Wake Forest Athletics
Weekly Press Conference & Video: Sept. 10
9/10/2019 2:39:00 PM | Football
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson, wide receiver Sage Surratt and offensive lineman Jake Benzinger met with the media Tuesday (Sept. 10) at the team's weekly press conference luncheon to discuss the Deacs' win over Rice and the upcoming game vs, North Carolina.
Head Coach Dave Clawson
Opening Statement...
"Before we get going on the going, one thing I like to bring up at this point is tomorrow in the 18th anniversary of 9-11. At the time, I was the head football coach of Fordham in New York City and this always brings up a flood of memories. I've brought it up before, It was my third year as a head coach. That day at Fordham, our team lost one of the greatest young men that I have had the privilege to coach in Nick Brandemarti. Every year that we go through this, I always want all those players at Fordham and the Brandemerti family that we never, ever forget Nick. Nick was one of those players that if he was still alive today, there is no doubt in my mind that we would still be in touch. On 9-11 I thought I lost my sister, Kathy, in the second tower. Every year on 9-11 it is a blessing that she is still in our life as well. I will never forget that day and everyone at Fordham and New York City, they are always in my thoughts and memories. On 9-11, that was something we suffered through together, as did New York and our whole country. The memories of Nick will never leave and the thankfulness that my sister was able to survive that attack.
"The Rice game I thought was a good, efficient road win. I think Rice is a very improved football team. Coach Bloomgren has done a really good job there and that performance they had against Army looks even more impressive. I think he is on the right schedule and the right direction. We were tested. I was proud of the way our offense responded with explosive plays. Jamie (Newman), two weeks in a row, has played at a really high level, very accurate. Scotty (Washington) and Sage (Surratt) continue to make big plays for us. I thought our offensive line protected well. I would still like to have a little more consistency in the run game. Some of the things they were doing defensively opened up what we did in the pass game. Defensively, we had a bad first quarter, but after that I thought we really tightened up. We gave up a bunch of yards in the first quarter, but in the second, third and halfway through the fourth we gave less than 100 yards. They had a bunch of three-and-outs. We had a bunch of our twos in the game at the end and I was disappointed we gave up that late touchdown. We are not going to leave our starters out there, but we expect our twos to play at the same level and they didn't do that. That is something as we try to develop depth, we have that expectation of our depth. I am disappointed that we weren't able to keep that at a 14-point game, but credit Rice, they kept playing hard and battling and Trammell is a good receiver. It was also great news to hear that the quarterback from Rice was released from the hospital and doing well. Those are always frightening and scary experiences.
"North Carolina is off to a great start. Obviously Coach Brown and his staff have done a great job of motivating their players. It is not just the fact that they are 2-0, it is how they are 2-0. They were down 11 to South Carolina going into the fourth quarter and they found a way to win. They were down five with 4:38 left to Miami in the fourth quarterback and their freshman quarterback, Howell, drove them down the field to score a touchdown. Their defense gets a stop to win the game. Coach Brown is has them believing that they can win games and they are off to a great start.
"Their quarterback Howell is in no way, shape or form playing like a true freshman. He has shown a lot of poise and played with a lot of courage. He isn't scared to run the ball. The throw he made on 4th-and-17 and then the touchdown strike he threw, that does not look like a guy playing his second game. He is playing well and the moment is not too big for him. Their offensive line is big and very talented. I think they are doing a great job of protecting him and giving him time. Their skill will be by far the best skill that we have faced so far this year. They have three tailbacks who could play for anyone in the conference. They have really good receivers and they have depth at tight end.
"Defensively, I think they are playing really hard. Their two inside tackles could play anywhere in the conference. Those are high-level players and both back from injuries. They have experience on defense, nine of their 11 starters are juniors and seniors. They have been really banged up the last two years, so they have got some good players back. They are playing a system and with a belief that they are going to find a way to win.
"We are glad to be home and we expect the place to be sold out. We expect a lot of black in the stands. This is a game that we really need the Triad and Wake Forest people to come out and give us a home field advantage. There are six undefeated teams left in the ACC, and these are two of them. This is a national, high-level game and we are excited to play it. We have had a good week of prep and we are ready to go and we will take advantage of these next couple days."
