Wake Forest Athletics
Weekly Press Conference & Video- Oct. 29
10/29/2019 3:12:00 PM | Football
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson and student-athletes Jack Freudenthal and Sage Surratt met with the media Tuesday (Oct. 29) at the team's weekly press conference luncheon to discuss the Deacs' upcoming game against NC State.
Head Coach Dave Clawson
Opening statement...
"We are looking forward to hosting NC State this Saturday. This is the 113th meeting between Wake Forest and NC State- a rivalry that dates back to 1895 and it is the 110th consecutive game and series going back to 1910. We shared that with our players. This game has been played every year. It has survived world wars and conference realignment, everything. It is great to be able to have games like this. These are the games that make college football special- an in-state rivalry against a team that we play every year. I was watching the ACC Network earlier and learned that this is the third longest uninterrupted rivalry in the country after Minnesota/Wisconsin and Clemson/South Carolina. So it is really cool to be a part of a game like that. On top of it, we are playing a very talented and extremely well-coached football team. Between 2017-18 NC state had 18 wins which I believe is second after Clemson in our conference. The last few years, they have been one of the top programs in the ACC.
Offensively, they are averaging 27 points per game, 412 yards, they have a good offensive line, they are very well coached, their skill is always excellent. I think (Emeka) Emezie is one of the best receivers in the ACC. Certainly, Thayer Thomas has come on as of lately, he is a great baseball player and they will find different trick plays with him and he will throw passes and he is a really good punt returner. Devin Carter is certainly come on for them and we are very familiar with Tabari Hines. We know from personal experience that he is a very talented and excellent receiver who is very dangerous with his hands on the ball. They have three very talented young running backs and we think we will see all three of them. I understand they just made a change in quarterback and (Devin) Leary finished the BC game playing very well.
Defensively, they have changed their scheme this year, they are more of an odd front and on every level of the defense they are very talented. They have always had a good D-line, this year is no different. (Larrell) Murchison currently leads the ACC in sacks, the linebackers are very active and are guys who have played a lot of football. They are always good in the secondary. It feels like we have been playing against (Jarius) Morehead forever. He has started close to 40 games for them. They have had a few injuries at corner, but other than that, they are playing with their defense that they expected to play with this year. I have a lot of respect for Dave, I got to know him when we were in the MAC at Northern illinois and he did a great job there. He has certainly elevated NC State's program as well. They also have a new special teams coordinator and he is doing an excellent job. Right now, they are number one in the conference in punt return, number four in punt, and number six in kickoff return, so their special teams are extremely well-coached and when you are good at the skill positions, you become good at the return game.
These games have been one-score fourth quarter games. And we expect no different. This will be a very tough football game and we are excited to get back on the field after Florida State.
On adjusting after Justin Strnad's injury
"Obviously he is a really good player and we are going to miss him. Not only was he a really talented player and tackler, but he was really the leader of the defense. He was the vocal guys and you don't replace him. You hope that someone steps up and Ja'Cquez Williams is certainly capable of being a high end player. We are going to take the redshirt off of Chase Jones. We have already played him in one game and he was in that red alert category. With as much football as we have left and with what we are capable of accomplishing, we are going to play him because we need to. The team needs him and he is all on board. Those guys are going to have to step up but collectively everyone is going to have to step their game up. We are going to have to do a great job communicating. Justin was the leader in terms of checks and getting everyone on the same page, now Ryan Smenda is going to have to do a much better job at that, and he will. When you have someone like Justin, there is a tendency to rely heavily on the person because he is so good and confident at it. Ryan is getting to the point where he has played a lot of football and is more than capable of doing those things."
On Ja' Cquez Willams' transition…
"He played this last year when we had a lot of injuries inside and DJ Taylor was down and Justin was down for a little bit. Last year we were at the point against Florida State where we only had one and he played the whole second half against Clemson last year at linebacker. So it wasn't as if he was starting from scratch. He also played our rover position and in a lot of ways the coverages and fit structure, those positions can be similar. It wasn't starting at day one, but it is different when you play closer to the ball."
On facing a former player...
"When I was at Bowling Green, we opened the season against Troy and their starting quarterback was a guy named Levi Brown, who had started his career with me at Richmond. He was at Richmond and played a couple of years and then transferred to Troy and became the starter and eventually made the Buffalo Bills. Levi went to Troy and had a great career there and I think at one point he might have been the SunBelt Player of the Year. So I have done this before and once the game starts its a game. With Tabari, we know his skill set and we know he is a very gifted player. We certainly don't root against him, but in this game we aren't exactly rooting for him. Tabari had a good career here and was very productive for us. He graduated and wanted a different role and he has had a chance to find that."
