Wake Forest
Demon Deacons

But the rest of the pieces have to fall in place.

"Right now it's supporting cast for Riley," coach Jim Grobe said of his team's needs. "We know he can get the job done if we can get the other 10 guys playing.

"That's what hurt us some last year. Riley could have had a better junior year and we could have had a better football team had we had a better supporting cast.

"Our offensive line was beat up all year. We really didn't have a home-run threat at wide receiver. We had a couple of really good possession guys but really didn't have a go-to guy for the home run. And our running backs stayed banged up all year and we got very little out of them.

"So we just didn't give Riley a lot of support."

The big question in 2009 will be at receiver. Both starters, D.J. Boldin and Chip Brinkman, are lost, leaving only one wide receiver, junior Marshall Williams, with significant experience. He had 26 catches last year, second on the team but far behind Boldin's team-high 81 grabs.

The Deacons may be in a "hurry-up" mode to get their offense moving because that unit likely will have to carry them as the defense rebuilds after losing seven starters.

SPRING MOVERS:

FB Tommy Bohannon -- A February signee, Bohannon will make a strong bid to play in the fall after enrolling early and taking part in spring practice. He is 6-2, 245, and gained some extra reps when returning starter Mike Rinfrette sustained a concussion before the final week of workouts.

WR Chris Givens -- A redshirt freshman, Givens stepped up in scrimmages and could fill Wake's need for the breakaway threat it lacked a year ago. Givens had runs of 65 and 20 yards and had three receptions for 39 yards in the spring game. Givens has been clocked at 10.44 seconds in the 100 meters as a high school senior.

LB Matt Woodlief -- Woodlief saw extensive playing time as a sophomore last season and now will be asked to step up and carry a much bigger load with the departure of Aaron Curry. Woodlief and classmate Hunter Haynes both had good springs and established themselves as starters in what Jim Grobe considers a deep linebacking corps.

WR Terence Davis -- Davis is another redshirt freshman who could make a big difference in the passing game. He had a 54-yard reception in one scrimmage and had three catches in the spring game.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "We're losing a lot, but I like the intensity, I like the depth. We've got probably five or six kids right now who are really fighting hard to be in a situation where they get a lot of playing time. We don't have a superstar like Aaron Curry right now, but I like the mix that we've got in there at linebacker." -- Coach Jim Grobe, on Wake's linebackers.

There won't be any such issues facing them this fall.

SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: QB Riley Skinner returns for his senior season and is a big reason for optimism. He is one of the most accurate passers in the country, but Wake needs to have WRs Marshall Williams and Chris Givens step up to take full advantage of Skinner's ability. RBs Josh Adams, Brandon Pendergrass and Kevin Harris key the ground game. The interior line gets a boost from the return of 2007 starter Chris DeGeare.

SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: Only four starters return, and three -- DE Kyle Wilber, DT John Russell and NT Boo Robinson -- are up front. CB Brandon Ghee is the only returning starter behind them. The Deacons face big losses with the departures of LBs Aaron Curry and Stanley Arnoux and CB Alphonso Smith, but coach Jim Grobe thinks the linebacker corps headed by juniors Matt Woodlief and Hunter Haynes, who both played in 2008, is the deepest he's had in his eight years at Wake.

SCOUTING THE SPECIAL TEAMS: P-PK Shane Popham got more playing time than he expected in 2008 when veteran Sam Swank was injured, and though he struggled early, he finished strong and has had a good spring. He also averaged just under 40 yards a punt. The Deacons will be looking for a new punt returner, but WR Devon Brown is back to return kickoffs.

ROSTER REPORT:

--P/PK Shane Popham missed the spring game with a sprained knee, allowing senior Cline Beam to take over. Beam recently finished a four-year career with the soccer team and was good from 24 yards on his only field-goal attempt. "I hope he'll be able to come back this fall and compete for a job," coach Jim Grobe said.

--CB Brandon Ghee (knee) and DT Boo Robinson (back) sustained the most serious injuries of the spring and missed most of the practice period. They are expected to be ready by the fall.

--TB Brandon Pendergrass played for both sides in the spring games and combined for 70 yards rushing on just seven carries with a long run of 27 yards.