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Riley Skinner...Solid Under Pressure
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Published: August 22, 2008
Updated: 08/22/2008 01:10 am
Wake Forest spent the Orange Bowl season of 2006 learning who Riley Skinner was.
Skinner spent the first two-and-a-half quarters of the 2007 season learning who he is not.
Skinner, the feel-good story of his freshman
season, certainly didn't feel so good after last season's opener at Boston College.
He threw three interceptions, only two fewer than during his entire freshman season.
He suffered a separated shoulder that sidelined him the next two games.
And he watched Matt Ryan complete 32 of 52 passes for 408 yards and five touchdowns as the Eagles rolled past the Deacons 38-28.
"I was nervous," Skinner said in quite an admission for a quarterback who had appeared so unflappable the season before. "I guess I felt a lot of pressure. I was putting pressure on myself. But there's no reason to.
"I just felt like we needed to come out and blow everybody away and let people know it wasn't a fluke the year before. We kind of got out of rhythm and got out of our game plan. I wasn't as comfortable as I normally was."
His shakiness showed before the Deacons kicked off the 2007 season.
"He put a little too much pressure on himself to be Matt Ryan," Coach Jim Grobe said. "He wanted to match up with Matt. He was as nervous as I've seen him. And he made a couple of poor red-zone decisions."
To salvage the season, Wake Forest needed Skinner to be what he was the year before, the rock-solid, low-maintenance leader who didn't hurt his team. The Deacons' ability to win nine of their last 11 and finish 9-4 is evidence that Skinner got the message.
While still hurting, he threw three interceptions in his next game against Maryland. He then picked himself up in time to help the Deacons pull out a pivotal 31-24 overtime victory.
In the remaining nine games, Skinner threw seven interceptions in 254 passes. He finished the season with a completion percentage of 72.4, the best in major-college football.
And he remembered just what made him special in the first place.
"I calmed down," Skinner said. "I think that's going to be the biggest thing this year, is just relaxing and going in and just having fun and being smart and doing what we always do."
Asked what he wants from Skinner this season, Grobe usually rephrases the question: What is it that Grobe doesn't want from his quarterback?
The Deacons should have a strong defense, maybe their strongest ever, and senior kicker Sam Swank already holds school records for points scored and field goals kicked.
Grobe prefers to win games with defense and special teams play and not lose them because of an inefficient offense.
"I think you've got a very comfortable guy in Riley right now," Grobe said. "I think you've got a guy who realizes that he doesn't have to be a rock star. He doesn't have to be the guy. He just has to be a guy who doesn't get us beat."
Skinner said he's still adjusting to what he gained from last season, and from what he lost.
Many who have watched Skinner closely over the first two seasons will maintain that he has a stronger arm than he's generally given credit for. This season it should be stronger.
"I did a lot more shoulder exercises, and I tried to strengthen my shoulder a lot," Skinner said. "That's been a point of emphasis. And I think it's helped put a little more zip on the ball."
But he'll miss his main target from last season. After setting an ACC record with 98 receptions as a senior, Kenneth Moore is now in the NFL with the Detroit Lions.
Moore caught 35 percent of Wake Forest's completions. Of the passes thrown to wide receivers, Moore caught 59 percent.
Skinner said that the days of the one-dimensional passing attack left with Moore. The plan of offensive coordinator Steed Lobotzke is to spread the wealth around.
"During seven-on-seven this summer -- just with the players going out there and organizing it and playing -- we were throwing touchdowns to the fullbacks, throwing touchdowns to the tight end, throwing touchdowns to everybody," Skinner said. "It was everybody. Nobody had the majority of the catches.
"And I think Coach Lobo is doing a great job of integrating everybody in our offense. People were able to just hound Kenny last year and just focus on him. I think now being able to throw to every one of our skill guys is going to be a big part of our offense and is going to be tough on defenses."
Riley Skinner found out last season that he's no Matt Ryan. He found it out in the first game, and he found it out when the Atlanta Falcons made the 6-5, 220-pound Ryan the No. 3 pick in the NFL Draft.
Skinner, at 6-1 and 205 pounds, is a long shot to make the pros.
But not being Matt Ryan might not be such a bad thing for Skinner and the Deacons. After all, over his final nine starts last season, Skinner threw one interception for every 36.3 passes. Ryan threw 19 interceptions in 654 passes last season -- one interception for every 34.4 passes.
It should also be noted that the Deacons won eight of the final 10 games Skinner started. The Eagles, with Ryan running the show, lost three of their final six.
That, Grobe has often said, is the only statistic that really matters.
"Certainly, leading the nation in completion percentage is good, " Grobe said. "But I wouldn't want his goals to be set on being better than last year. I'd like for his goals to be set on winning more games than last year."
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