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SCOUTING THE DEACONS

Coach: Jim Grobe (87-77-1 in 14 seasons overall; 54-44 in eight seasons at Wake Forest)

2008 record: 8-5 overall, 4-4 ACC

Home field: BB&T Field (31,500), Winston-Salem

KEY QUESTIONS FOR WAKE FOREST

How do the Deacons replace seven defensive starters?

Wake Forest lost some serious star power, with LB Aaron Curry, CB Alphonso Smith, S Chip Vaughn and LB Stanley Arnoux all taken in the NFL draft. This year's defense is short on experience but long on talent, and it's built around a front four anchored by returnees John Russell and Boo Robinson. "Even when we've had great players in the past, I've always felt that it all starts up front with the D-line," Russell said. This year, they'll have to prove it.

Will DB Kenny Okoro play much this season?

The former News & Record high school player of the year from Dudley wore a redshirt last season, and the freshman is listed behind senior Brandon Ghee at cornerback on Wake's depth chart. Coach Jim Grobe says Okoro will play, and his performance on the field will determine how much he plays. Ghee, the only returning starter in the secondary, likes Okoro's potential. "Kenny's going to play a lot, especially on nickel downs, third-and-longs," Ghee said. "He's doing real well. He and Michael Williams were fighting for a (starting cornerback) job for a good three weeks. Michael's ahead of him right now, but who knows what's going to happen down the road?"

Didn't CB C.J. Washington used to be RB C.J. Washington?

Yes. The 5-foot-8, 160-pound speedster came to Wake Forest as a tailback, but he realized last year as a redshirt freshman that he would see more time on the field as a defensive back. "He came to us (coaches) and asked to help out the defense," Wake head coach Jim Grobe said. Washington will likely still get to carry the ball at times: He's also working as a kick and punt returner with the special teams.

What's up with the three-game winning streak over Florida State?

Ask Seminoles coach Bobby Bowden, and you'll get a quick answer: It's all about recruiting. "They have whipped us the last three times," Bowden said. "I really like Jim (Grobe), and I think he's one of the best coaches in the country. And I'm a Baptist, so I like Wake Forest. And I had a brother-in-law who went there back in 1946. I'm glad to see Jim do good. I just wish he wouldn't do so good against us. But he has. ... He's come down to Florida — and I've talked to our coaches about evaluating — but Jim's come down to Florida and got kids from our state and beat us with them. Why didn't we get them? How did we miss them? We didn't see what Jim saw." This year, Florida State plays at Wake Forest on Nov. 14.

2008 RESULTS (8-5)
at Baylor — W, 41-13
Nebraska — W, 30-28
at Florida State — W, 12-3
Navy — L, 17-24
Clemson — W, 12-7
at Maryland — L, 0-26
at Miami — L, 10-16
Duke — W, 33-30, OT
Virginia — W, 28-17
at N.C. State — L, 17-21
Boston College — L, 21-24
Vanderbilt — W, 23-10
Navy (EagleBank Bowl) — W, 29-19

2009 SCHEDULE
Saturday: Baylor, 3:30 (ABC/ESPN2)
Sept. 12: Stanford, noon (Raycom)
Sept. 19: Elon, 6:30
Sept. 26: at Boston College
Oct. 3: N.C. State
Oct. 10: Maryland
Oct. 17: at Clemson
Oct. 24: at Navy, 3:30 (CBS-College)
Oct. 31: Miami
Nov. 7: at Georgia Tech
Nov. 14: Florida State
Nov. 28: at Duke All kickoff times tba unless noted

Tickets: $100-$315 for season tickets; $35-$55 for single games. Call (888) 758-3322.
Official athletics Web site: www.wakeforestsports.com
Local radio affiliates: WZTK-101.1, WBRF-98.1, WLXN-1440
Coach's call-in radio show: 7 p.m. Thursdays, WBRF-98.1
Coach's TV show: None

DEPTH CHART
Listed by player's number, name, height, weight and class year.

OFFENSE

Left tackle
70 Chris DeGeare 6-4 335 Sr
69 Dennis Godfrey 6-3 335 Soph

Left guard
78 Joe Looney 6-3 295 Soph
61 Barrett McMillin 6-3 290 Sr

Center
72 Russell Nenon 6-4 295 Jr
67 Trey Bailey 6-2 295 Sr

Right guard
64 Jeff Griffin 6-3 290 Sr
75 Michael Hoag 6-6 295 Soph

Right tackle
76 Joe Birdsong 6-4 290 Sr
62 Doug Weaver 6-8 295 Soph

Tight end
80 Andrew Parker 6-5 225 Soph
83 Cameron Ford 6-4 235 Soph

Wide receiver
8 Marshall Williams 6-1 185 Jr
7 Jordan Williams 6-3 200 Jr

Wide receiver
3 Y'Lou Brown 5-9 185 Soph
2 Chris Givens 6-0 200 Fr

Fullback
44 Mike Rinfrette 6-3 260 Sr
42 Tommy Bohanon 6-2 240 Fr

Tailback
23 Kevin Harris 6-1 225 Sr
27 Josh Adams 6-0 182 Jr

Quarterback
11 Riley Skinner 6-1 210 Sr
15 Ryan McManus 6-1 195 Sr

Kicker
37 Shane Popham 5-11 190 Soph

DEFENSE

Defensive end
55 Tristan Dorty 6-2 250 Soph
90 Will Wright 6-4 230 Soph

Nose guard
96 Boo Robinson 6-2 295 Sr
95 Ramon Booi 6-6 300 Fr

Defensive tackle
51 John Russell 6-4 280 Sr
99 Michael Lockett 6-0 285 Sr

Defensive end
97 Kyle Wilber 6-5 230 Soph
57 Gelo Orange 6-1 225 Soph

Linebacker
26 Jonathan Jones 6-3 240 Sr
35 Lee Malchow 6-5 230 Jr

Linebacker
46 Matt Woodlief 5-11 255 Jr
52 Dominique Midgett 6-2 245 Sr

Linebacker
56 Hunter Haynes 6-2 240 Jr
40 Joey Ehrmann 6-4 210 Fr

Cornerback
17 Brandon Ghee 6-0 190 Sr
6 Kenny Okoro 6-0 190 Fr

Cornerback
7 Michael Williams 6-1 170 Soph
14 C.J. Washington 5-8 160 Soph

Strong safety
28 Cyhl Quarles 6-3 205 Soph
4 Josh Bush 5-11 195 Soph

Free safety
21 Alex Frye 6-3 195 Jr
10 Junior Petit-Jean 6-0 200 Soph

Punter
37 Shane Popham 5-11 190 Soph