Wake Forest QB John Wolford iffy to play against Indiana

John Wolford’s status for Wake Forest’s game against Indiana on Saturday will not be based on anything he has done or not done in his two-plus games as the Deacons’ starting quarterback.

Anything, that is, other than aggravating an ankle injury in the first quarter of last Saturday’s 17-14 victory at Army.

“How could it be (based on) performance?’’ coach Dave Clawson asked Tuesday. “Look what he did the first two games, and then he played one series (at Army).’’

So whether Wolford, a sophomore from Jacksonville, Fla., makes his 16th straight start in the next game against the Hoosiers will be determined by how soon he is able to shake off the effects of the injury. He did not practice Tuesday, and Clawson said he’s not sure when Wolford will make it back on the field.

He’ll be missed until he does. Through games this season, Wolford has completed 53 of 77 passes (69 percent) for 712 yards and four touchdowns. He has thrown four interceptions, but his replacement Kendall Hinton, has thrown two on 40 attempts.

Clawson said both X-rays and an MRI revealed no damage other than a sprain.

“I’d say right now, that he is questionable, or doubtful,’’ Clawson said. “We’ve just got to see. We’ll kind of see how it progresses. It’s just a matter of how he feels.

“It’s day to day, and if at any point he feels great and he can run all the reps and can run around and protect himself, yeah.’’

Hinton, a freshman from Durham who enrolled in January and participated in spring practices, acquitted himself well in his first extended action of college football. Hinton did throw two interceptions, but he also accounted for 260 of Wake Forest’s 346 yards of offense, completing 15 of 27 passes for 159 yards and carrying 17 times for 101 yards and two touchdowns.

“Kendall played really well, though,’’ Clawson said. “He made plays with his feet.

“We’ve got two good quarterbacks.’’

But Clawson took pains to attribute much of Hinton’s success to Wolford, who has become one of the team’s most respected leaders only 16 games into his college career.

“I don’t know if we win that game without John Wolford,’’ Clawson said. “I think some quarterbacks in that situation would be selfish. I don’t know if anybody spent more time with Kendall Hinton this summer than John Wolford. Kendall Hinton did a really nice job and ran the offense well. I don’t know if that happens if John Wolford doesn’t spend all that time with him this summer teaching him the offense.

“I just think that speaks to the type of character and person that John Wolford is. He’s a winner.’’

What Clawson doesn’t have to wonder about is whether Wolford wants to play. Wolford talked himself back into the game against Army after re-injuring his ankle, but Clawson could see that Wolford was not physically capable of playing the rest of the game.

“He’s a competitor,’’ Clawson said. “Not only is he physically gifted in terms of his accuracy and arm strength and athleticism, but he is a throwback. He does not want to miss a rep in practice. It’s killing him that he can’t practice (Tuesday).’’

Clawson also said that the offensive design and objectives remain the same regardless of who is playing quarterback, though he acknowledged that Offensive Coordinator Warren Ruggiero simplified the package somewhat when Hinton replaced Wolford.

“The offense doesn’t change,’’ Clawson said. “Do you tweak it a little bit because of Kendall? It’s not necessarily because of ability level. I think it’s because of experience.

“You just try to make the game as clean for Kendall as you can. And his experience playing last week – if he has to play this week – will help him. So we can maybe do a little bit more with him.

“But Kendall is a very, very sharp, very smart, student of the game, as well.’’

Clawson said he still considers Duke Ejiofor, a redshirt sophomore defensive end who has missed the first three games recovering from a concussion, doubtful for Saturday’s game.

“We want to make sure he is 100 percent and comfortable,’’ Clawson said. “If he can get healthy this year he will play.’’

Rocky Reid, a freshman running back from Concord who has missed the first three games with an injured ankle, has returned to practice, but Clawson was noncommittal as to whether Reid will play against Indiana.

“He looked good in practice last week, and he looked good Sunday night,’’ Clawson said. “We’ll see though. It’s just a matter of, he’s missed so many reps and you also have two freshmen (Tyler Bell and Matt Colburn) and a sophomore (Isaiah Robinson) that you’ve got to feed reps to.

“This week I’d say doubtful, but I just want to make sure he’s healthy. You don’t want to put him out there and have him tweak something and then he loses a whole year.’’

This story was originally published September 23, 2015 at 7:42 PM with the headline "Wake Forest QB John Wolford iffy to play against Indiana."