WINSTON-SALEM – This story has, for worse and now better, been written before.

Donavon Greene is once again starting fall camp after missing the previous season. Two years ago, the explosive Wake Forest receiver was getting back into the flow of things after a torn ACL cost him the 2021 season.

This year, he’s back from a knee injury suffered on the first day of last year’s fall camp.

“It’s good to see him out here and moving well. Now the goal is to keep him out here moving well,” coach Dave Clawson said on Monday morning after Wake’s first practice.

Greene has been at Wake Forest for five seasons and played the equivalent of two.

It’s a mental pretzel that only becomes untangled after you realize he’s had two season-ending injuries in preseasons and only played four games as a freshman, in 2019, retaining a redshirt.

In the windows Greene has been healthy, the 6-2, 206-pounder has made clear his talent. His breakout game was early, a 172-yard game at Syracuse in 2019; he had an eight-catch, 170-yard, two-touchdown game at UNC in 2020; had 122 yards in the bowl game that season; and had two-touchdown games against Clemson and UNC in 2022.

There’s more here, explaining what Greene means to the Deacons this season.

While there isn’t much to be gleaned from Wake’s first practice of fall camp, seeing No. 11 running around was a welcomed sight.

“Even today, when he’s out there, he looks different. He’s a high-end player and clearly we’re going to be a better team if we can keep him healthy,” Clawson said. “He looked good today, had a smile on his face and I’m just happy for him.

“He’s been through a lot.”

Wake Forest went through a lot without Greene last season.

The Deacons certainly would’ve benefited from having a healthy Greene last year. But late on the first day of fall camp, he took an awkward step and injured his right knee. It was the same knee in which he tore his ACL two years earlier but was not the same injury.

Sans Greene — and for a multitude of other reasons — Wake’s offense sputtered last year. Greene returns amid a quarterback battle this year, the primary contenders being Greene’s classmate Michael Kern and transfer Hank Bachmeier (Boise State/Louisiana Tech).

“It’s been good. Hank and Kern, two older quarterbacks, played a lot of football. It’s been good working with them,” Greene said. “We’ll see which one comes out on top but in my opinion, two really good quarterbacks that can both run this offense.”

Greene and Kern are two of seven players on the roster entering their sixth seasons at Wake Forest. The others are slot receiver Taylor Morin, tight end Cameron Hite, offensive tackle DeVonte Gordon, defensive tackle Justin Cody (formerly Williams) and punter Ivan Mora.

Gordon, for one, was fired up to take the field with Greene on Monday morning.

“It’s so electric. I shook his hand coming out here like, ‘Man, we back, Year Six. C’mon, let’s do it,’” Gordon said. “I’m so glad he’s back. He’s such an electric player, it’s so good to be on the field with him.

“We all love him and we’re excited for him.”

More excitement should be on the way when Greene finally gets to play in games again.

Here were my observations during Wake Forest’s first practice of fall camp:

Equipment: Helmets only.

Weather: Rained for the entire practice, it ranged from misting to steady downpour, mid-70s.

Was today won by the offense, defense or neither: Neither.

We’re not going full Roland Pryzbylewski here — “No one wins. One side just loses more slowly.” — but we’re also not handing out results based on the first practice, in which the weather was miserable and the only pads were helmets.

Spoiler alert: This is probably going to be “neither” for the next couple of days, too.

(If you don’t get the quote referenced, go watch or rewatch The Wire.)

QB report: Welcome to a new category!

Wake Forest has a quarterback competition — at least, for the No. 1 spot — for the first time since 2019.

So, here’s where I’ll break down what I saw from Kern and Bachmeier, along with the quartet of first- and second-year QBs behind them, after each practice.

To get you fired up about today’s action, we turn to Clawson, who was asked if anything could be gained from watching the position today.

“No. I mean, we’re going to play the long game with this one,” Clawson said. “I think 2021 might have been the only year here that we didn’t have to start different quarterbacks. We have two guys in their sixth year and then we have a bunch of guys that are in their first and second years.

“I hope that we can keep those guys healthy but odds are that we’re going to need both of them. And so, for us at any point to make a premature decision or just anoint somebody, I don’t think that’s good for them, I don’t think it’s good for the team.”

