Wake Forest opened 2026 fall camp on a day that looked a lot like what camp is supposed to be: a little encouraging, a little messy, and impossible to overread.
The defense made the louder plays, finishing with four turnovers - two fumbles and two interceptions - while the offense had its moments too. That kind of split-screen reality is exactly what head coach Jake Dickert says comes with the territory.
“I think that's the concept of camp,” Dickert said. “I always call it kind of punch, counterpunch.
You never just want to get a TKO every day from one side to the other right? So there's some good things, some bad things.
I still think this is pajama practicing, without pads on. So we limit a lot of the team stuff and we're learning how to be physical.
We need to be a physical football team.”
The Deacons were in helmets only, with no tackling allowed, which makes any big takeaway feel a little slippery on day one. A receiver beating coverage for a long gain can make the offense look explosive.
A defensive lineman blowing up a run can make the line feel shaky. But in this stage, that’s part of the fun and part of the trap.
There’s always a temptation to turn the first practice into a referendum. Wake Forest’s staff knows better than that.
Good starts matter, but only if they hold up once the grind sets in. Bad days happen too.
The key is whether they’re just one-day hiccups or something more.
Quarterback Gio Lopez put that balance plainly.
“You have to find a happy medium,” Lopez explained. “ It's like hey, we could be better the first day but also understand it's the first day.
Now in year four, understanding there are ups and downs, ups and flows. We've got to keep pushing.
If the first day's not better than the last day then that's when we need to be worried. So as long as we keep stacking days, we have a better day tomorrow, then I'm happy.”
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For a program that likes to see its players competing with poise in pressure spots, Rodriguezs performance fits neatly into that picture. Qualifying rounds can be unforgiving, and producing a number like that in a Wyndham-related event gives him a valuable jolt of attention as he continues his climb through a summer that can shape momentum in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]