Wake Forest Athletics
Weekly Press Conference & Video: September 25
9/25/2018 1:32:00 PM | Football
Dave Clawson and Jack Freudenthal met with the media on Tuesday, Sept. 25
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeFB)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Head coach Dave Clawson and tight end Jack Freudenthal met with the media Tuesday (Sept. 25), as the Demon Deacons met with the media at their weekly press conference, sponsored by Carrabba's.
Head Coach Dave Clawson
Opening statement…
"Just to wrap up the Notre Dame game, like I said Saturday after the game, we didn't play well. We got outplayed in every facet of the game. We didn't play well on offense, we ran the ball well, but we didn't throw well, we didn't protect well. Defensively, we gave up too many big plays and too many big yards and they had four consecutive drives in each half that they scored touchdowns. Our special teams have played so well this season and I thought even in that aspect of the game Notre Dame outplayed us. We got beat and we got beat bad. It was a great opportunity for us and I want to thank all of our fans for showing up, we had a great crowd and a great atmosphere and a great opportunity that we didn't take advantage of. It is one game and we are looking to rebound this week against Rice. There are a lot of things that we have to fix, and we are working hard to fix them. I have certainly had seasons before where we have had a lot of issues and you get them corrected and you end up having really good seasons, and that is our goal this year. We have a good football team and kids who care and there are things that are fixable that we have to get fixed."
"Rice comes in here as a program with a new head coach. Coach Bloomgren did a great job as the offensive coordinator at Stanford. He is one of those hot coaches on the rise. Rice hired a very good football coach. Offensively, they are very well thought out. They do a lot of different things with a lot of personnel groups. They are very tricky. They know exactly what they are doing, they know what surfaces they want to create and they know where they want the ball to go. They have two backs (Emmanuel) Esukpa and (Austin) Walter that I think could play in the ACC. These guys are big and physical. Walter is a game-breaker as a kick returner as well. These are two excellent backs. The offensive line is big and physical. They have an experienced quarterback- a grad transfer from Vanderbilt. On defense, they are very multiple. They are exceptional on special teams. In every C-USA ranking, their units are up there. Pete Lembo, who I know well is their special teams coordinator. Every aspect of special teams they create a lot of hidden yards for themselves. We have to fix us. Rice is certainly capable of coming here and beating us if we don't get our problems fixed, so we have to focus on Wake Forest this week."
On the Defensive Coordinator position:
"It's not like our defense is without leadership. I'm not giving someone the title, but Tom Gilmore is going to coach the rovers, and right now, Dave Cohen has been in that meeting room for five years. Lyle Hemphill coordinated this same defense for many years at Stony Brook. So, those two are pretty much running the bulk of things. Dave and Lyle are running those meetings. Those guys have worked together before. Lyle worked for Dave when Dave was the head coach at Hofstra. Both have spent many years in our defensive system and have a great working relationship. There is a structure in what we're doing and an order in how we're doing it."
On players' preparation:
"There are times when you can do everything right and get beat by a matchup. Those are things as a head coach you can live with. The person is in the right spot, has his eyes in the right place but you may get beat because the matchup favored the other team and your guy couldn't get it done. That's a recruiting and talent issue. When you're not aligned and you're not in the right place, those are things that if they get better then you stay the course. It wasn't for a lack of work or lack of care. We've worked extremely hard. With all that work, we got to a place where the defense wasn't recognizable."
"We need to coach better. We need to prepare our players better. Our players need to play with more effort and more detail. If you play press man coverage and your guy gets beat on a jump ball because of the throw, those things are going to happen. It's the plays that develop because you're not properly aligned that I think we're giving up free yards. Playing against a team like Notre Dame, even when you do everything right it's hard to defend them. If you give them a bunch of easy plays because you're not in the right spot, those are problems all of us have to fix. I'm the head coach and I'm responsible for everything. We're trying to fix the problems so we can play better football this year."
On Kendall Hinton's impact:
"Kendall is going to play a lot of snaps. Where he lines up on the depth chart, I wouldn't read too much into that. We played him as a kick returner, lined him up in the slot, threw slants to him and we've put him in at quarterback. He's a guy that we already knew was very elusive and has great ball skills. He's shown that and it's exciting for us to get a playmaker back and we have to figure out every week the best way to use him."
Redshirt junior tight end Jack Freudenthal
On leadership following a loss:
"I think collectively as a team, it's the older guys who have been here before. My freshman year, we went 3-9, the redshirt seniors in their first two years went 3-9. I think having that experience of going through some tough losses gives them the ability to step up and know how to lead. We're able to bring guys together and say hey, it's time to get back to work. There's a 24-hour rule after a game whether we win or lose. Get back to work and prepare for the next game."
On Rice's defense:
"We've watched a lot of film on Rice already this week. They are a great opponent and they do a lot of great things on defense. They are well coached and are multiple on defense. They mix in a lot of coverages and different fronts. I think if we don't do what they want us to and we can do our jobs collectively, we'll have a great chance to win."
On the offensive mindset in the redzone:
"It's been a huge focus over the last two weeks. We don't want to settle for field goals. With our defense coming up with a big play and giving us a turnover on the 13-yard line, we have to put points on the board. We cannot go three and out, settling for a field goal. I think as a team, if we can convert on third down and score touchdowns in the redzone then it'll be a big day for us."
