Wake Forest Athletics
Weekly Press Conference Video & Quotes: Sept. 26
9/26/2017 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeFB)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson, defensive end Duke Ejiofor and wide receiver Scotty Washington met with the media Tuesday (Sept. 26) as the Demon Deacons prepare for Florida State.
Head coach Dave Clawson
Opening Statement...
"Wrapping up the game against Appalachian State, what a great college football game. I thought both teams played extremely hard. That was one of those games that came down to one play and fortunately we made it. It was back-and-forth and physical. I thought our kids played their hearts out and App's did too. Like any game, win or lose, you go back and look at the film and there were mistakes. There are a lot of corrections we have to make heading into ACC play. I thought defensively, the thing that stood out was we tackled really poorly. Guys for us who are normally good tacklers didn't tackle very well. That allowed some breakout runs. Offensively, we dropped four very catchable balls. We have guys who normally make those plays and didn't make them. Really, our special teams saved the day. You have the first extra point blocked and you don't immediately think that much of it. That one point was the difference if it was 20-20 or 20-19, whether you win or its going to overtime. Scotty Washington's effort on the las play was a great effort. That was a game where they outgained us and in the scrimmage plays, they probably outplayed us. We made some critical plays in special teams that turned out to be the difference in the game. It was neat to see that happen. To be on the road, in a hostile environment, and you don't play your best and you find a way to win, a lot of that had to do with special teams.
"We have Florida State coming to town. To paraphrase Mark Twain, ‘reports of their demise have been greatly exaggerated.' This is still one of the best teams and programs in the country. Nobody on our roster has ever beaten Florida State. They have played two really good football teams. The Alabama game was basically a three-point game into the third quarter. The mishandled a kickoff and then threw a pick and the game tuned quickly. They, scrimmage play to scrimmage play, were right there with Alabama. I think NC State is a really good football team too. I have great respect for Coach Fisher and his program. This is one of the premier programs in the country.
"On defense, they are excellent. We have never been able to move the ball on them consistently. Derwin James might be the best safety in the country. He is all over the field. Their corner, McFadden, was the Tatum Award winner. Their defensive line is excellent and given us fits every year. They are older on defense. They start eight juniors and seniors. At every position, they have great players.
"On offense, all their receivers are all 6-3 or 6-4. They are long,athletic and have incredible ball skills. They are good at the slot receiver as well. Every year, they recruit four and five-star guys who could go anywhere in the country. Both their running backs are really good players. Patrick is 235 pounds and can pound you and Akers is fast. Izzo is one of the best pass-catching tight ends we will play this year. Their O-Line is always big and physical. Blackman is going to be making his second start, but he showed in one game that he can make every throw. He is tall and has a live arm and made some beautiful throws last week. Jimbo is one of the best offensive strategists in all of college football. This will be a great challenge at home for us."
On only having two games of film on Florida State:
"I think it would be more difficult if they didn't have such stability in their staff. Coach Fisher is the quarterbacks coach, the offensive coordinator and he calls all the plays. It's an offensive system he's been running since he's been there. They have real stability on their staff. On defense, it's the same way. They have basically defended us the same way the last two years."
On the team's offensive improvements:
"We're better up front. We're playing well at quarterback. We're also better on the perimeter, but this is Florida State. There are certain matchups that should be favorable, but because of their personnel, and how quick they are and how well they cover, you have to win matchups against these guys. That is the challenge. Are we good enough to win those matchups? Quite frankly, the last few years we haven't been. I think we're better and I think this will be a great test to that."
On Florida State's tough early schedule and the importance of starting fast:
"They were slow to start, but a lot of it has to do with who they've played. I think NC State is one of the very best teams in the ACC this year. Their defensive line is loaded. They start four seniors and they're all draftable prospects. We've just got to go out there and execute at a better level than we did last week."
On the team's defensive line improvements:
"It's been a process over three or four years. We were never in a position where a talent like Boogie Basham could be our third defensive end and Chris Calhoun can be our first guy off the bench. At end, we go four deep with four good players. Obviously, Duke (Ejiofor) is solid and Wendell (Dunn) is playing really well. Boogie and Chris are players on the rise. On the inside, we have Zeek (Rodney) and Willie (Yarbary) that are playing well. It's nice to have depth at that position because it is a very, very hard position to develop. We've been fortunate to recruit guys that love football. All of those guys have worked hard and developed and because of their work ethic, and because of the work of our coaching staff, those guys have developed into really good ACC players."
Redshirt senior defensive end Duke Ejiofor
On the win over Appalachian State:
"It was a hard-fought game. Hats off to App State because they came ready to play. We didn't do a good job of executing defensively at first but we found a way to win. Hats off to App State and we're ready to move on to Florida State."
On what the defense learned from the App State game:
"Communication and executing the game plan. Each day, coach gives us a game plan that we have to do and it's our job to execute it. I think we learned that and to stay on the same page and execute the defense."
On Florida State's quarterback James Blackman:
"This is his second start and they've only played two games so far. He doesn't have that much experience so we have to do a good job of getting after him and making him uncomfortable."
On playing Florida State at home:
"Whenever we can draw a big game like this in front of our home fans is exciting. Hopefully we can draw a large crowd and get a lot of support from our fans and put on a show. Whenever we can have loud fans, it gives us a lot of energy."
On how this year will be different from last year's contest against Florida State:
"I think Florida State lost a lot of key players. They lost a couple of their starting O-line from last year, they lost a good back, they lost some good receivers. I think we can use our experience. I think we can do a good job of getting to Blackman and stopping the run game. That's our game plan for this game."
Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Scotty Washington
On the block at the end of the Appalachian State game:
"When I lined up next to Jessie Bates, Willie Yarbary had told me that the kicks had been low all day. That's how the first extra point had been blocked. We just lined up and I timed the snap and used my 6'5" frame to jump as high as I could."
On what the team learned from the App State game:
"We learned that we can't come in overlooking a team. We came in expecting a Sun Belt team and you can't sleep on them. We have to come in confident with every team. Obviously, Florida State is a good team and we have to come in confident."
On coming off of a tough game at App State to play Florida State:
"App State definitely gave us a mental check. Going into Florida State, we have to believe we can win. In the past, sometimes we question if we can win, if we can really beat this team. And this year we feel as if we can. NC State won their game and they played knowing they could win so going in this week, and through this week in practice, we just have to believe that we can win."
On Florida State's defense:
"They have a great secondary with Lavonta Taylor and Tarvarus McFadden. Tarvarus is a big corner. Their safeties are good. We just have to make plays."
