Weekly Press Conference Video & Quotes: Sept. 22
9/22/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeFB)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Heading into this weekend's game against Indiana, Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson, offensive lineman Tyler Hayworth and linebacker Hunter Williams met with the media.
Head Coach Dave Clawson
Opening Statement...
"Going back to Army, I'm extremely proud of our team's effort. It was not the cleanest game or the prettiest game, but I thought we played extremely hard for four quarters. I said the week before, at Syracuse, we faced adversity and didn't pass the test and I thought this week we did. The first series of the game, you lose your starting quarterback. Our defensive front seven played well. You didn't see any breakout runs by the fullback. When you take a team like Army and you average 3.5 yards-per-carry against a rushing offense like that, that's a really good job by the front. We did not defend the pass well. I'm sure if Army had the game over they would've thrown it probably 10 more times. It seemed like every time they threw it, we cut somebody loose. Sometimes, you're just fortunate. They had guys open two or three times. Their last offensive play of the game, their running back is running right down the seam uncovered. Zack Wary got good pressure there and rushed the throw. It was a game of plays and we made them. The fourth-and-one stop, the long pass to KJ [Brent], the long pass to Cortez [Lewis], the scramble by Kendall [Hinton] on third-and-nine. I think if you take any of those plays away, the outcome might be different. Obviously, the hold by [Alex] Kinal and the clutch kick by [Mike] Weaver were key too.
"It was a good win. In some ways we were fortunate, but sometimes when you play extremely hard with great effort, fortune turns your way. Offensively, there were times in the fourth quarter when we have six freshmen on the field. Kendall, Tyler Bell, Matt Colburn, Justin Herron, Phil Haynes, Chuck Wade, Tabari Hines, Cortez Lewis. At times, six of those guys were on the field together. My hope is that they gain confidence from that experience. When I say we're young, and I say there are six freshmen on the field at once, and you're coming from behind on the road, that type of experience is invaluable for those guys, and hopefully, it will build confidence.
"We certainly have a challenge this week. Indiana, record-wise, is undefeated. They had a bunch of guys suspended for the first two games and now all those guys are back at full strength. This is one of the most potent offenses in the country. That is not an exaggeration. These guys have been putting points on the board for years. It all starts up front. They have an excellent offensive line. They've got two senior and two juniors. Certainly, the left tackle, [Jason] Spriggs, will probably be a high draft choice. He's a pro. The right guard, Feeney, is an extremely physical player. They're a spread offense, but it's a physical base. They run the zone play, gap schemes, the stretch play, and they're really, really good at it. Then you compliment that with an NFL quarterback, the country's leading rusher, and a bunch of receivers that can make plays. These guys score against everybody. I think they're averaging 41 points a game, 557 yards. They have a back that's averaging 170 and a quarterback that's throwing for over 300. So, somehow, we've got to find a way to get off the field against them.
"Conversely, people will look at their defense and say they're giving up yards. But, what they really do, is play smart. They're very aggressive and they're winning the turnover battle by five. Sometimes, when you have an offense like that, that runs a lot of plays like that really quick, you're not going to have defensive numbers. So, the job of the defense is get the ball back. So, they take chances and they pressure you and they're very good at creating turnovers, and obviously, right now, we're not real good at creating turnovers. We can't continue to lose the turnover battle 6-0 and 3-0 per game. Right now, if you lose the turnover battle 3-0 and win the game, you're very fortunate and that point has not been lost on our football team. We're not taking care of it real well and we're not generating any turnovers. When there are opportunities to do it, we're not doing it, and if that trend continues, there is probably not going to be a lot of happy Saturdays. It's a very difficult number to overcome and I don't know if there is anything in our program right now more important, especially this week, than winning the turnover battle. We've got to get possessions away from these guys and we cannot give this offense a short field. This is a really talented football team we're playing, and it's going to be a great challenge for us. We're excited to be home. It's homecoming. I hope all the former Deacs come back and our goal is to be 3-1, which certainly has a nice ring to it."
Redshirt Junior Offensive Lineman Tyler Hayworth
On the win against Army…
"It was really exciting. It was a pretty tough game against a pretty decent team, so to be able to pull one out like that feels really good. It was really good for our confidence as a team."
On the injury of quarterback John Wolford…
"When the injury happened, we all were worried because obviously John is a big part of our offense. We were down, and it kind of threw us out of rhythm because Kendall [Hinton] hadn't taken as many snaps. But after about a quarter and a half, Kendall started to gel, and we started to get back into a rhythm.
It's huge because John is one of the leaders of our offense. To see him try to come back out after an injury like that is huge for us because all he wants to do is win. As the game went on and he actually realized that he wasn't going to be able to come back out there, he was coaching Kendall on the sidelines, talking to him and cheering him on as it went on."
On the possibility of Kendall Hinton starting at QB in Saturday's game against Indiana…
"We've just got to focus in practice and work out the kinks. We didn't have that opportunity last week because it happened mid-game and we had to look good on the fly. This week we'll have three good days of practice to really work with Kendall and get a groove going. If he's comfortable, big things happen, as we saw last week. So if we can talk him up, make him feel comfortable and just keep people away from him, that's a big thing."
Redshirt Senior Linebacker Hunter Williams
On last week's win over Army West Point…
"It was definitely a close one. It came down to the last second and Mike's kick went in, so it was a great job by our special teams and Mike Weaver did a great job kicking it. That's as much as you could ask for—a last-second field goal."
On the way the Deacons won last week's game…
"It's tough. You have to go on the road to Army—it was a tough team and a tough game. You'll take (a win) any way you can get it, but looking back, there's some things that we can work on. Especially the defense, going forward, there's going to be a lot of room for improvement and we'll have to work on (those things) in preparation for this weekend."
On this weekend's Homecoming game…
"I think for us, going into it, we prepare like it's any other game. It definitely is nice knowing that we have our fans — it's going to be a huge game with a lot of alumni coming back. It's really exciting to see that. For us, in this week of preparation and getting ready, it's just that we have to do the same thing leading up and it's just another game for us and we have to treat it accordingly. We really try to zone out the distractions in the week of preparation to get ready for the game because it's going to be a huge challenge this week."
