BLACKSBURG, Va. – To power a high caliber ground game like the Hokies have, guard Lecitus Smith made it clear it all starts with the front five.
“Khalil (Herbert) or Raheem (Blackshear), all our running backs, we’re going to make holes for y’all,” Smith said. “When he gets that spotlight at the end of the season, if he rushed for a lot of yards, of course people will be happy for him, but wait, if you rushed for this many yards? Who blocked for him?”
Recommended Videos
Standing in their way this week is Roanoke native Carlos “Boogie” Basham, a defensive end for the Deacons who already has 17 tackles this season.
“I mean, I can’t say enough about Basham,” head coach Justin Fuente said. “He’s all over the place, he caused at least one fumble I can remember last year.”
“He’s a talented player,” Smith said. “He’s a pretty big guy, we have to get hands on him and work on our technique to contain him.”
Wake Forest’s up tempo, RPO offense is averaging 40 points a game. “The quarterback is throwing it all over the yard, they’ve got a great running game,” Fuente said. “They make very few mistakes, no penalties, no turnovers.”
But safety Divine Deablo is set on making it difficult for them to have another mistake free sixty minutes.
“We have to do a good job of creating turnovers because Sam Hartman, I don’t remember the last time he had a turnover,” he said. “He’s doing a good job of taking care of the ball, so we have to do a good job at creating turnovers.”
The Hokies head to Winston-Salem on Saturday. Kick off is 3:30 pm and will be broadcasted on Regional Sports Networks.