On the Wake Forest-North Carolina rivalry:
"Our players know it's important to us. Forget all the rivalry part and the state championship part of it, this is our next game and it's really important. Our football team is very aware of the history of this game, the tradition. It's the longest and oldest rivalry in North Carolina. It is a big, big deal. We don't minimize it. What's weird about it is our lack of familiarity with it. Because of conferences and things like that, traditionally a rivalry is one you play every year, that's why it's a rivalry. We know more about Utah State and Rice and Notre Dame than we know about Carolina just because we've played them more often. Every year you do a deep dive on their personnel, their schemes and their film stuff. We don't do that every year with Carolina because we don't play them every year. It's a weird rivalry because you should play rivals every year. We certainly would be in favor of some type of setup where we get to play Carolina, Duke and N.C. State every year. That would be our preference. Some people are criticizing us for playing this game, but we don't care. This is a game that we want, our players want, our fans want, our alumni want. So do their fans, their alumni. Games like this are good for college football. We would like to play Carolina every year, but we play them once every six years with the ACC rotation. We've done something a little bit different and unique so that our fan base and their fan base gets to see a game that everyone wants to see."
On playing the series more often:
"Yes. I would like it, our fans would like it. But schedules are scheduled so far out and we had a little window that we were open and they were open and obviously both schools wanted to do it so that's why we're doing it. I think all of our preferences would be somehow that this would be an ACC game and not just a game between two ACC teams. I think there's a little bit of confusion towards it, but this is a non-conference game. I'm the football coach at Wake Forest. I'm not running college football, or the ACC. Everyone's probably better off for that."
On trying to stop UNC quarterback Sam Howell:
"You go back and watch his two games and certainly study the coordinators and what they've done in other places. You evaluate the skillset of the quarterback and you do a projection of the other ways that they could use him. I think the offensive staff at Carolina has done an exceptional job of managing him and allow him to be successful. I'm sure that every week, they'll do some more things a little bit and add more things to the packages where he has success. The challenge for us is to project where they're going to go. You study the coordinators, the offensive line coach and you look at the skillset and say, 'Okay, that step makes sense. This is something that's in their offense that fits the quarterback.' You can't go nuts with it. You're not defending ghosts. They're certainly going to do more as the year goes on but I've think they're doing an exceptional job in putting him in a position to be successful. They really have. They've done a really good job at coaching him and their offense and their whole football team."
Redshirt Sophomore Wide Receiver Sage Surratt
On playing his brother Chazz:
"I think it's going to be exciting. It's the first time I've been on the field with him in a while. I think it was 2015 when I was a junior in high school but this time I'm going to be going against him so it's going to be different. I know it's going to be an exciting thing to do and it's going to be a great game and a great atmosphere."
On him and his brother trash-talking to each other:
"Yeah, he's been talking a little bit of trash to me and talking about hitting me and stuff. It's the first time he's going to be able to hit me clean within the game. Bragging rights in the house is definitely up for grabs and especially with the Wake Forest-UNC rivalry."
On his brother taking out some frustration on him:
"Yeah, probably some stuff coming out from my childhood. He might act as if I took the last bowl of cereal, something like that."
On his parents rooting for Wake or UNC:
"My mom's going to wear my Wake Forest jersey and my dad's going to wear a Carolina jersey. Just to split it up. But as far as who their going for, their neutral. It's kind of a hard position for them now. If he was playing quarterback, they probably would have just gone for the offensive team. Now it's kind of tough for them."
On the Wake Forest offense:
"I think we started off pretty good. 2-0 start is how we wanted to start. I think there are some things we can clean up better on offense. But I think we did a good job of making plays and executing them as far as that goes and we'll just try to keep that rolling going through the season. Being consistent is a major key for us right now.
On the Wake-UNC rivalry:
"I think it's a good chance especially for our Wake Forest fans. We haven't seen UNC in four years, I believe. The state championship is on the line right now, first one of those many games. I know a lot of alumni and fans have been waiting for this game and they are really excited about this game and they want us to win really, really bad. It's going to be a great atmosphere. A lot of people are going to come out and it's going to be a good game.
