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WINSTON-SALEM -- While "Riley Skinner Saves The World" wasn't a huge hit, Wake Forest's quarterback turned his 2007 season from action thriller to documentary. Think Sundance, not Sony Pictures Entertainment.

The Demon Deacons, consequently, did what they had always intended: prove 2006 could have a feel-good sequel.

"I tried to do too much at the beginning of the season," said Skinner, the 2006 ACC Rookie of the Year, "and it hurt me. As the season progressed, I started to realize the need to do the same things we had done the year before."

Context is key to this tale. There were at least two highly probable results of Wake's 2006 ACC championship. Outsiders would ask if it was real, and television would want an early-season meeting of the defending champs and the league's Heisman Trophy candidate. So the Deacons started the campaign at Boston College and quarterback Matt Ryan, who ultimately got his team as high as No. 2 in the polls and parlayed that into a $72 million NFL contract several months later.

Skinner, who had thrown only five interceptions in 260 attempts as a redshirt freshman, let the magnitude of the stage get to him. Against the Eagles, he tossed three interceptions -- at least one of which came after he had separated his throwing shoulder and tried to play through the limitations.

"I was nervous," he said. "I put a lot of pressure on myself, and there was no reason to. I felt we had to come out and blow everybody away and prove that it wasn't a fluke the year before. We got out of rhythm and out of our game plan. After a couple of games of getting those jitters out, I calmed down."

Also intervening was a two-game absence because of the injury. It wasn't until the end of his fifth game, a 24-21 win over Florida State, that Skinner said he stopped forcing passes over the middle and became content with short and intermediate routes to Kenny Moore, who set an ACC record with 98 catches on the year.

At Navy, the two hooked up 15 times for 180 yards -- a modest but effective average of 12 yards a reception.

After throwing the ball to the wrong guys nine times in his first 123 attempts, Skinner did so on only four of his final 204 passes -- a ratio almost identical to his rookie year numbers.

In the end, he led the NCAA and set an ACC record for single-season completion percentage (72.39). The gaudy number was clearly helped by the preponderance of short stuff; Skinner's average yardage per completion and attempt were significantly lower than those of the national leaders. But the Deacs did win. After an 0-2 start, they ripped off six consecutive victories en route to a 9-4 season and a bowl victory.

Skinner can no longer look for Moore, who is in the Detroit Lions' camp. Right now, he's without the services of the most experienced wideout, Chip Brinkman, who will miss the next couple of weeks with a strained hamstring. So his task is to help the development of wide receivers D.J. Boldin and Jordan Williams and running backs Josh Adams and Brandon Pendergrass as Wake prepares for its first intrasquad scrimmage of the preseason Saturday night at BB&T Field.

"I feel we have more weapons now," Skinner said. "I don't feel there's one (single) person we're going to pinpoint. During seven-on-seven drills this summer, which the players organized, we were throwing TDs to the fullbacks, to the tight ends, to everybody."

And at some point, the Deacs may need to rely on big plays, because even coach Jim Grobe says it's unlikely the defense and special teams can continue to score as often as they did the past two years. But Skinner, on track to become the most accurate passer in ACC history, believes he'll know when to try the pass along the sideline and when it's best to throw it into the band.

Contact Rob Daniels at 373-7028 or rob.daniels@news-record.com