On QB decision..
"If Jamie can go he will go, if not Sam will go."
"Those two guys are obviously competing for the same job, that can become very personal, but they have done a great job supporting each other. I have said this a few times, I think that example was set by John Wolford and Kendal Hinton. John and Kendall competed for that jo. They both wanted it and competed for it, yet at no time did they ever let it become personal and they became very good friends because of that. The fact that Jamie saw that and how positive those guys were - it kept things positive between Jamie and Kendall and Jamie and Sam. We have had good examples on how to handle that here."
Jack Freudenthal
On the excitement of playing the Wolfpack...
"It's always exciting. Coming off of a bye week, we've prepared a bunch over the last few days. Obviously, it's NC State. They're an in-state rival. Coach told us today it's one of the biggest rivalries we've had all year. We're 6-1 right now. Everyone's excited. Obviously there's a lot of buzz about this game because in the past couple of years it's always been a tight game. They're a great team and we're just really excited to have a home game against a rival."
On how the teams have changed since last year's meeting...
"We've kind of talked about this a long time. It's outside noise for what our preparation is. We can't focus on those things and when we knocked them off last year and this year we're ranked and they're trying to knock us off. We've prepared the exact same and no matter what we see on film the past couple of weeks, they're going to bring their very best because it's an in-state game, they are a rival team and we've played them every year and coach said to us today that we've played them for 110 years or something like that. So every year it's a dogfight and we know they're going to bring their very best."
On playing against former teammate Tabari Hines...
"I'm not too focused on that but it'll be weird for him coming back. He plays on offense and I'm on offense. He won't be on the punt team but I'm going to be on the punt team this week, but I don't think I'll run into him at all on the field. Maybe some of our guys might and maybe talk to him. We'll see."
Sage Surratt
On his brother Chazz making the interception to seal the game against Duke...
"That was great to see. I was there. It was a big-time play and it's always good to see him making big plays. It's a big win for their team."
On the energy level of the team coming off the bye week for the NC State game...
"There's going to be a lot of energy. I think it's going to be a great atmosphere. It's going to be packed, I would assume. Big game, in-state rival. That's really all you can say about it."
On the leadership of the team as they push toward the end of the season...
"I think the captains and the older guys are doing a great job. They're keeping young guys along. I think with the new red shirt rule from last year, some young guys can come in and play these last four games. I think the older guys are doing a great job from not trying to hit a wall at all during the season. I think toward the end, a lot of the young guys get tired but I think they're doing a good job pushing through."
Head Coach Dave Clawson
Opening statement...
"We are looking forward to hosting NC State this Saturday. This is the 113th meeting between Wake Forest and NC State- a rivalry that dates back to 1895 and it is the 110th consecutive game and series going back to 1910. We shared that with our players. This game has been played every year. It has survived world wars and conference realignment, everything. It is great to be able to have games like this. These are the games that make college football special- an in-state rivalry against a team that we play every year. I was watching the ACC Network earlier and learned that this is the third longest uninterrupted rivalry in the country after Minnesota/Wisconsin and Clemson/South Carolina. So it is really cool to be a part of a game like that. On top of it, we are playing a very talented and extremely well-coached football team. Between 2017-18 NC state had 18 wins which I believe is second after Clemson in our conference. The last few years, they have been one of the top programs in the ACC.
Offensively, they are averaging 27 points per game, 412 yards, they have a good offensive line, they are very well coached, their skill is always excellent. I think (Emeka) Emezie is one of the best receivers in the ACC. Certainly, Thayer Thomas has come on as of lately, he is a great baseball player and they will find different trick plays with him and he will throw passes and he is a really good punt returner. Devin Carter is certainly come on for them and we are very familiar with Tabari Hines. We know from personal experience that he is a very talented and excellent receiver who is very dangerous with his hands on the ball. They have three very talented young running backs and we think we will see all three of them. I understand they just made a change in quarterback and (Devin) Leary finished the BC game playing very well.
Defensively, they have changed their scheme this year, they are more of an odd front and on every level of the defense they are very talented. They have always had a good D-line, this year is no different. (Larrell) Murchison currently leads the ACC in sacks, the linebackers are very active and are guys who have played a lot of football. They are always good in the secondary. It feels like we have been playing against (Jarius) Morehead forever. He has started close to 40 games for them. They have had a few injuries at corner, but other than that, they are playing with their defense that they expected to play with this year. I have a lot of respect for Dave, I got to know him when we were in the MAC at Northern illinois and he did a great job there. He has certainly elevated NC State's program as well. They also have a new special teams coordinator and he is doing an excellent job. Right now, they are number one in the conference in punt return, number four in punt, and number six in kickoff return, so their special teams are extremely well-coached and when you are good at the skill positions, you become good at the return game.