On winning the state championship as a goal:
"Yes, every year we want to. We want to try and go out and prove that we are the best in the state between all four teams. That's something we definitely want to win."
Redshirt Senior Offensive Lineman Jake Benzinger
On OL's pride regarding big run plays, especially from Kenneth Walker at Rice…
"Especially in those late game situations- we were trying to run the ball and the other team knows you are going to run it- to still be able to have big plays like that is amazing. With Kenneth it was no surprise because he was doing that all fall camp. It was only a matter of time before he started getting huge runs like that. We expect more of that throughout the season."
On talent and depth of running backs…
"It helps in the up tempo offense to have backs that are fresh and ready to come in, but also know their job and can do their job well. It is a testament to how much depth we have this year, but we really need that especially with the offense that we run with multiple backs."
On Jamie Newman's performance in the first two games…
"The first thing you notice with Jamie is he has a lot of pocket poise. He is able to stand in there and he shows a lot of confidence in us (offensive line). He lets us know when things are right and when things aren't right. He does a great job of standing in the pocket and making the throws he needs to make. We expect more of that this year. Throughout fall camp and the first two games, it has been awesome to see him progress."
On facing North Carolina at home on Friday…
"State bragging rights are on the line. We face Carolina with a huge challenge. Carolina's defensive line has played really well the first two games with a lot of sacks and they can stop the run game. We are ready to play hard and do our job and play the best brand of football that we can."
On continuing to be able to run the ball...
"You see the rushing yards after the game and that is a good indicator of how we (offensive line) played as a unit. The last game a lot of rushing yards came with that including the 96-yard run by Kenneth, but we are looking forward to keeping those stats up and a lot of that comes with the tempo that we play with."
On excitement to face UNC…
"We play Duke and NC State almost every year but we haven't played UNC since my redshirt season in 2015, it is a little bit extra with this one. It is just like every other game, but the fact that we haven't played them in five years -everyone is really excited to see what they have and play the best brand of football."
Head Coach Dave Clawson
Opening Statement...
"Before we get going on the going, one thing I like to bring up at this point is tomorrow in the 18th anniversary of 9-11. At the time, I was the head football coach of Fordham in New York City and this always brings up a flood of memories. I've brought it up before, It was my third year as a head coach. That day at Fordham, our team lost one of the greatest young men that I have had the privilege to coach in Nick Brandemarti. Every year that we go through this, I always want all those players at Fordham and the Brandemerti family that we never, ever forget Nick. Nick was one of those players that if he was still alive today, there is no doubt in my mind that we would still be in touch. On 9-11 I thought I lost my sister, Kathy, in the second tower. Every year on 9-11 it is a blessing that she is still in our life as well. I will never forget that day and everyone at Fordham and New York City, they are always in my thoughts and memories. On 9-11, that was something we suffered through together, as did New York and our whole country. The memories of Nick will never leave and the thankfulness that my sister was able to survive that attack.
"The Rice game I thought was a good, efficient road win. I think Rice is a very improved football team. Coach Bloomgren has done a really good job there and that performance they had against Army looks even more impressive. I think he is on the right schedule and the right direction. We were tested. I was proud of the way our offense responded with explosive plays. Jamie (Newman), two weeks in a row, has played at a really high level, very accurate. Scotty (Washington) and Sage (Surratt) continue to make big plays for us. I thought our offensive line protected well. I would still like to have a little more consistency in the run game. Some of the things they were doing defensively opened up what we did in the pass game. Defensively, we had a bad first quarter, but after that I thought we really tightened up. We gave up a bunch of yards in the first quarter, but in the second, third and halfway through the fourth we gave less than 100 yards. They had a bunch of three-and-outs. We had a bunch of our twos in the game at the end and I was disappointed we gave up that late touchdown. We are not going to leave our starters out there, but we expect our twos to play at the same level and they didn't do that. That is something as we try to develop depth, we have that expectation of our depth. I am disappointed that we weren't able to keep that at a 14-point game, but credit Rice, they kept playing hard and battling and Trammell is a good receiver. It was also great news to hear that the quarterback from Rice was released from the hospital and doing well. Those are always frightening and scary experiences.