Kern spent the majority of the practice working with the first-team offense, Bachmeier with the second-team. If lines were offered, I’d wager that will be flipped for either Tuesday or Wednesday’s practice (the first day off is Thursday).

The most interesting part was the rotation when the Deacons used both practice fields simultaneously, carrying that trend from the spring. Kern and second-year walk-on Tyler Mizzell were on the same field, while Bachmeier rotated with freshman Jeremy Hecklinski. Redshirt freshman Charlie Gilliam got a few reps behind Bachmeier and Hecklinski.

(On the subject of fact-checking: Wake Forest only started John Wolford in 2014 and Sam Hartman was the only starting QB in 2020 and ’21 — though given what Wolford went through as a freshman and the COVID season of 2020, you can understand why Clawson would remember 2021 as the only season Wake Forest had the same starting QB for every game.)

Catch of the day: Tie between wide receivers Ben Grice and Ian Ver Steeg.

There are bound to be better catches over the next three weeks.

Without taking much away from Grice and Ver Steeg, the first day didn’t feature many acrobatic catches or wild toe taps. Given the rain, the nature of the first day and the helmets-only gear, that probably should’ve been expected.

Grice, the freshman receiver from College Park, Ga., had the first of the two standout catches when he made a nice sliding catch on the sideline during WR-DB 1-on-1s.

Ver Steeg is no stranger to this category. The walk-on receiver had a sprawling forward catch along the sideline during a full-team rep, hauling in a pass of about 30 yards from Mizzell.

Quote of the day: “I felt good, it was just fun to move around again, run routes, be around the offense. You know, talk a little shit to the defense. It felt good.” – Greene

There was a follow-up question about who the best defensive player at returning the … talk ... back is.

“Capone Blue, the new corner, he just got here. We built a really close relationship over the summer, but he’s who I’m going to be competing against most of the camp. When I give him something, he definitely gives it back.”

Freshman/newcomer of the day: Defensive back Jacob Cosby-Mosley.

This was easy one; when a freshman has the first interception of fall camp, he’s going to be tough to supplant from this spot.

Cosby-Mosley undercut the route of tight end Landen Baker during 1-on-1s, picking off Kern. Maybe the route could’ve been run sharper to the sideline and maybe the throw could’ve been faster, but an interception by a freshman in his first practice is going to warrant the spotlight.

Cosby-Mosley is an interesting early development who’s worth monitoring over the next couple of weeks. He’s in the minority of the freshman class that didn’t enroll in January, but he’s going to a position group where the Deacons need to cultivate depth.

Positional observations: You’ve got to keep in mind that this is only one day into fall camp.

- The top two cornerbacks were Jamare Glasker and Blue. As expected, Evan Slocum and Nick Andersen were the first-team safeties and Demarcus Rankin was at nickel.

- The first time the first-team offensive line took the field together, it was (from left to right): DeVonte Gordon-Matt Gulbin-Luke Petitbon-Nick Sharpe-Erik Russell.

- Horatio Fields was the first-team wide receiver opposite Greene, and Morin was in the slot.

- Deuce Alexander’s growth is going to play a factor in whether Morin plays any wide receiver this season.

- Figuring out who Wake’s No. 3 running back is will be a chore. Demond Claiborne is clearly No. 1 and Tate Carney behind him; otherwise, it could be Kennedy Fauntleroy or Drew Pickett or Ty Clark.

- You’re going to want to get in on the ground floor for Jeremiah Melvin stock. The freshman receiver is all arms and legs, so hold off on expecting big things from him this season. But at 6-5, 188, his size is immediately noticeable.

News of the day: Nothing earth-shattering for the first day.

One continuing news item is seeing former players return to Wake Forest on the coaching staff. Over the past couple of years, that’s meant Will Smart, Chuck Wade Jr. and Jake Benzinger becoming graduate assistants.

Now, Nasir Greer is the familiar face in a new role. The former safety joined the program in a defensive quality control role, announced by the program at the end of May. He’s working with his former position group, which led to this quip by Clawson:

“I looked out there at our safeties and it’s like we’ve got three safeties coaches now. I said, ‘If these guys ever have (a missed assignment), we’re overpaying somebody.’”