Wild Deac or Heavy Deac?
No matter the term for Wake Forest's short-yardage package, the Deacons are running the ball -- and doing it successfully thanks to a break from the rigidity of the offense.
Wake Forest’s offense had an alarming weakness. It was like the Deacons’ opponents knew what was coming. No matter how well the offensive line blocked; no matter how well the quarterback read the play; no matter how the running back hit the hole – the Deacons just couldn’t get any points on the board.
This was a little more than a year ago.
(Sorry: In the week that Wake Forest is facing Jay Bateman and Lonnie Galloway, did you think this was about something else?)
Wake Forest’s conundrum last season was that it had one of the ACC’s best offenses, and was the league’s best third-down offense — and yet, was rather pedestrian in short-yardage and goal-line situations.
The solution came in the form of something that’s been expanded this season. The only mystery about the Deacons’ short-yardage success is whether to call it the Heavy Deac or the Wild Deac.
Wake Forest has turned last season’s shortcoming into a showing of strength every time it marches offensive lineman Taleni Suhren and/or some combination of tight ends Brandon Chapman, Blake Whiteheart and Connor Hebbeler onto the field.
Now, opposing defenses still probably know what’s coming. They just can’t stop it.
“When we see them come on the field, obviously it’s time to run the ball,” left tackle Zach Tom said. “I mean, it’s on us as an offensive line to be able to pick up the yardage. And on the running backs.”
Wake Forest has the running backs in Kenneth Walker III and Christian Beal-Smith, a couple of agile, powerful runners who have both the patience to wait on blocks to develop and the explosiveness to burst through the narrowest of openings. Both have taken direct snaps for touchdown runs this season, with Walker holding the majority of those.
The tinkering last season came in part because the Deacons couldn’t throw fades to Sage Surratt and Scotty Washington on every red-zone play — as fun as that would’ve been — and in part because Wake Forest was better on third-and-medium than third- and fourth-and-1s.
It required offensive coordinator Warren Ruggiero to break somewhat from his preference.
“I don’t like slowing down in the open field at all, you know? Unless it’s third-and-1 or something and we want to get some people in there,” Ruggiero said. “We’re going to try and wear you out all the way down there and there’s going to be times we keep going.
“But I think it’s been a nice addition and everybody’s kind of open to it and working hard at it and it’s been fun.”
One of the staples of Wake Forest’s offense has been that it doesn’t substitute during drives. When an offense subs players in and out, referees halt play until the defense has the chance to sub.
The only break from the norm is the Heavy/Wild Deac.
“As you know, Coach Ruggiero is about as thorough and well-researched a football coach as you’ll ever meet,” coach Dave Clawson said. “And he’s very good at recognizing ‘OK, we’re good at these things, we need improvement (on these things).’ … He researched some people that are doing this stuff and he felt that we needed to come up with a different short-yardage package.
“We worked on it really hard this camp. And we also felt for the first time in a long time that we had enough tight ends to run it.”
Chapman is the fifth-year senior who’s started every game this season at tight end, with Whiteheart the third-year sophomore playing significant offensive snaps for the first time in his Wake Forest career.
Hebbeler is the bonus addition for the group — a converted defensive lineman who’s found a niche in the Deacons’ short-yardage and goal-line packages.
“Man it’s been – it’s been a few years since we three-tight-end packages and it’s really awesome,” Chapman said. “That’s the kind of football that any tight end wants to play. It’s awesome seeing Connor Hebbeler out there to get some snaps and move some people.”
For the offensive lineman’s perspective, we go to Tom — and to the mindset of the Beef Boys when they see extra tight ends and/or linemen trotting onto the field.
“I think it’s more of a pride thing,” Tom said. “When we bring in that group, it’s obviously a short-yardage situation so we’ve gotta get some yards, so I think it’s more of, ‘Let’s put our nose down, let’s get the first down or get the touchdown.’”
That’s noticeable to quarterback Sam Hartman.
“Up front obviously … it just gives them a chance to kind of just play downhill football instead of our normal stuff,” Hartman said. “It’s really just all around, the explosiveness combined with guys being able to put their nose down and go.”
Some versions of the Heavy/Wild Deac (do we have a verdict there yet?) have Hartman head to the sideline, while others have him line up as a wide receiver.
So that begs an obvious question: How much pleading has Hartman done with Ruggiero to let him run a route and catch a pass from Beal-Smith or Walker?
“I’ve done a little bit, but I know it’ll come at some point. Or it won’t. We’ll see,” Hartman said coyly.
Trying to get an answer out of Tom on whether the Deacons will have to eventually throw out of the formation to keep defenses honest yields a similarly secretive answer.
“Um, I don’t know,” Tom said. “I mean … I don’t know if either one of them can throw. So I don’t know if that’s something that we’re thinking about doing.”
So … some things remain secrets in the closest thing we have to a #Wakeyleaks game.
Conor: This post was like having an extra doughnut for breakfast. Yum! You've gone beyond the typical article written for the newspapers by providing insights about the evolution of the "Wild Deac." Here's hoping the Deacons will have plenty of opportunities to run it against the Heels on Saturday.
Heavy Deac or Beefy Deacs