"North Carolina is off to a great start. Obviously Coach Brown and his staff have done a great job of motivating their players. It is not just the fact that they are 2-0, it is how they are 2-0. They were down 11 to South Carolina going into the fourth quarter and they found a way to win. They were down five with 4:38 left to Miami in the fourth quarterback and their freshman quarterback, Howell, drove them down the field to score a touchdown. Their defense gets a stop to win the game. Coach Brown is has them believing that they can win games and they are off to a great start.
"Their quarterback Howell is in no way, shape or form playing like a true freshman. He has shown a lot of poise and played with a lot of courage. He isn't scared to run the ball. The throw he made on 4th-and-17 and then the touchdown strike he threw, that does not look like a guy playing his second game. He is playing well and the moment is not too big for him. Their offensive line is big and very talented. I think they are doing a great job of protecting him and giving him time. Their skill will be by far the best skill that we have faced so far this year. They have three tailbacks who could play for anyone in the conference. They have really good receivers and they have depth at tight end.
"Defensively, I think they are playing really hard. Their two inside tackles could play anywhere in the conference. Those are high-level players and both back from injuries. They have experience on defense, nine of their 11 starters are juniors and seniors. They have been really banged up the last two years, so they have got some good players back. They are playing a system and with a belief that they are going to find a way to win.
"We are glad to be home and we expect the place to be sold out. We expect a lot of black in the stands. This is a game that we really need the Triad and Wake Forest people to come out and give us a home field advantage. There are six undefeated teams left in the ACC, and these are two of them. This is a national, high-level game and we are excited to play it. We have had a good week of prep and we are ready to go and we will take advantage of these next couple days."
On the Wake Forest-North Carolina rivalry:
"Our players know it's important to us. Forget all the rivalry part and the state championship part of it, this is our next game and it's really important. Our football team is very aware of the history of this game, the tradition. It's the longest and oldest rivalry in North Carolina. It is a big, big deal. We don't minimize it. What's weird about it is our lack of familiarity with it. Because of conferences and things like that, traditionally a rivalry is one you play every year, that's why it's a rivalry. We know more about Utah State and Rice and Notre Dame than we know about Carolina just because we've played them more often. Every year you do a deep dive on their personnel, their schemes and their film stuff. We don't do that every year with Carolina because we don't play them every year. It's a weird rivalry because you should play rivals every year. We certainly would be in favor of some type of setup where we get to play Carolina, Duke and N.C. State every year. That would be our preference. Some people are criticizing us for playing this game, but we don't care. This is a game that we want, our players want, our fans want, our alumni want. So do their fans, their alumni. Games like this are good for college football. We would like to play Carolina every year, but we play them once every six years with the ACC rotation. We've done something a little bit different and unique so that our fan base and their fan base gets to see a game that everyone wants to see."
On playing the series more often:
"Yes. I would like it, our fans would like it. But schedules are scheduled so far out and we had a little window that we were open and they were open and obviously both schools wanted to do it so that's why we're doing it. I think all of our preferences would be somehow that this would be an ACC game and not just a game between two ACC teams. I think there's a little bit of confusion towards it, but this is a non-conference game. I'm the football coach at Wake Forest. I'm not running college football, or the ACC. Everyone's probably better off for that."
On trying to stop UNC quarterback Sam Howell:
"You go back and watch his two games and certainly study the coordinators and what they've done in other places. You evaluate the skillset of the quarterback and you do a projection of the other ways that they could use him. I think the offensive staff at Carolina has done an exceptional job of managing him and allow him to be successful. I'm sure that every week, they'll do some more things a little bit and add more things to the packages where he has success. The challenge for us is to project where they're going to go. You study the coordinators, the offensive line coach and you look at the skillset and say, 'Okay, that step makes sense. This is something that's in their offense that fits the quarterback.' You can't go nuts with it. You're not defending ghosts. They're certainly going to do more as the year goes on but I've think they're doing an exceptional job in putting him in a position to be successful. They really have. They've done a really good job at coaching him and their offense and their whole football team."
