Wake Forest’s Greg Dortch had the best game of his outstanding freshman season on Saturday.
It was also the last game of his outstanding freshman season.
The speedy wide receiver, who was well on his way to winning ACC Rookie of the Year honors, suffered an abdominal injury during the Deacons’ 42-32 victory against Louisville on Saturday that required surgery. The procedure was performed at Wake Forest Baptist Medical center later that evening and will force Dortch to miss the remainder of the season.
Before suffering the injury, Dortch caught 10 passes for 167 yards and four touchdowns to lead his team to its most important victory of the year. He finished with 216 all-purpose yards in the game.
Dortch will finish the year with 53 catches for 722 yards and nine scores.
He is one of only three receivers nationally and the only freshman to catch four touchdown passes in a game this season. He leads the nation in touchdown receptions and receiving yards per game by a first-year player and is the nation’s top-rated freshman in all-purpose yards with 1,290.
Dortch’s absence will be a serious blow to a Wake Forest offense that has been vastly improved this season after ranking at or near the bottom of the ACC in coach Dave Clawson’s first three seasons. Junior Tabari Hines is the team’s second-leading receiver with only 18 receptions for 250 yards and one touchdown.
The 5-3 Deacons, who still need one more win to earn bowl eligibility for the second straight year, play at Notre Dame on Saturday.
