Wake Forest Athletics
Weekly Press Conference & Video: August 28
8/28/2018 1:54:00 PM | Football
Head Coach Dave Clawson, running back Cade Carney and offensive lineman Ryan Anderson met with the media on Tuesday
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest football coach Dave Clawson, running back Cade Carney and offensive lineman Ryan Anderson met with the media on Tuesday (Aug. 28), as the Demon Deacons held their first weekly press conference, presented by Carrabba's.
Head Coach Dave Clawson
Opening Statement...
"This press conference means we are back into the routine. It is game week. You go through camp and when the season starts, you start the routine of the game plans and what you have to get done in a Tuesday practice and in a Wednesday practice. I thought we have had a really good camp. We came out of it relatively healthy. All of our team and our staff is ready to play the first game. There is always a lot of anxiety with the first game. It is the first time that a team goes out there together and the score counts. There are some areas where we have an idea of what we have and there are always things that get exposed in the first game. That starts the work.
"The challenge this year is who we open with. Tulane was 5-7 a year ago and depending on your perspective, they were either an inch away or a sideline camera away from being a bowl team. They have had to live with that one inch for nine months. It really starts with their head coach. I think Coach Fritz is one of the most underrated and one of the best football coaches in the country. He has over 200 career wins and has won everywhere he has been. This is his third year. This is a much deeper and much more talented football team than the one we played two years ago here at BB&T. That was a game we were very fortunate to win. We really shouldn't have won the game. We got outplayed and got very fortunate and lucky to win that game. Sometimes all you need is a win like that to get you going.
"On offense, they have nine returning starters off an offense that averaged 27.5 points per game, about 400 yards per game. They have a returning senior quarterback in Jonathan Banks. He is a very talented football player. He threw for about 1,800 yards a year ago and had 600 yards rushing. He really had about 800 yards rushing before you take off the 200 yards for sacks. You a talking about a guy who was almost a 1,000-yard rusher and a 2,000-yard passer. He was responsible for 19 touchdowns. If the basis for a good football team is a good, experienced play-caller, then Tulane has it. They have their top three receivers back. Their tight end is back. The nature of their offense, with their option-based attack, is they create a lot of one-on-ones. They have a quarterback and receivers to take advantage of it. Up front, they are very good with three seniors, a redshirt junior and a sophomore playing for them. These guys are experienced and it is a very good offense. It returns nine starters, including the quarterback. They are not an up-tempo offense, or at least they haven't been, but when you look at their numbers it is even more impressive because this isn't a team that plays up-tempo. Two years ago, there was 152 snaps in the whole football game. Last year, it seemed like that was a little over a half for us.
"On defense, they have six returning starters. They have two really good ones in the secondary. Their best linebacker is back. We are on the road. The American Athletic Conference is good football. This is the same conference as Central Florida and South Florida, so this is a good league. They are used to playing good teams. It will be a really good challenge. We will be tested for sure. This is game where we need to play well. We have to take care of the football and do well on special teams. With Coach Fritz, it is across the board, they don't do too much but everything they do, they do extremely well. They do it with great effort. This is not a group that takes any plays off. They are a high-energy, high-effort group, which I think is a reflection of their head coach. We look forward to getting down there and having our first game as a team. After this one we will be home for a long time. It will be a good one to get, but it will be a challenge."
On the game plan and whether or not the team will be running the ball more against Tulane:
"If you watch us on film, we're a big RPO team. We adjust based on how we get defended. We don't run this style of offense with a fullback and two tight ends. If you're like a Stanford or Boston College, they just say 'hey I don't care how were going to get defended we're going to play this style and pound you. We're a little bit more designed to see how we're defended. We can certainly be defended in ways that would cause us to run the ball more. We have to run our offense. This is what we do. This is how it's designed and if its executed at the level it was a year ago, we're not designed to line up with two fullbacks and a tight end. That's not the way we are. We're never going into a game saying we're going to throw it 70 or run it 70. That's just not the design of the offense."
On if starting a freshman quarterback behind an experienced offensive line helps the quarterback:
"I think there's no question. This is not John Wolford 2014 that's a true freshman quarterback starting behind an offensive line that's not as good as the one we have now. Not to take anything away from that group. That group competed hard and tried hard. I think right now we're an offensive line that has maybe three or four NFL prospects on it that weren't there four years ago. There's no question that it's easier to play quarterback right now with our offense because what we have on the O-line and what we have at running back and receiver. Any time you start a true freshman quarterback, it's a baptism by fire. You can practice it, practice it, practice it but until they get out there in a game and play for the first time, it's always new and different."