Redshirt Sophomore Wide Receiver Sage Surratt
On playing his brother Chazz:
"I think it's going to be exciting. It's the first time I've been on the field with him in a while. I think it was 2015 when I was a junior in high school but this time I'm going to be going against him so it's going to be different. I know it's going to be an exciting thing to do and it's going to be a great game and a great atmosphere."
On him and his brother trash-talking to each other:
"Yeah, he's been talking a little bit of trash to me and talking about hitting me and stuff. It's the first time he's going to be able to hit me clean within the game. Bragging rights in the house is definitely up for grabs and especially with the Wake Forest-UNC rivalry."
On his brother taking out some frustration on him:
"Yeah, probably some stuff coming out from my childhood. He might act as if I took the last bowl of cereal, something like that."
On his parents rooting for Wake or UNC:
"My mom's going to wear my Wake Forest jersey and my dad's going to wear a Carolina jersey. Just to split it up. But as far as who their going for, their neutral. It's kind of a hard position for them now. If he was playing quarterback, they probably would have just gone for the offensive team. Now it's kind of tough for them."
On the Wake Forest offense:
"I think we started off pretty good. 2-0 start is how we wanted to start. I think there are some things we can clean up better on offense. But I think we did a good job of making plays and executing them as far as that goes and we'll just try to keep that rolling going through the season. Being consistent is a major key for us right now.
On the Wake-UNC rivalry:
"I think it's a good chance especially for our Wake Forest fans. We haven't seen UNC in four years, I believe. The state championship is on the line right now, first one of those many games. I know a lot of alumni and fans have been waiting for this game and they are really excited about this game and they want us to win really, really bad. It's going to be a great atmosphere. A lot of people are going to come out and it's going to be a good game.
On winning the state championship as a goal:
"Yes, every year we want to. We want to try and go out and prove that we are the best in the state between all four teams. That's something we definitely want to win."
Redshirt Senior Offensive Lineman Jake Benzinger
On OL's pride regarding big run plays, especially from Kenneth Walker at Rice…
"Especially in those late game situations- we were trying to run the ball and the other team knows you are going to run it- to still be able to have big plays like that is amazing. With Kenneth it was no surprise because he was doing that all fall camp. It was only a matter of time before he started getting huge runs like that. We expect more of that throughout the season."
On talent and depth of running backs…
"It helps in the up tempo offense to have backs that are fresh and ready to come in, but also know their job and can do their job well. It is a testament to how much depth we have this year, but we really need that especially with the offense that we run with multiple backs."
On Jamie Newman's performance in the first two games…
"The first thing you notice with Jamie is he has a lot of pocket poise. He is able to stand in there and he shows a lot of confidence in us (offensive line). He lets us know when things are right and when things aren't right. He does a great job of standing in the pocket and making the throws he needs to make. We expect more of that this year. Throughout fall camp and the first two games, it has been awesome to see him progress."
On facing North Carolina at home on Friday…
"State bragging rights are on the line. We face Carolina with a huge challenge. Carolina's defensive line has played really well the first two games with a lot of sacks and they can stop the run game. We are ready to play hard and do our job and play the best brand of football that we can."
On continuing to be able to run the ball...
"You see the rushing yards after the game and that is a good indicator of how we (offensive line) played as a unit. The last game a lot of rushing yards came with that including the 96-yard run by Kenneth, but we are looking forward to keeping those stats up and a lot of that comes with the tempo that we play with."
On excitement to face UNC…
"We play Duke and NC State almost every year but we haven't played UNC since my redshirt season in 2015, it is a little bit extra with this one. It is just like every other game, but the fact that we haven't played them in five years -everyone is really excited to see what they have and play the best brand of football."
Players Mentioned
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Wednesday, March 18
Wake Forest Women's Golf: Kim Lewellen Women's History Month Feature
Monday, March 16
Men's Basketball Postgame Presser vs. Clemson, 2026 ACC Tournament
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Wake Forest Women's Basketball: Mary Carter Women's History Month Feature
Wednesday, March 11