Replacing Riley

Replacing QB Riley Skinner will be no small challenge for redshirt junior QB Skylar Jones. Cutting to the chase, there really isn't any way that Jones could possibly be a better passing quarterback than Skinner. Skinner, who is now competing to be Eli Manning's back-up on the Giants, left Wake Forest with 17 school records and 31 career victories. Last year Skinner threw for over 3,100 yards and passed for 25 tds while throwing just 12 ints.

In my opinion, the best case scenario is that Jim Grobe returns to a misdirection run-based offense that could take advantage of both Skylar Jones's athletic ability as well as Wake's veteran backfield. While Jones might not be the passer that Skinner was, he is certainly more athletic. According to the Wake Forest website, Jones has run a 4.33 40 yard dash and has a 35-inch vertical leap. Did anyone else notice Skinner's 40 yard dash time (5.07) at the NFL combine? Yikes that's slow. Jones's ability to run may give the Deacons a refreshing change of pace at the QB position. If Jones can throw on the run, then they could really give some ACC defenses fits.

In my opinion, this year's Wake team will look a lot more like Jim Grobe's teams from early on in his tenure at Wake. I expect to see a more run-based offense with lots of misdirection. I think Wake will finish the year around .500 with the possibility of sneaking into one of the smaller bowl games.