On preparing for Tulane's offense early in the season vs. mid-season:
"It's one of those offenses that if it's not your opener, you have to devote practice time in camp to it. It's no different that Georgia Tech or Army. This is a very tough preparation, period, let alone if you have a short week. When we play Army or Georgia Tech, we always take time in the spring and in fall camp to do some work against that offense, unless it's our opener or coming off a bye week. The nature of what they do requires extra preparation. The amount of formations, motions and different facto sets they get into in the unbalanced, there's two challenges when we play a team like this. Number one is just getting lined up because you name a formation and they run it. Number two is having great eye discipline. It is an offense where if you put your eyes in the wrong place, the next thing you know the option is out or the quarterback is unaccounted for. This is how they make big plays. They get you to mis-fit stuff because they make it a challenge to get a line and the ball just squirts out and next thing you know, it's 40-yards down the field."
Junior running back Cade Carney
On excitement to get the season started:
"We had a great camp this fall and we created a lot of depth. We are ready to play fast and hit another team. We have been hitting our own guys so we are just excited to go down to Tulane and get the season started."
On health going into the season:
"I'm 100 percent which I am super thankful for. It has been a long time since I have been able to say that so I am excited and feeling great. I have been able to have a healthy fall so far and I'm ready to roll."
On depth at running back:
"First and foremost we have an awesome offensive line that we are super confident behind and they make things easy for us. We have a 1-2-3 punch we feel like. Christian (Beal-Smith) has come a long way since the spring and Matt (Colburn) is ready to have a huge senior year. We are very excited, but more than anything we are excited about running behind the bug guys up front."
On having a true freshman starting at quarterback:
"We take pride, especially in the passing game. With the sixth man protection, we feel very responsible for keeping Sam (Hartman) up and off the ground and the other guys off of him. If we can establish a good run game it will help him and take some pressure off him."
On the offense:
"I feel like we can be better. We have another year of experience up front between Matt and myself and then we have Christian who is electric at running back, we have an awesome receiving core that we feel good about. So, I feel like we can continue to take the next step as far as being an explosive and fast offense."
Redshirt senior center Ryan Anderson
On receiving praise from teammates:
"It doesn't really matter when the people off the field praise or don't praise you, but it is good to hear praise from a running back. That means a lot."
On experience of offensive line:
"When you get more experience as an offensive line, you get more advanced as an offensive line. You don't ever reach a point where you stop learning or advancing."
On leading Sam Hartman in first game:
"I feel like we have made huge strides since the beginning of camp. Now it feels that we have played together for as long as John (Wolford) played together. He has adjusted very fast and I am excited for the first game with him. "
On comparisons between Hartman and Wolford:
"They can both sling the ball. Sam is a great quarterback and he is going to have a great career here."
On last first game:
"It doesn't really feel like it. I'm sure it will towards the end of the season, but it hasn't hit me that this is my last season yet."
Head Coach Dave Clawson
Opening Statement...
"This press conference means we are back into the routine. It is game week. You go through camp and when the season starts, you start the routine of the game plans and what you have to get done in a Tuesday practice and in a Wednesday practice. I thought we have had a really good camp. We came out of it relatively healthy. All of our team and our staff is ready to play the first game. There is always a lot of anxiety with the first game. It is the first time that a team goes out there together and the score counts. There are some areas where we have an idea of what we have and there are always things that get exposed in the first game. That starts the work.
"The challenge this year is who we open with. Tulane was 5-7 a year ago and depending on your perspective, they were either an inch away or a sideline camera away from being a bowl team. They have had to live with that one inch for nine months. It really starts with their head coach. I think Coach Fritz is one of the most underrated and one of the best football coaches in the country. He has over 200 career wins and has won everywhere he has been. This is his third year. This is a much deeper and much more talented football team than the one we played two years ago here at BB&T. That was a game we were very fortunate to win. We really shouldn't have won the game. We got outplayed and got very fortunate and lucky to win that game. Sometimes all you need is a win like that to get you going.
"On offense, they have nine returning starters off an offense that averaged 27.5 points per game, about 400 yards per game. They have a returning senior quarterback in Jonathan Banks. He is a very talented football player. He threw for about 1,800 yards a year ago and had 600 yards rushing. He really had about 800 yards rushing before you take off the 200 yards for sacks. You a talking about a guy who was almost a 1,000-yard rusher and a 2,000-yard passer. He was responsible for 19 touchdowns. If the basis for a good football team is a good, experienced play-caller, then Tulane has it. They have their top three receivers back. Their tight end is back. The nature of their offense, with their option-based attack, is they create a lot of one-on-ones. They have a quarterback and receivers to take advantage of it. Up front, they are very good with three seniors, a redshirt junior and a sophomore playing for them. These guys are experienced and it is a very good offense. It returns nine starters, including the quarterback. They are not an up-tempo offense, or at least they haven't been, but when you look at their numbers it is even more impressive because this isn't a team that plays up-tempo. Two years ago, there was 152 snaps in the whole football game. Last year, it seemed like that was a little over a half for us.