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Head coach Dave Clawson and tight end Jack Freudenthal met with the media Tuesday (Sept. 25), as the Demon Deacons met with the media at their weekly press conference, sponsored by Carrabba's.
Head Coach Dave Clawson
Opening statement…
"Just to wrap up the Notre Dame game, like I said Saturday after the game, we didn't play well. We got outplayed in every facet of the game. We didn't play well on offense, we ran the ball well, but we didn't throw well, we didn't protect well. Defensively, we gave up too many big plays and too many big yards and they had four consecutive drives in each half that they scored touchdowns. Our special teams have played so well this season and I thought even in that aspect of the game Notre Dame outplayed us. We got beat and we got beat bad. It was a great opportunity for us and I want to thank all of our fans for showing up, we had a great crowd and a great atmosphere and a great opportunity that we didn't take advantage of. It is one game and we are looking to rebound this week against Rice. There are a lot of things that we have to fix, and we are working hard to fix them. I have certainly had seasons before where we have had a lot of issues and you get them corrected and you end up having really good seasons, and that is our goal this year. We have a good football team and kids who care and there are things that are fixable that we have to get fixed."
"Rice comes in here as a program with a new head coach. Coach Bloomgren did a great job as the offensive coordinator at Stanford. He is one of those hot coaches on the rise. Rice hired a very good football coach. Offensively, they are very well thought out. They do a lot of different things with a lot of personnel groups. They are very tricky. They know exactly what they are doing, they know what surfaces they want to create and they know where they want the ball to go. They have two backs (Emmanuel) Esukpa and (Austin) Walter that I think could play in the ACC. These guys are big and physical. Walter is a game-breaker as a kick returner as well. These are two excellent backs. The offensive line is big and physical. They have an experienced quarterback- a grad transfer from Vanderbilt. On defense, they are very multiple. They are exceptional on special teams. In every C-USA ranking, their units are up there. Pete Lembo, who I know well is their special teams coordinator. Every aspect of special teams they create a lot of hidden yards for themselves. We have to fix us. Rice is certainly capable of coming here and beating us if we don't get our problems fixed, so we have to focus on Wake Forest this week."
On the Defensive Coordinator position:
"It's not like our defense is without leadership. I'm not giving someone the title, but Tom Gilmore is going to coach the rovers, and right now, Dave Cohen has been in that meeting room for five years. Lyle Hemphill coordinated this same defense for many years at Stony Brook. So, those two are pretty much running the bulk of things. Dave and Lyle are running those meetings. Those guys have worked together before. Lyle worked for Dave when Dave was the head coach at Hofstra. Both have spent many years in our defensive system and have a great working relationship. There is a structure in what we're doing and an order in how we're doing it."
On players' preparation:
"There are times when you can do everything right and get beat by a matchup. Those are things as a head coach you can live with. The person is in the right spot, has his eyes in the right place but you may get beat because the matchup favored the other team and your guy couldn't get it done. That's a recruiting and talent issue. When you're not aligned and you're not in the right place, those are things that if they get better then you stay the course. It wasn't for a lack of work or lack of care. We've worked extremely hard. With all that work, we got to a place where the defense wasn't recognizable."
"We need to coach better. We need to prepare our players better. Our players need to play with more effort and more detail. If you play press man coverage and your guy gets beat on a jump ball because of the throw, those things are going to happen. It's the plays that develop because you're not properly aligned that I think we're giving up free yards. Playing against a team like Notre Dame, even when you do everything right it's hard to defend them. If you give them a bunch of easy plays because you're not in the right spot, those are problems all of us have to fix. I'm the head coach and I'm responsible for everything. We're trying to fix the problems so we can play better football this year."
On Kendall Hinton's impact:
"Kendall is going to play a lot of snaps. Where he lines up on the depth chart, I wouldn't read too much into that. We played him as a kick returner, lined him up in the slot, threw slants to him and we've put him in at quarterback. He's a guy that we already knew was very elusive and has great ball skills. He's shown that and it's exciting for us to get a playmaker back and we have to figure out every week the best way to use him."
Redshirt junior tight end Jack Freudenthal
On leadership following a loss:
"I think collectively as a team, it's the older guys who have been here before. My freshman year, we went 3-9, the redshirt seniors in their first two years went 3-9. I think having that experience of going through some tough losses gives them the ability to step up and know how to lead. We're able to bring guys together and say hey, it's time to get back to work. There's a 24-hour rule after a game whether we win or lose. Get back to work and prepare for the next game."
On Rice's defense:
"We've watched a lot of film on Rice already this week. They are a great opponent and they do a lot of great things on defense. They are well coached and are multiple on defense. They mix in a lot of coverages and different fronts. I think if we don't do what they want us to and we can do our jobs collectively, we'll have a great chance to win."
On the offensive mindset in the redzone:
"It's been a huge focus over the last two weeks. We don't want to settle for field goals. With our defense coming up with a big play and giving us a turnover on the 13-yard line, we have to put points on the board. We cannot go three and out, settling for a field goal. I think as a team, if we can convert on third down and score touchdowns in the redzone then it'll be a big day for us."
Players Mentioned
TE
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