Weekly Press Conference Video & Quotes: Oct. 13
10/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeFB)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – As part of the weekly press conference on Oct. 13, head coach Dave Clawson, safety Ryan Janvion and punter Alexander Kinal met with the media to preview this weekend's game at North Carolina.
Head Coach Dave Clawson
Opening Statement...
"Going back to BC, I'm really proud of our team's effort. Our defense threw a shutout. The amount of times they had the ball in the red zone, we had four red zone stops without points. Certainly, the stops at the end and the last play of the game were big. Offensively, it was not pretty. Our execution level wasn't high. That was a very good defense and we needed to play better, but we scored three more points than their offense. At the end of the day, that's all that matters. This is a year where we have to fight and scrap and find ways to get wins, and at times, steal wins. We've had five games this year where it has been a one-score game in the fourth quarter. We've found a way to win two of them. So, we could be 6-0 or we could 1-5. Our team fights and scraps and plays hard and even when our execution level isn't high, that effort allows us to make plays and stay in games.
Obviously, this week, going into North Carolina, we're going to be challenged. This is the No. 1 offense in the ACC. They're scoring 38, 39 points per game, 470 yards of offense. They've got 120-130 combined starts on the offensive line. Their quarterback is a true dual-threat, he can beat you with his arm and he can beat you with his legs. They've got two tackles, as a combination, that will be as good as anyone we see. [Elijah] Hood and [T.J.] Logan, they can make you miss and run you over. [Ryan] Switzer is an excellent slot receiver and a dangerous punt returner. He's a guy they throw their bubble screens to and when they get him in space, he's a very electric, change on a dime type guy. We've got to do a great job tackling him and they've got two 6-4, 6-5 receivers on the outside that present some matchup problems. They are the fastest offense in the country in terms of plays-per-minute. They're good players, they're well-coached, and their tempo presents a lot of challenges for our defense. They're much improved on defense. They've done a great job of keeping plays in front of them. They don't give up big plays. They keep things on the ground. They're giving up yards, but they're not giving up points. I think it's the prefect defense to marry with the style of offense they play. Coach [Gene] Chizik is an excellent coach and has made a tremendous impact on their defense. This is a really good football team and we're going to have to limit explosive plays on defense. We're going to have to move the ball and score touchdowns in the red zone on offense, and play really well on special teams in terms of tackling their returners. This will be another good challenge for our team."
Redshirt Junior Safety Ryan Janvion
On the ending to last Saturday's win at Boston College...
"It was probably the craziest ending I've ever been a part of in my entire career. You can just imagine the feeling when we ended up being on the other side of the table instead of the losing side of the table—it was just amazing. As a defense, the challenge that we had, and our defensive coordinator (Mike) Elko challenged us at the beginning of the week, was that we had to be the better defense in order to win the game. We knew that our offense was facing, right now, the No. 1 defense in the nation and they weren't going to be able to do much, so we had to outplay them. We knew that going in and we kept telling ourselves that in first quarter, second quarter, third quarter and then fourth quarter, we were harping on finishing strong and finishing the challenge. It was such a great feeling and the locker room was amazing afterwards because we were able to accomplish something great."
On how the victory improved the team's confidence...
"Both for our defense and overall as a team, it was just being able to see the hard work paying off and seeing us being able to close the gap on those games. Over the past few years we've fallen short so many times, whether it be by a few plays or a big score. We're finally definitely starting to see the hard work paying off and showing on the field. It definitely gives us a lot of confidence and encourages us to push on and push forward."
Redshirt Senior Punter Alex Kinal
On his play in the Boston College game…
"I guess I did pretty well on the weekend, but that's not really what I think about. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I help the defensive side of the ball. That's my mindset when I go out there. Yeah I had a pretty decent game, but I can't do that without Garrett [Wilson] snapping the ball and the guys on the coverage team … It's a team game. I'm just worried about flipping the field for the defense so they can do what they do, which was shut BC out."
On if he's counting down to the NCAA punting record…
"I said it earlier in the season, I would rather sit on the sidelines and watch our offense score points. I'll do what I have to do, whether it's 25 more times or 40 more times, I'll go out there and do what I have to do to help the team."
On the tempo in practice after a win...
"It's really been good the last few weeks since we started stringing four quarters together. From everyone in the week leading up to Indiana and Florida State and this week, there's been a definite shift in energy during our practices. Everyone is faster. Everyone is locked in all the time. Everyone is practicing hard. We came up a little bit short against Indiana and Florida State, which could've gone the other way, but definitely the last three weeks of practice have given us more confidence and we've shown on Saturdays that having a good week of preparation, working hard and locking in, doing it day-in and day-out at practice, that it translates to a W on a Saturday. We have more energy after this win, but it's been a lead-up and hopefully we can keep this rolling."
