It's rare that a coach will openly admit to relying on one player when formulating a game plan.
It's even rarer, though, when that player is the team's kicker.
But that's just what Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe said Wednesday when discussing Sam Swank, who has missed three straight weeks with an injured quadricep and is unlikely to play Saturday against Duke.
"It's really hard for me to call a game now because I'm so used to relying on that guy," Grobe said. "It's also tough on the players because they love the guy. He's a guy that our players really count on."
Grobe isn't mincing words when it comes to Swank. The redshirt senior won the team MVP award in 2006, when the Demon Deacons won the ACC championship and finished with an 11-2 record. He has also been a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award, given to the nation's best kicker, in every year of his career.
This year, he had made 10-of-13 field goals with a long of 49 yards.
More than anything, though, his absence over the past three weeks has exposed his value to Wake Forest. Before he went down, the Demon Deacons were 3-1 and ranked No. 25 in the country.
Since then, however, the team has lost two of its past three games, with the only win coming against an underachieving Clemson team in a game that led to Tommy Bowden's resignation two days later.
Swank's backup, redshirt freshman Shane Popham, has had a difficult time living up to Swank's stature, converting a mere 3-of-8 field goals with a long of 32 yards.
"I can certainly understand [their situation]," Duke head coach David Cutcliffe said. "Until you don't have a deep snapper, a placekicker or a punter, you tend to take those young men for granted.... [Swank's] one of the best I've seen. His accuracy, steadiness and maturity-that can give the team a sense of confidence."
Swank's field-goal kicking is the most glaring absence, but far from the only important one. Swank had averaged 37.6 yards per punt with 10 of his 18 punts pinning opponents inside the 20. Although Popham's average yards per punt is only 0.9 yards worse, he has nailed punts inside the 20 only four out of 20 times and already has two touchbacks.
Popham's kickoffs also have not traveled as far, going only 57.6 yards per kick compared to Swank's 65. This essentially gives the other team a minimum starting position on its own 15-yard line and a chance to set up with better field position, which Cutcliffe calls "hidden yardage." The Demon Deacons used to rely on this subtle gamechanger to keep their opponents at bay.
At this point, however, Grobe has admitted that Popham could be his kicker for the rest of the season. He also said that Popham probably wasn't ready to take over so suddenly.
"Shane never dreamed that he'd have to be the guy this year-he's on cruise control, thinking, 'I'll kick after Sam leaves,'" Grobe said. "He's a guy that needs more reps and more time."
But for a team that has looked less and less like the Demon Deacons of old and more and more like the Blue Devils' kicking game of old, repetitions and time are not something that can be afforded. With that fact and Swank's likely unavailability, there's really only one thing Grobe has left in his pocket: hope.
"We're hoping he gets well overnight," Grobe said. "As much as you want to say play with [the injury], he can't."
Which means that as much as Wake Forest would like to play with Swank, it can't-and, as a result, could be bound for its third loss in four games.
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