Wake Forest Football

Deacon Sports Xtra: Deacs Turning Attention to Summer Months

5/31/2021 12:25:00 PM | Football, Les Johns

“The strength coaches will really get into preparing our guys for a game-week load. The distances, the speeds and change-of-direction — that will mimic a game week.” - Coach Clawson

There's plenty of reasons for optimism around the Doc Martin Football Practice Complex. 

The Deacs return nine super-seniors, bring back every offensive starter from a team who set a program record for per-game scoring, and were able to go three-deep on both sides of the ball through a competitive, productive and relatively injury-free spring camp. 

After making a postseason bowl game each of the last five years, Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson is imploring his team to make the leap from 'good' to 'great,' and the 2021 campaign seems like it might be set up for the Demon Deacons to vault all the way to the top of the ACC. 

"If you look at who played for us last year, we're really only missing two offensive and two defensive players who were regular players," Clawson said. "On defense, there's just Boogie (Basham) and Ja'Cquez (Williams). So, you've got everybody else back. We don't have Jack Crane, who we're going to miss. 

"Now, you have all these risers, they are all starting to take that jump. That's exciting, not just for the 2021 season, but it's exciting for the 2022 and 2023 season. You recruit these guys and you hope they're all hits. After the freshman season, you're still not sure. But in year two-and-three, some of them come into their own while some don't take that step. To see some of these guys take that step is really exciting." 

The Demon Deacons wrapped up spring camp with a couple of scrimmages at Truist Field, including one in which Wake Forest students were allowed to watch. 

"We had a good scrimmage," Clawson said. "Thanks to our band and our cheer squad for being there, trying to create a bit of a game atmosphere for our younger guys. We got good work in. We had productive practices and stayed healthy. 

"Now, we turn our attention to the summer. I'm about to be in a bad mood here, because you guys know I love the spring. I wish we could do this for two-to-three months."

Because COVID restrictions meant Wake Forest football players couldn't get away from campus during breaks in the schedule, Clawson and his staff adjusted the calendar a bit, pushing spring camp to a mid-March start. This allowed for a longer break following the Duke's Mayo Bowl and also gave them a chance to focus on strength training in January and February.  

"We pushed things back really for two reasons," Clawson said. "Just the length of last season. We brought our guys back on July 1, and then because we played a late-December bowl game, we went six-straight months without our guys being able to go home to see their parents for a weekend. 

"It was such a long stretch, and I thought there was burnout and fatigue involved. Once our players got away from it, they became anxious to do it again. I didn't want to run the risk of starting too soon. I felt we needed to get into the weight room and get stronger."

Recruiting also factors into the normal schedule for Wake Forest football.  

"Then because it was still a recruiting dead period, typically our coaches are allowed to go on the road on April 15," Clawson explained. "Part of our reasons for starting earlier most of the time is to be done in time for our coaches to get on the road to evaluate the next recruiting class. But with it being a dead period, there was no reason for that. 

"We'll see how next season lines out. I like starting a little bit later, but from a recruiting standpoint, you want to be one of the first schools out to see your top players." 

Once players return to campus, the focus will be on more strength training with Chad Bari and the strength and conditioning staff. Fall camp usually begins in August, and the goal is to have players geared up for the game-week load heading into camp. 

"When we get back to campus in January and February, our biggest focus is on getting our guys stronger," Clawson said. "Especially after having the whole year without being in the weight room. I don't worry about conditioning levels as much in March and April. But now that we're done with this, the transition will go back into getting stronger. 

"Then there's a period in late June and July, where the strength coaches will really get into preparing our guys for a game-week load. The distances, the speeds and change-of-direction — that will mimic a game week. We are much-less interested in that in the spring than we are late in the summer." 

Wake Forest kicks the season off on Friday night, Sept. 3 against Old Dominion — the first of six home games at Truist Field in the 2021 season. 

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