College-Football Notebook: 2 tight ends for Deacons injured

By: JournalNow Staff | JOURNAL STAFF AND WIRE REPORT
Published: August 08, 2008

■ Wake Forest is getting low on tight ends after injuries to Cameron Ford and J.T. Dixon.

Ford, a redshirt freshman listed as second team, sprained his ankle Monday and has not practiced since. Trainer Don Steelman said Wednesday that Ford most likely will miss two to four weeks.

"We'll see," Coach Jim Grobe said. "He's a pretty tough kid and really likes to play. It's a shame because he broke his hand in the spring. Now he got rolled up on."

Dixon, a freshman, has not practiced because of a back injury that will require surgery. Grobe said that Dixon will be redshirted.

The other tight ends on the roster are Ben Wooster, Andrew Parker and Kenneth Coe. Wooster, a 6-5, 235-pound junior from Atlanta, is expected to start the opener at Baylor on Aug. 28. Parker, a 6-5, 225-pound freshman from Jacksonville, Fla., is on scholarship. Coe, a 6-6, 240-pound freshman from Charlotte, is a walk-on.

■ Sophomore tackle Cannon Gaskin has left the team at Wake Forest, Grobe said.

Gaskin played in three games last season, against North Carolina, Clemson and N.C. State as a redshirt freshman. He was not listed on the preseason depth chart.

Gaskin is the fifth player from a 15-man recruiting class in 2006 to leave the team. The others are punter Dan Caldwell, running back Lucas Caparelli, quarterback Zach MacDowall and defensive lineman Teddy Tomlin.

Grobe said that Gaskin arrived undersized, at 6-4, 265 pounds, and never attained the physical size and strength needed for his position.

"I feel really, really bad for Cannon," Grobe said. "The poor kid, I think the fourth day of his freshman year, he tore his (anterior-cruciate ligament) and had surgery. So that took him out for nine months. Even when he came back he wasn't able to do a lot of squats and power cleans and a lot of things we do with those linemen to get them bulked up...."

■ Appalachian State unveiled its first-ever throwback uniforms yesterday and will wear them Sept. 6 for its home opener against Jacksonville.

The throwback uniforms, to honor of Jerry Moore's 20th season as coach, are replicas of the home uniforms worn during the 1989 season, Moore's first at ASU.

Moore led Appalachian to a 43-7 win againts Gardner-Webb in that game and has an overall record of 167-70 and more victories than any other coach in Southern Conference history.