Dave Clawson Meets with Media at ACC Kickoff
7/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
PINEHURST, N.C. - Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson met with the media on Tuesday as he conducted interviews on day two of the ACC Football Kickoff at the Pinehurst Resort.
Clawson spoke with media members from all over the nation and talked about the keys for success during his second year at the helm of the Demon Deacons. Although Wake Forest will field one of the youngest teams in the nation, Clawson believes they will be a talented squad.
"After you get through that first year, you get very clear direction of where you need to go as a program and how you are going to get there," said Clawson. "We have a plan to rebuild the program and I am excited to see the progress we are going to make this year. The record was not what we wanted it to be a year ago, but I could not have been more proud of how hard our team played all year."
The conference also released it preseason poll as voted on by media members attending this week's ACC Football Kickoff. The Demon Deacons were selected to finish seventh in the Atlantic Division with 217 points. Clemson was picked to not only win the Atlantic Division, but is also the preseason favorite to win the Dr. Pepper ACC Football Championship Game. Florida State was selected second and Louisville is third in the Atlantic Division.
"We are still going to be an extremely young football team, but we are going to be talented," said Clawson. "We have some young players that I believe could play anywhere in the ACC. I expect to see a lot of progress throughout the year as they continue to get experience at this level. For our team to have success, all those freshmen and sophomores are going to have to play like veterans."
In the Coastal Division, Georgia tech received 96 first place votes followed by Virginia Tech with 44. Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson was named the preseason favorite for ACC Player of the Year.
The home opener for the Demon Deacons will be Thursday, September 3 against Elon, with kickoff at 7:00 p.m. Season tickets to all six home games at BB&T Field are currently on sale starting at only $99. For more information, call the Wake Forest Ticket Office at 336-758-3322.
ACC Championship Votes1. Clemson - 842. Florida State - 413. Georgia Tech - 204. Virginia Tech - 75. North Carolina - 36. Miami - 27. NC State - 1
Atlantic Division(First place votes in parenthesis)1. Clemson (101) -- 1,0322. Florida State (56) - 9923. Louisville (1) - 7464. NC State - 6735. Boston College - 4736. Syracuse - 2917. Wake Forest - 217
Coastal Division(First place votes in parenthesis)1. Georgia Tech (96) - 9912. Virginia Tech (44) - 8413. Miami (7) - 6324. Duke (4) - 6155. North Carolina (4) - 5906. Pitt (3) -5357. Virginia -220
ACC Player of the Year1. Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson - 692. James Conner, RB, Pitt - 463. Justin Thomas, QB, Georgia Tech - 134. Jalen Ramsey, CB Florida State - 75. Brad Kaaya, QB, Miami -76. Marquise Williams, QB, North Carolina - 67. Kendall Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech - 68. Tyler Boyd, WR, Pitt -- 39. Jacoby Brissett, QB, NC State - 1
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