Clawson Named to Paul “Bear” Bryant Awards Coach of the Year Watch List
10/26/2021 5:48:00 PM | Football
The eighth-year head coach was one of 21 FBS coaches named to the watch list on Tuesday.
HOUSTON, Texas -- Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson was named to the Paul "Bear" Bryant Awards Coach of the Year Watch List, as announced by the American Heart Association, the Bryant Family and Bryant Awards Executive Leadership Team on Tuesday afternoon.
Clawson was one of just 21 FBS coaches named to the Bryant Award Watch List and one of just three from the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The award is given annually to a college football coach for contributions that make the sport better for athletes and fans alike by demonstrating grit, integrity and a winning approach to coaching and life- both on and off the field.
The Coach of the Year will be announced on Wednesday, January 12, 2022. The award is voted on by the National Sports Media Association, current NCAA College football coaches, former Coach of the Year Award winners, the Bryant Awards' Executive Leadership Team and the Bryant family.
This comes after the eighth-year Wake Forest head coach was the unanimous choice as the ACC Midseason Coach of the Year by AP writers covering league teams as well as a selection on the Dodd Trophy Watch List as one of 16 initial coaches on the list.
Wake Forest has now started its season 7-0 for the second time in program history (1944). Additionally, the Demon Deacons are off to a 4-0 start in ACC play for the first time in program history.
The Demon Deacons became the first program in the Atlantic Coast Conference to become bowl eligible with its win over Syracuse. Wake Forest has now extended the conference's third-longest bowl streak to six consecutive seasons.
Wake Forest has scored 302 combined points this season, the most in school history through the first seven games, topping the 2019 season when the Deacs scored 260 points (Utah State, 38; Rice, 41; North Carolina, 24; Elon, 49; Boston College, 27; Louisville, 59; Florida State, 22).
In addition to its success on the field, the football program currently boasts a 990, the highest among every program on the list. Additionally, Wake Forest is the only FBS program in the nation to have a 990+, a 90-plus graduation rate and five or more bowl games under their current head coach.
During his time in Winston-Salem, Clawson co-owns the school record for bowl victories, has climbed to the third-most wins in school history, and has led Wake Forest to a five-year period (2016-21) of success that had been unmatched since the 1940s.
Clawson has also engineered an offense that has rewritten the record books at Wake Forest. The Deacons have set over 300 school records including marks for points scored, points per game, total offensive yards, first downs and passing yards over the past four seasons.
The Demon Deacons could very well be on their way to another record-breaking season. The Deacs have averaged a program-record 43.1 points per game, over five points better than a season ago when Wake Forest finished the season with a program-best 36.0 points per game.
The Demon Deacons enter week nine of the college football season as one of just four FBS programs to score 30 or more points in every game this season.
Wake Forest also has been one of the best at turning over the opponent this season, ranking fourth with a +10 turnover margin and eighth in the nation with 16 turnovers gained.
In addition to turning the ball over the Demon Deacon defense also see themselves inside of the top-25 in a number of other categories: Sacks (14th, 3.14 per game), Passes Intercepted (21st, 8), TFL/G (11th, 6.7), Turnovers Gained (8th, 16), Fumble Recovered (9th, 8) and 4th Down Conversion Pct. Defense (18th, .333%)
Clawson was one of just 21 FBS coaches named to the Bryant Award Watch List and one of just three from the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The award is given annually to a college football coach for contributions that make the sport better for athletes and fans alike by demonstrating grit, integrity and a winning approach to coaching and life- both on and off the field.
The Coach of the Year will be announced on Wednesday, January 12, 2022. The award is voted on by the National Sports Media Association, current NCAA College football coaches, former Coach of the Year Award winners, the Bryant Awards' Executive Leadership Team and the Bryant family.
This comes after the eighth-year Wake Forest head coach was the unanimous choice as the ACC Midseason Coach of the Year by AP writers covering league teams as well as a selection on the Dodd Trophy Watch List as one of 16 initial coaches on the list.
Wake Forest has now started its season 7-0 for the second time in program history (1944). Additionally, the Demon Deacons are off to a 4-0 start in ACC play for the first time in program history.
The Demon Deacons became the first program in the Atlantic Coast Conference to become bowl eligible with its win over Syracuse. Wake Forest has now extended the conference's third-longest bowl streak to six consecutive seasons.
Wake Forest has scored 302 combined points this season, the most in school history through the first seven games, topping the 2019 season when the Deacs scored 260 points (Utah State, 38; Rice, 41; North Carolina, 24; Elon, 49; Boston College, 27; Louisville, 59; Florida State, 22).
In addition to its success on the field, the football program currently boasts a 990, the highest among every program on the list. Additionally, Wake Forest is the only FBS program in the nation to have a 990+, a 90-plus graduation rate and five or more bowl games under their current head coach.
During his time in Winston-Salem, Clawson co-owns the school record for bowl victories, has climbed to the third-most wins in school history, and has led Wake Forest to a five-year period (2016-21) of success that had been unmatched since the 1940s.
Clawson has also engineered an offense that has rewritten the record books at Wake Forest. The Deacons have set over 300 school records including marks for points scored, points per game, total offensive yards, first downs and passing yards over the past four seasons.
The Demon Deacons could very well be on their way to another record-breaking season. The Deacs have averaged a program-record 43.1 points per game, over five points better than a season ago when Wake Forest finished the season with a program-best 36.0 points per game.
The Demon Deacons enter week nine of the college football season as one of just four FBS programs to score 30 or more points in every game this season.
Wake Forest also has been one of the best at turning over the opponent this season, ranking fourth with a +10 turnover margin and eighth in the nation with 16 turnovers gained.
In addition to turning the ball over the Demon Deacon defense also see themselves inside of the top-25 in a number of other categories: Sacks (14th, 3.14 per game), Passes Intercepted (21st, 8), TFL/G (11th, 6.7), Turnovers Gained (8th, 16), Fumble Recovered (9th, 8) and 4th Down Conversion Pct. Defense (18th, .333%)
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