Running back Kevin Harris and tight ends Cameron Ford and Ben Wooster are expected to be out for Wake Forest's game against Maryland.
Tackle Chris DeGeare and cornerback Michael Williams are expected to be back, and as improbable as it sounds, linebacker Dominique Midgett might be as well.
And Alex Frye remains wherever a healthy player is when he's been told he can't practice or play but has yet to be jettisoned from the team for good.
Frye, the junior safety who was held out of practice last week after a disappointing performance at Boston College, did not practice Monday or yesterday. Coach Jim Grobe said that Frye will remain on what amounts to an unannounced suspension until the decision is made to bring him back or let him go.
As of yesterday afternoon, Grobe had yet to make that call.
"Nothing has changed," Grobe said. "My basic philosophy is, ‘If it ain't broke, don't fix it.'
"The secondary played pretty good Saturday and I'm not in a hurry to make any kind of decision. He's still on scholarship. That's the No. 1 thing, as long as you get your education.
"We may bring him back. It would just kind of have to hit me, that that's the right thing to do. I'm not saying it's the wrong thing. I don't know what to do right now. I just kind of like the attitude of my team right now. I thought we responded really well to adversity."
Grobe decided after the loss at Boston College that Frye wasn't going to play against N.C. State. So they didn't want Frye around while assistant Tim Billings prepared an even younger secondary that included redshirt freshman Kenny Okoro and first-year freshman Dominique Tate at cornerback, and sophomore Josh Bush at safety.
Safety Daniel Mack was another first-year freshman who got his share of practice time last week before he was sidelined on Thursday with an injured knee.
But the ability of the secondary to hold Russell Wilson, last season's All-ACC quarterback, to 20 completions on 43 attempts with two interceptions, didn't exactly create a clamor for Frye's return.
"I could make a different decision any day," Grobe said. "My whole deal is I usually deal with problems when they arise. And when I don't have problems I usually don't change things.
"If I was hurting the kid, I would be a little more manic about wanting to make a decision, good or back. But he's fine, going to class and getting three meals. I'm sure he'd like to be out there right now."
DeGeare has recovered from a scratched eye that sidelined him for the second half against N.C. State, and Williams has bounced back from a strained hamstring that kept him out. The buzz of practice yesterday was the return of Midgett just three days after he dislocated his shoulder against N.C. State.
Head football trainer Don Steelman said that Midgett's participation in practice was limited.
"He's doing pretty well," Steelman said. "He's got strength, and we'll see how he can do. He's not going to take full contact right now.
"It'll be day to day."
Steelman said that Harris, Ford and Wooster will miss Saturday's game, Harris with an injured groin, Ford with a strained hamstring and Wooster with an injured back.
dcollins@wsjournal.com.
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