WINSTON-SALEM – In the same sense that basketball players have an assortment of ways to score around the basket, running backs have an array of moves to deploy to avoid tackles.

Run over somebody. Use a stiff-arm. Hurdles are risky but make for great highlights. Jump cuts and jukes get defenders leaning one way before you go the other.

Justice Ellison calls that his toolbox and, as a perfectionist, the Wake Forest running back is constantly looking for additions and refinements.

“You’ve gotta have a toolbox, you’ve gotta be able to use your tools,” Ellison said after Thursday morning’s practice. “You can’t be one-dimensional, you’ve gotta be able to use your spin, your juke moves, your run over – whatever it might be.”

The third-year running back credits his dad, Shelly Ellison, with laying the groundwork of a toolbox when he was in little league.

“My dad would have me training with bags, I’ve been jumping over bags since I was a little kid,” Justice Ellison said. “Stiff-arm, spin move, and as I got older, I learned how to do it more effectively and efficiently, and how to do it at a high level.

“I’m getting used to being able to do it at all times at full speed.”

You’d be hard pressed to watch Ellison during spring practices and see that he’s still “getting used to” being able to do things at full speed.

Ellison loves spring practice because it’s a final exam of sorts that tells him what exactly he needs to work on during the summer.

“I really like spring because you get to see the things you need to work on in the summer, going into camp,” Ellison said. “So, I really like spring, working on those technical things and learn how to compete at a high level all the time when you’re in the game.”

As your reminder, Wake Forest under coach Dave Clawson is never going to have an offense that gives one running back the vast majority of snaps and carries. The only time that’s happened in eight seasons was a brief window in 2017, when Matthew Colburn II and a redshirting Christian Beal-Smith were the only healthy scholarship running backs, and Colburn shouldered the load.

Ellison and Christian Turner are likely to be the two-headed operation in Wake Forest’s backfield next season, with others vying for spots behind them.

There’s a natural progression here with Ellison, and it’s one that should elicit some excitement about what he could do next season. He had limited work as a freshman but finished strong, rushing for 50 yards against Louisville at the end of his freshman season.

And then last year saw him take his game to another level, rushing for 541 yards and seven touchdowns – both of those ranking second on the team – despite missing three games with injuries.

His three-touchdown performance against N.C. State and his reliability on the game-winning drive against Louisville were the highlights – and now is the time that Ellison is focused on making those moments more routine.

And that’s traceable to another lesson from Shelly Ellison, this one involving a hill back in Ashburn, Va., and a hill near Wake Forest’s field hockey stadium.

Justice Ellison will often go from practice to running hills, training himself to be ready for late-game situations.

“When I was in high school it could be rain, sleet or snow, he’d have me out there after practice running those hills,” Ellison said. “It translates in a game because even when you’re dog tired … if it’s your time to go on the 20-yard line, it’s your time to go.

“There’s no time to give you a lazy run. You’re used to running when you’re tired. … It’s the best translator I ever experienced, it’s what you do in your off time that separates you from the rest.”

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Here were observations throughout Thursday morning’s practice at Wake Forest:

- Inside run is a great way to ramp up practice. This wasn’t the first drill – you don’t want linemen banging into each other at full speed immediately after stretching – but it was early.

Nice blowup by Chase Jones of Ellison on the first snap.

- Just when you think the defense has the upper hand, Ellison and Will Towns break loose a few times.

Understanding that Ellison, Turner and Quinton Cooley are going to be tough to unseat, I like Towns’ chances to contribute next season. That might only be as a special teams savant – but he can help sooner rather than later.

- Reps are the most important thing of the spring, and reps for the developing offensive linemen are critical. Nick Sharpe and Matt Gulbin stood out, at least to me.

- I think Cooley, at 5-9, 213 pounds, was made for between-the-tackles running.

- Every throw Sam Hartman makes doesn’t need to be dissected, and that’s been the case for a couple of seasons. But I was impressed here with him first missing Blake Whiteheart down the seam, and coming back with a great throw to Jahmal Banks.

Seven-on-seven work isn’t always a great indicator – lines, you might have heard, play a role in football games – but it’s an important segment for QBs developing timing and chemistry with receivers.

- Dropping deep balls into buckets is always fun to watch – here it was Mitch Griffis hitting Christian Greene in stride for a long touchdown.

- Over the years, you learn to not pay *too* much attention when the third string enters because pacing yourself matters.

Now, it’s not like you ignore that time – and that’s how you see Leo Kelly complete a long downfield pass to a falling-down Andy Elkins Jr. If there was a Catch of the Day section to these, this would be it.

- This is another reminder (to myself, mostly) to not put too much stock in Hartman’s every throw; he missed A.T. Perry deep on an overthrow.

- How Griffis and Michael Kern look is one of the things I’ve been most focused on while at Wake Forest practices, and Griffis has not disappointed. He hit Ke’Shawn Williams on a long touchdown pass here.

- And once more: Hartman has started 33 games in his career, he’s allowed to have a bad throw in spring practices. This was a tipped-ball interception by Christian Masterson.

- Pretty interesting that the first 11-on-11 snap of the day was the second-team offense.

- Passes to Greene were, um, frequent with the second-team offense on the field.

Each of the first three plays saw Griffis dial up Greene – first on a bubble screen, with Greene trucking redshirt freshman DaShawn Jones at the end of it.

Next was a sideline route – Griffis throws a really nice ball and at this point, I’d say there isn’t much question as to who enters the summer and fall camp as Hartman’s primary backup.

And last was a slant to Greene for another modest, 8-10-yard gain.

- Then it was the first-team offense’s turn, with Hartman dropping a deep ball into a bucket for Perry, going about 30-40 yards in the air and beating Gavin Holmes, who had decent coverage.

- Well, Ellison's toolbox mentioned in the opening? He trucks Nick Andersen in the open field.

- Another deep ball to Perry, another contested catch against Holmes, another example of a great throw/catch beating decent coverage. This was for a 35-yard touchdown to the front right corner of the end zone – though I don’t think the sideline referee ruled it a score.

- Kind of realizing a lot of the observations are offensive plays, so: Dion Bergan Jr. blew up a run by Turner.

- Even in the spring, you can get called for penalties (when refs are present). Holmes called for a pass interference early in a 7-on-7 segment.

For the record, I still think Holmes is going to be an NFL cornerback. He’s talented and coachable.

- On to goal-line snaps, where Hartman hits tight end Cameron Hite for a touchdown pass in the flat.

- Remember how Holmes is going to be really good? On a 37-yard field goal attempt, he comes around the right edge and blocks Matthew Dennis’ kick.

(Edge blocking might have failed here, and/or Holmes was offside, as holder Zach Murphy suggested.)

- Seeing the Heavy Deac get action at the goal line, which I’m sure will draw a measured reaction from all WF fans.

The most encouraging thing I saw from the defense all day was being able to stuff Cooley on Heavy Deac snaps at the goal line.