By Joedy McCreary
Associated Press
WINSTON-SALEM ó Tanner Price arrived for the start of Wake Forestís preseason camp Saturday wearing a new jersey number. Maybe that will make him tougher for defenses to find.
A better way to do that, of course, is for the Demon Deaconsí offensive line to improve. A more dependable ground game canít hurt, either.
ěItís going to be huge, because thatís going to open up the pass,î Price said following Wake Forestís first practice. ěWeíll be able to do play-actions off that, and itís going to be great to have a strong running game.î
Price wore No. 11 as a freshman last year but said he switched to No. 10 because thatís the number he wore while growing up in Texas.
That change also could be viewed as the latest indication that the Demon Deacons have put their miserable 2010 season in the past. They went 3-9, finished last in the ACCís Atlantic Division and lost nine games in a row ó dropping five of those by at least 30 points ó in large part because of their season-long struggles on defense and their lack of consistency on offense.
If theyíre going to get back to the level they reached in the last decade ó when they made three straight bowl trips from 2006-08 and before that routinely led the league in rushing ó theyíll need improved play from their veteran offensive line and steady production on the ground to take some of the heat off Price.
ěWe had some guys up front … that are pushing people out of the way,î coach Jim Grobe said. ěWeíve had some great ones. … The point is, it does start up front. I donít think weíve been the kind of offensive line for the past couple of years that weíve been accustomed to. I think this could be a year where we go back to being a real good running football team. I think thatís a real key for us.
ěEverybody wants to talk about Tanner Price, Tanner Price, Tanner Price,î he added. ěBut in reality, if weíre able to run the football, it makes everybody else a lot better.î
Wake Forest wants to get off and running behind promising tailback Josh Harris. The sophomore had an up-and-down first season, finished with seven touchdowns and gained more than one-third of his total yardage in one game ó a 241-yard performance at Virginia Tech.
ěI do plan on having (another) game like Virginia Tech,î Harris said with a smile. ěIím staying in the room to watch film, make sure I know my opponent and know all the plays, and I feel like Iíll have a game like V-Tech every game.î
If he does, that should make things much easier for Price, who threw for 1,349 yards with more interceptions (eight) than touchdowns (seven) during his baptism-under-fire first season.
Wake Forest quarterbacks were sacked 26 times last season ó the most allowed by any ACC school that played fewer than 13 games.
But that should get better this season, with four senior starters returning up front. That ought to make for an easier time finding running lanes for Harris, and more time in the pocket for Price.
ěExperience is everything in college football,î Price said, ěand having four senior starting linemen coming back is going to be awesome.î