Wake Forest quarterback John Wolford was the team’s starter until he injured his ankle during the first series of last week’s win against Army. Freshman quarterback Kendall Hinton took the field in his absence and put up an ACC Rookie of the Week performance.
Hinton’s reputation is as an athletic player who now leads the Deacons in rushing this season despite playing in only one game.
IU Coach Kevin Wilson has described Wolford as a runner as well, but Wilson said he is more of a passer who has completed nearly 70 percent of his passes this season.
Reports out of Winston-Salem have described Wolford as questionable for Saturday and said he didn’t practice Tuesday, so IU will have to plan for both quarterbacks.
“The schemes won’t change blocking,” he said. “It will be the emphasis of a more athletic quarterback.”
Wilson has said the IU defense needs to put more pressure on the quarterback this season. Defensive line Coach Larry McDaniel has said he likes the amount of pressure even though it might not result in sacks.
McDaniel cited a play last week in which junior defensive lineman Darius Latham went underneath, rushed into the backfield and forced Western Kentucky quarterback Brandon Doughty to scramble. McDaniel said it is a good thing any time you can get a quarterback out of position.
“Granted, this kid we are going to play this weekend — they have the ability that if you get them off the spot, they can take it and run,” he said.
Normally, the defense has to account for 10 players on the offense, McDaniel said.
But with mobile quarterbacks like Wolford and Hinton, he said the defense has to account for another player.
Wake Forest Coach Dave Clawson has praised Wolford for how unselfish he has been with Hinton. He said Wolford has helped Hinton grow during the offseason, and Wake Forest offensive lineman Tyler Hayworth told media Wolford was coaching Hinton on the sidelines during the Army game.
Wilson recruited Wolford out of high school and said he knows the quarterback is a competitor from watching him play at Bishop Kenny High School in Jacksonville, Florida.
Hinton, on the other hand, has only presented a small sample size. Wilson knows he needs to prepare his defense for the possibility of Hinton running, but he said it isn’t that simple.
“He does complete 60 percent of his balls, so you can’t just put everything up there,” Wilson said. “And it’s not an option attack.”
Though the IU defense has given up plenty of offense, it has been the source of many game-changing plays for the Hoosiers. Clawson went as far as to say that, although the Hoosiers give up yards, they play smart football.
The defense has forced seven turnovers in three games this season.
“We wouldn’t be 3-0 if we wouldn’t have them,” Wilson said.
