First availability report comes to ACC football
Availability reports have finally come to the ACC. Wake Forest and N.C. State’s football programs are the league’s guinea pigs.
Because the Deacons and Wolfpack play the first ACC football game of the season, their availability report is the first to be uploaded to the league’s webpage. The ACC announced in July that availability reports would be mandatory for league games in football, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball.
For Wake’s football team, 17 players appear on the initial report. Most notably, star running back Demond Claiborne is not one of them. He left the season opener after four snaps and returned last weekend with 193 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries.
The most significant question about the Deacons going into Thursday night’s game is the status of safety Rushaun Tongue. He left Saturday’s marathon of a 42-10 win against Western Carolina with a shoulder injury. He is the only player listed as “questionable” for Thursday night. During Wake’s practice Tuesday afternoon, Tongue had compression sleeve on his left shoulder and he never raised that arm to the height of his shoulder.
Three Deacons — cornerback Ashaad Williams, defensive end BJ Williams and defensive tackle Mateen Ibirogba — are listed as probable. Thirteen players are listed as out but most of them are either walk-ons or have previously been reported.
N.C. State availability report
Things are cut and dried with N.C. State’s availability.
The Wolfpack listed 11 players and all of them are under the designation of “out” for Thursday night.
Most notable is linebacker AJ Richardson. He’s a junior from Kings Mountain, N.C., who has eight tackles this season.
