Wake Forest Athletics
Coach Clawson Assesses First Two Weeks of Spring Ball
3/12/2020 1:33:00 PM | Football
As the Wake Forest football team takes its first steps toward the 2020 season, head coach Dave Clawson takes a look at the first two weeks of spring ball.
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By Les Johns
Wake Forest Football has played in a program-record four-straight postseason bowl games, and has just strung together the best three offensive seasons in program history.
The Deacs are on a roll, but they're looking for more.
And that starts in spring camp, which started Feb. 25 for a team that welcomed 10 mid-year enrollees and new cornerback coach Paul Williams. There have been five practices thus far, with 10 more slated after spring break, culminating with the annual Spring Game at 3 p.m. April 4 at BB&T Field.
Here's a sampling of some of the more informative and interesting answers from Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson during the first two weeks of spring camp.
How was the first day of practice?
Clawson: "I always enjoy it. The great thing about playing in bowls, is that it's been less than two months since we've had practice. You get out here and it's not like it was three or four months ago. Less than two months ago, we were practicing. Because of that, the rhythm of practice and the rotations are better. But every year is new. It's the first time in four years where we've had a practice where Dayton Diemel wasn't long snapping or Dom Maggio wasn't punting. Right away, those things pop out and those are areas you have to get better at. It was good to see Donavon Greene pick up right where he left off. It's hard when you don't have the pads on to evaluate the linemen, but it's good to be out here practicing. It's the best part of the job."
Is Sam Hartman the presumed starting quarterback?
Clawson: "Sam will go into it as the one, but like any position on our team, we want it to be competitive. I certainly think based on Sam's starts the year before, and he didn't play a lot last year, but when he played, he played really well. Sam will run most of the time with the ones. We certainly want competition at the position. I say it every year, we don't ever get through the year completely healthy at that position. Michael (Kern) is going to have to get ready, and we're going to have to get Mitch (Griffis) and Leo (Kelly) ready as well."
What positions are you most concerned about entering camp?
Clawson: "Offensive line. The last two years, we've graduated six really good football players. Two seasons ago, Phil Haynes, Ryan Anderson and Patrick Osterhage. Now this year Nate Gilliam, Jake Benzinger and Justin Herron. That's six not just average offensive linemen, but really good ones. I think Zach Tom is an excellent player. I think Loic and Sean both got their feet wet last year and I expect them to be better. We have to replace two guys. Last year, we graduated three starters, so it's kind of similar. We've had this progression. We knew and we've been recruiting guys and brought in a grad transfer to help. We'll be a little younger there.
"Then on defense, corner is the position. Losing (linebacker) Justin (Strnad) last year hurt, but Ja'Cquez played really well at the end of the year. So you have him and Ryan Smenda Jr. Then Chase Jones and all these guys we redshirted next year, whether it's Jaylen Hudson or Zach Ranson. Jeff Burley had a great offseason, so maybe this is the year he steps up.
"Corner is the one. We lost two, but Ja'Sir Taylor played really well last year. He's really established. We have to figure out the offensive line, the depth at receiver and develop a couple corners who haven't played."
What does it take to develop the offensive line?
Clawson: "It's a lot of reps. To me, it's like piano keys. They have to be on the same page, whistling the same tune and playing the same notes. We had the advantage the last few years of those six guys who had played so many reps together. Now, I think the good thing is that the guys left have also had a lot of reps together. Zach Tom and Sean (Maginn) have played a lot of football together. Michael Jurgens is a guy we're excited about, who has come on and has a chance to be a really good player. Some of those other jobs are open. Usually when you have a competition, somebody comes out of it ready to play. I have no doubt that will happen, I just have no clue who it is yet."
Is new cornerback coach Paul Williams making an impact?
Clawson: "He's so experienced. When you've worked with one position for 25 years. He's a very experienced, mature coach who has coached at a high level. He commands the room and is extremely demanding. We have to hold these guys accountable. We have to get some guys ready to play there. I really think it's going to help us on special teams. Coach (Ryan) Crawford — that's more of his background. He was special teams coordinator at Harvard. I think his energy and excitement over that — you can tell it at kickoff meetings. He did a great job introducing kickoff. We're making progress."
Why are you setting specific numbers for depth at each position?
Clawson: "We were extremely disappointed that we didn't have a 10-11 win season last year. As much as we're proud of the bowl appearance and Big Four championship, we had a chance to have a special year. But we didn't, because when we got hurt we didn't have the depth. For us to take the next step as a program, that has to start happening. We took a look at every position. How many do we need at each position so that we don't fall off a cliff? We came up with a number for each position, and that became each coach's job. You have to get this many kids ready to play. On offense that means we need a total of 25 and on defense we need 27. We have numbers at each position where we will have that many kids playable. So on game one, we're comfortable if any one of those 27 are on the field. Another thing that allows you to do, is in a tight game in the fourth quarter, you have someone out there who's played maybe 50 plays already instead of 80. The ability to get off a block and get a sack — he's now not operating with low battery power."
What are your thoughts on having spring break in the middle of camp?
Clawson: "I like it. I really think we've had five good practices. The energy level has been great. I think our tempo is good. I love it. I love the spring. I just worry. You don't want to lose the momentum. We got the first five and there's good energy and juice. Then you have the break to heal up. Hopefully we'll get some guys back who have missed practice. When you get that break and have nine days away, you don't want them to lose that conditioning level or enthusiasm."
Next Up
Wake Forest is back on the field for the fifth practice in spring ball on March 17.
The spring game Presented by Wake Forest Baptist Health is scheduled for April 4 in BB&T Field. We invite all of Deacon Nation to come get their first glimpse at the 2020 team. Admission is free. After the game, fans can go onto the field to meet their favorite members of the Wake Forest team and get pictures and autographs.
