Wake Forest RBs: PFF Season Roundup
Wake Forest’s regular season is now complete – the Deacs finished 7-5 and sixth in the ACC. Dave Clawson led the team to a seventh consecutive bowl appearance, a matchup with Missouri in the Gasparilla Bowl set for Dec. 23. As we look back at the regular season and prepare for the bowl matchup, we’ll be diving into the season PFF grades for each position group. Next up: the running backs.
READ: Wake Forest Football: Running back room update
1. Quinton Cooley- 78.9
Cooley saw limited reps this season, serving as the tertiary back behind co-starters Justice Ellison and Christian Turner. He finished the year with 47 carries for 215 yards and three touchdowns. His 4.6 ypc mark was the highest in the position group out of the qualifying backs, anh his overall . Cooley frequently provided a spark in a reserve role — he rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown against Vanderbilt in his best performance of the season, grading out at a 76.2. Cooley recently announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal following the team’s bowl game – he will depart from Wake Forest with two years of eligibility remaining.
2. Justice Ellison- 77.7
Ellison was Wake Forest’s “1a” halfback this season, carrying the ball 143 times for 643 yards and five touchdowns (4.3 ypc). He had his highs and lows in terms of PFF, grading above 76 on three occasions and below 60 on two others. Ellison’s best games of the season came against Florida State and Army, where he carried the ball for a combined 210 yards and two touchdowns and earned respective PFF grades of 77.5 and 86.6. Ball security has also been an area of strength for Ellison – he has just one fumble across three seasons at Wake Forest and graded at an 80.2 in that area this season.
3. Christian Turner- 69.1
Turner split carries with Ellison this year, rushing for 516 yards and seven touchdowns on 128 carries (4.0 ypc). He started the season off strong, scampering for 100 yards and two touchdowns on just 13 carries against VMI and turning in a PFF grade of 66.8. However, his highest grade of the season came against Army, where he ran for two scores on just eight carries and was rated at a 76.5. PFF were consistent in how they graded Turner – he received final marks between 50 and 60 in nine of 12 games. Turner also recently entered the transfer portal as a graduate transfer with one year of eligibility remaining. If he goes elsewhere, he leaves Wake Forest with 1,022 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns.
Looking ahead:
With Turner and Cooley entering the portal, the running back room has gotten a lot thinner. Provided Ellison sticks around, he will run the show next year as the Deacs look for players like Demond Claiborne and Will Towns to step into expanded roles. Cade Carney’s younger brother Tate is also on the roster and saw action as a special teams player this year, so it’s possible he’ll be in the mix as well. Wake Forest welcomes two three-star recruits in David Egbe and Drew Pickett – it’s unclear how much they’ll contribute right off the bat but does provide some cushion down the line.
