Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest Ready to Face the Unknown
8/30/2021 11:38:00 PM | Football
Demon Deacon head coach Dave Clawson delves into the 2021 home opener against Old Dominion.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- The Wake Forest football opener against Old Dominion is almost here, Deacon Nation.
Opening Night at Truist Field presented by Lowes Foods kicks off Friday night and an incredible atmosphere will await everyone in DEACTOWN.
"I would really like to encourage all of our students to come out," head coach Dave Clawson. "It's been two years. We've missed you. You are a big part of the Wake Forest football experience as well as all of our fans and alumni. We are looking forward to seeing all of you back."
Fans should be settled into their seats early for a fun and entertaining welcome back to Truist Field. Tickets for the 2021 season opener against the Monarchs are still available in limited quantities
For more information on your spot in DEACTOWN, visit GoDeacs.com/tickets.
Clawson Expects a Well-Coached Opponent on Friday Night
"I expect them to be really well coached," Clawson said. "Looking at his (Ricky Rahne) offenses at Penn State and how productive they were at Vanderbilt and even going back to his time at Kansas State. He's always been associated with very well coached teams."
Rahne, who was named as the Monarchs' head coach ahead of the 2020 season will be coaching his first game not only as their head coach, but it will also be his first game as a head coach.
Old Dominion has gone 643 days since their last game, which was a loss to Charlotte on Nov. 30, 2019.
"It's been two years," Clawson said. "I'm sure they have had a lot of good player development and they have taken a lot of talented transfers. Guys that were highly recruited. They certainly will be a talented football team.
With no tape to go off from last season as well as Rahne being 'new' to Old Dominion it makes this season opener prep harder than most.
Clawson wants to make sure that the Demon Deacons are more focused on themselves and ready to execute their plan on Friday night.
"Our openers here against the Group of 5 teams have always been challenging games," Clawson said. "Whether you look at Tulane in 2016 and 2018 as well as Utah State in 2019. These games have been really good tests and we have been fortunate to win some of them. We're unsure what we are going to see on offense and defense, but we know that we are going to have to play well and execute at a high level. That is the challenge in front of us. We need to make sure we take care of our execution "
What All Openers Have in Common
Regardless of the opponent, season openers will always come with a fair amount of unknown. As he enters his 20th season as a head coach, Coach Clawson knows the keys to a successful opening weekend.
"In openers, playing good fundamental football, taking care of the football, not making a big special teams mistake, those always become the difference makers in openers. Whether we are playing Old Dominion for the first time or NC State, who we play every year, all of those same things go into winning an opener."
One area that has been a point of emphasis over the past few years for Clawson is continuing to build depth across the board. The hope is this will allow all members of the team to remain fresh throughout the season.
The first step to building depth this season will be getting playing time for young or emerging players early, starting in the September games.
"At a lot of positions, we would like to play a lot of people in the opener," Clawson said. "One of our challenges here and I've challenged our coaches and players in developing depth. It's hard to have that depth in October when you don't play it in September. We have to play guys and let them get game experience. At times when you do that, you have to live with some mistakes, but if you don't do it and you get injured later you are sticking a guy in there in October and November that has not played any football."
A Pair of First-Year Freshmen Listed on First Depth Chart
Two true freshmen that graced the first depth chart of the year put out on Monday were linebacker Quincy Bryant and defensive back Evan Slocum.
"They are playing this year," Clawson said. "They have an excellent maturity level. They have picked up the defense quickly. They bring value on special teams. Every year you get one or two of those guys that come in a little bit more mature and very football serious."
Last season, the Demon Deacons had key freshmen contributors across their defense including defensive backs Nick Andersen, Caelen Carson and Gavin Holmes, who combined for nearly half of the Demon Deacons' 13 interceptions in 2020.
Bryant and Slocum could be in similar positions to make an early impact for the Wake Forest defense.
"As camp went on, they didn't wear down. Those are positions that we are always get thin at. Quincy came in in January and played safety. Our strength and conditioning staff did such a good job he is now a linebacker. He's very mature and did a great job academically. Evan is the same person every day. He is focused and picks things up in meetings. He took what he learned in the classroom, took it to walkthroughs and then scrimmages. Both of those guys are going to be good players."
