Deacon Sports Xtra: Five Questions with Dave Clawson

6/7/2021 12:34:00 PM | Football, Les Johns

“Our program has always been about recruiting student-athletes who fit our school institutionally, who fit our program character wise, who we feel given time in our program can be competitive with the better schools in our league.” - Coach Clawson

By: Les Johns

Wake Forest Football recently completed a productive spring camp that featured three-deep competition on both sides of the ball, as the Demon Deacons seek to launch the program from 'good' to 'great' and challenge for an ACC Title.

Demon Deacon head coach Dave Clawson, who has taken the program to five-straight bowl games, recently chatted with the media for this Five Questions feature.

Who are some of the top offensive players to make big strides this spring?
Clawson: "Justice Ellison, Christian Turner, Quinton Cooley and Ahmani Marshall — all those other running backs, because we've always been a two-headed monster at that position. We have Christian (Beal-Smith) back. Justice Ellison has taken the next step. Christian Turner from Michigan is a very good football player. Seeing Quinton Cooley and Ahmani Marshall take steps is certainly encouraging.

"At receiver, the two guys who have really jumped out are Donald Stewart and Jahmal Banks. Those guys are markedly different than they were last fall, where they were here for the first time and were just getting their feet wet. They know the offense better and the speed at which we do things. They process less and react faster. On the offensive line, that next group of guys includes DeVonte Gordon, Christian Forbes, C.J. Elmonus, George Sell and Luke Petitbon. They've all made some really nice steps. We're going to have depth on the offensive line. We've bought another year of development with those players."

Who are some of the top defensive players to make big strides this spring?
Clawson: "Jasheen Davis is a guy who brings it every practice. He's a guy who is going to be able to help us this year. With the good players you redshirt, it's always a question of if it's going to be year two or year three. Jasheen Davis it's going to be year two. At linebacker, Jaylen Hudson has had a really good spring. He is playing faster. There's a certain point where it starts to click, and they play faster and react better. We're starting to see that with Jaylen. Chase Jones is healthy now. We have Luke (Masterson) and Ryan Smenda, but seeing Chase Jones and Jaylen make that progress is exciting.

"The corners continue to get better — Caelen Carson and Gavin Holmes. Then J.J. Roberts is a guy at safety who is starting to take a step."

What did you see from the quarterbacks behind Sam Hartman?
Clawson: "We're giving Michael (Kern) and Mitch (Griffis) a lot of work. We feel really good about both of them. They're both really good players. They're both making really good progress. They are developing well and we feel great about both of them."

What are your thoughts on the transfer portal, and how are you using it at Wake Forest?
Clawson: "We've never been a program that's dependent on transfers. From day one, our slogan here has been recruit, retain and develop. If anything, this makes us look at our current model and reinforces it. We have to provide the best experience we can for our student-athletes. We have to deliver what we promise in recruiting so that they don't want to go into the portal. I don't think the way we run our program is going to change. I think it makes us double down and we have to do a better job with how we run things.

"We're the only program in the country who has been to five-straight bowl games with a 90 percent graduation rate and a 990 APR score. That model of recruiting players who fit Wake Forest and stay to graduate. You look at the amount of players here who have blossomed in their fourth-and-fifth year — guys like Boogie Basham, Justin Herron and Phil Haynes. So I don't think we're suddenly going to change our formula. We're not going to start beating Alabama, Clemson and Georgia for five-star recruits. That's not who we are."

How do you blend the successful approach of recruiting high school players with seeking quality additions from the portal?
Clawson: "Our program has always been about recruiting student-athletes who fit our school institutionally, who fit our program character wise, who we feel given time in our program can be competitive with the better schools in our league. If you look at the last four-to-five years, we're in the top-third in the ACC in wins. So, this model has worked. We're not going to change it. We just have to get better at it.

"We have to do a great job of recruiting high school players who fit our school, value the degree and believe football is important. We'll be able to add transfers. Is that a market we're going to have to rely on to be successful? That would be an iffy proposition."

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