"On defense, they have six returning starters. They have two really good ones in the secondary. Their best linebacker is back. We are on the road. The American Athletic Conference is good football. This is the same conference as Central Florida and South Florida, so this is a good league. They are used to playing good teams. It will be a really good challenge. We will be tested for sure. This is game where we need to play well. We have to take care of the football and do well on special teams. With Coach Fritz, it is across the board, they don't do too much but everything they do, they do extremely well. They do it with great effort. This is not a group that takes any plays off. They are a high-energy, high-effort group, which I think is a reflection of their head coach. We look forward to getting down there and having our first game as a team. After this one we will be home for a long time. It will be a good one to get, but it will be a challenge."
On the game plan and whether or not the team will be running the ball more against Tulane:
"If you watch us on film, we're a big RPO team. We adjust based on how we get defended. We don't run this style of offense with a fullback and two tight ends. If you're like a Stanford or Boston College, they just say 'hey I don't care how were going to get defended we're going to play this style and pound you. We're a little bit more designed to see how we're defended. We can certainly be defended in ways that would cause us to run the ball more. We have to run our offense. This is what we do. This is how it's designed and if its executed at the level it was a year ago, we're not designed to line up with two fullbacks and a tight end. That's not the way we are. We're never going into a game saying we're going to throw it 70 or run it 70. That's just not the design of the offense."
On if starting a freshman quarterback behind an experienced offensive line helps the quarterback:
"I think there's no question. This is not John Wolford 2014 that's a true freshman quarterback starting behind an offensive line that's not as good as the one we have now. Not to take anything away from that group. That group competed hard and tried hard. I think right now we're an offensive line that has maybe three or four NFL prospects on it that weren't there four years ago. There's no question that it's easier to play quarterback right now with our offense because what we have on the O-line and what we have at running back and receiver. Any time you start a true freshman quarterback, it's a baptism by fire. You can practice it, practice it, practice it but until they get out there in a game and play for the first time, it's always new and different."
On preparing for Tulane's offense early in the season vs. mid-season:
"It's one of those offenses that if it's not your opener, you have to devote practice time in camp to it. It's no different that Georgia Tech or Army. This is a very tough preparation, period, let alone if you have a short week. When we play Army or Georgia Tech, we always take time in the spring and in fall camp to do some work against that offense, unless it's our opener or coming off a bye week. The nature of what they do requires extra preparation. The amount of formations, motions and different facto sets they get into in the unbalanced, there's two challenges when we play a team like this. Number one is just getting lined up because you name a formation and they run it. Number two is having great eye discipline. It is an offense where if you put your eyes in the wrong place, the next thing you know the option is out or the quarterback is unaccounted for. This is how they make big plays. They get you to mis-fit stuff because they make it a challenge to get a line and the ball just squirts out and next thing you know, it's 40-yards down the field."
Junior running back Cade Carney
On excitement to get the season started:
"We had a great camp this fall and we created a lot of depth. We are ready to play fast and hit another team. We have been hitting our own guys so we are just excited to go down to Tulane and get the season started."
On health going into the season:
"I'm 100 percent which I am super thankful for. It has been a long time since I have been able to say that so I am excited and feeling great. I have been able to have a healthy fall so far and I'm ready to roll."
On depth at running back:
"First and foremost we have an awesome offensive line that we are super confident behind and they make things easy for us. We have a 1-2-3 punch we feel like. Christian (Beal-Smith) has come a long way since the spring and Matt (Colburn) is ready to have a huge senior year. We are very excited, but more than anything we are excited about running behind the bug guys up front."
On having a true freshman starting at quarterback:
"We take pride, especially in the passing game. With the sixth man protection, we feel very responsible for keeping Sam (Hartman) up and off the ground and the other guys off of him. If we can establish a good run game it will help him and take some pressure off him."
On the offense:
"I feel like we can be better. We have another year of experience up front between Matt and myself and then we have Christian who is electric at running back, we have an awesome receiving core that we feel good about. So, I feel like we can continue to take the next step as far as being an explosive and fast offense."
Redshirt senior center Ryan Anderson
On receiving praise from teammates:
"It doesn't really matter when the people off the field praise or don't praise you, but it is good to hear praise from a running back. That means a lot."
On experience of offensive line:
"When you get more experience as an offensive line, you get more advanced as an offensive line. You don't ever reach a point where you stop learning or advancing."
On leading Sam Hartman in first game:
"I feel like we have made huge strides since the beginning of camp. Now it feels that we have played together for as long as John (Wolford) played together. He has adjusted very fast and I am excited for the first game with him. "
On comparisons between Hartman and Wolford:
"They can both sling the ball. Sam is a great quarterback and he is going to have a great career here."
On last first game:
"It doesn't really feel like it. I'm sure it will towards the end of the season, but it hasn't hit me that this is my last season yet."
Players Mentioned
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