These games have been one-score fourth quarter games. And we expect no different. This will be a very tough football game and we are excited to get back on the field after Florida State.
On adjusting after Justin Strnad's injury
"Obviously he is a really good player and we are going to miss him. Not only was he a really talented player and tackler, but he was really the leader of the defense. He was the vocal guys and you don't replace him. You hope that someone steps up and Ja'Cquez Williams is certainly capable of being a high end player. We are going to take the redshirt off of Chase Jones. We have already played him in one game and he was in that red alert category. With as much football as we have left and with what we are capable of accomplishing, we are going to play him because we need to. The team needs him and he is all on board. Those guys are going to have to step up but collectively everyone is going to have to step their game up. We are going to have to do a great job communicating. Justin was the leader in terms of checks and getting everyone on the same page, now Ryan Smenda is going to have to do a much better job at that, and he will. When you have someone like Justin, there is a tendency to rely heavily on the person because he is so good and confident at it. Ryan is getting to the point where he has played a lot of football and is more than capable of doing those things."
On Ja' Cquez Willams' transition…
"He played this last year when we had a lot of injuries inside and DJ Taylor was down and Justin was down for a little bit. Last year we were at the point against Florida State where we only had one and he played the whole second half against Clemson last year at linebacker. So it wasn't as if he was starting from scratch. He also played our rover position and in a lot of ways the coverages and fit structure, those positions can be similar. It wasn't starting at day one, but it is different when you play closer to the ball."
On facing a former player...
"When I was at Bowling Green, we opened the season against Troy and their starting quarterback was a guy named Levi Brown, who had started his career with me at Richmond. He was at Richmond and played a couple of years and then transferred to Troy and became the starter and eventually made the Buffalo Bills. Levi went to Troy and had a great career there and I think at one point he might have been the SunBelt Player of the Year. So I have done this before and once the game starts its a game. With Tabari, we know his skill set and we know he is a very gifted player. We certainly don't root against him, but in this game we aren't exactly rooting for him. Tabari had a good career here and was very productive for us. He graduated and wanted a different role and he has had a chance to find that."
On QB decision..
"If Jamie can go he will go, if not Sam will go."
"Those two guys are obviously competing for the same job, that can become very personal, but they have done a great job supporting each other. I have said this a few times, I think that example was set by John Wolford and Kendal Hinton. John and Kendall competed for that jo. They both wanted it and competed for it, yet at no time did they ever let it become personal and they became very good friends because of that. The fact that Jamie saw that and how positive those guys were - it kept things positive between Jamie and Kendall and Jamie and Sam. We have had good examples on how to handle that here."
Jack Freudenthal
On the excitement of playing the Wolfpack...
"It's always exciting. Coming off of a bye week, we've prepared a bunch over the last few days. Obviously, it's NC State. They're an in-state rival. Coach told us today it's one of the biggest rivalries we've had all year. We're 6-1 right now. Everyone's excited. Obviously there's a lot of buzz about this game because in the past couple of years it's always been a tight game. They're a great team and we're just really excited to have a home game against a rival."
On how the teams have changed since last year's meeting...
"We've kind of talked about this a long time. It's outside noise for what our preparation is. We can't focus on those things and when we knocked them off last year and this year we're ranked and they're trying to knock us off. We've prepared the exact same and no matter what we see on film the past couple of weeks, they're going to bring their very best because it's an in-state game, they are a rival team and we've played them every year and coach said to us today that we've played them for 110 years or something like that. So every year it's a dogfight and we know they're going to bring their very best."
On playing against former teammate Tabari Hines...
"I'm not too focused on that but it'll be weird for him coming back. He plays on offense and I'm on offense. He won't be on the punt team but I'm going to be on the punt team this week, but I don't think I'll run into him at all on the field. Maybe some of our guys might and maybe talk to him. We'll see."
Sage Surratt
On his brother Chazz making the interception to seal the game against Duke...
"That was great to see. I was there. It was a big-time play and it's always good to see him making big plays. It's a big win for their team."
On the energy level of the team coming off the bye week for the NC State game...
"There's going to be a lot of energy. I think it's going to be a great atmosphere. It's going to be packed, I would assume. Big game, in-state rival. That's really all you can say about it."
On the leadership of the team as they push toward the end of the season...
"I think the captains and the older guys are doing a great job. They're keeping young guys along. I think with the new red shirt rule from last year, some young guys can come in and play these last four games. I think the older guys are doing a great job from not trying to hit a wall at all during the season. I think toward the end, a lot of the young guys get tired but I think they're doing a good job pushing through."
Players Mentioned
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