era makes a difference. “What’s there to be nervous about? Just do what you’ve been doing your whole life and be excited to go out there and play and perform.”
Dickert also said he does not think the team will be nervous because the coaching staff has been preaching that they know mistakes are going to happen, but they will have the players’ backs. ”Relinquish perfection,” he said. “This is a violent, fast, aggressive game, played at warp speed. Perfect hold you back. Hesitation kills performance.”
The talking part of the pre-season is over. Kick-off is Thursday at 7 pm. The Winston-Salem State marching band will be joining the Wake Forest band for pre-game and halftime entertainment.
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