What They Are Saying: Louisville Week
10/27/2022 12:38:00 PM | Football
Hear what the No. 10 Demon Deacons are saying going into the Louisville game on Saturday
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Coming off a 43-15 win over Boston College on Saturday Oct. 22, the No. 10 Wake Forest football team is set to face Louisville this Saturday, Oct. 29.
Ahead of the matchup, the Deacs met with the media to discuss the matchup and other news around the Wake Forest program.
Head Coach Dave Clawson
Opening statement
"It was a good team win. I always get a little bit concerned coming off a bye week that we're going to be sluggish. What we do is very routine-oriented. It was really good that we got our players out of here for three days and got them to rest. But we got out of a rhythm. I don't know if our practice, our walkthroughs were as sharp. Not for a lack of effort, we were just out of rhythm and that's just the way we played. On offense, we were either really good or really bad. We were either three and out, or we went right down the field. We made some big plays, with Sam (Hartman) and the receiver crew and the offensive line. We did some really good things, but we just had some three-and-outs. The other thing I didn't like is that we turned the ball over twice. Once on offense, once on the sack-strip. Part of our formula here is winning the turnover battle and we lost the turnover battle and that cost us seven points. On defense, that first redzone stop was huge. If you watch that play, the effort by Jasheen Davis was incredible. They hand the ball to the back, he stiff-arms a safety and looks like he's going to score. The effort from Jasheen Davis on the backside to track that thing down, probably saved us a touchdown. If you go back you look at all these little plays that if he doesn't make that play and they end up scoring a touchdown, the whole dynamic of the game changes. Every single week Kobie Turner makes a play on film that makes you proud to be a football coach. His motor, his energy. We played really hard, our effort was great, we just weren't always as clean as we needed to be. Where that has shown up, is that we're still giving up too many plays letting the ball get over our heads. Zay Flowers is an exceptional wideout, he's elite, but we weren't even close to him. There were a number of other times where they had guys open deep, and if the pass rush isn't as good as it is, it's a much different football game. I'm proud of our effort, I'm glad that we found a way to win an ACC football game, but you certainly watch that film and there's a lot of things we need to clean up. It better start quickly, this finishing stretch we have here is not easy."
Intro to Louisville
"I have a lot of respect for Scott Satterfield. I've known him for years. Back when he was the offensive coordinator at App,I was at Richmond. He was the quarterback coach at Toledo. He's a good football coach. He's a high-quality human being as well. He's someone I like a lot. He's always done a good job with the offense, they're scoring over 27 points a game. They're extremely balanced. They're averaging almost 200 yards per game on the ground and about 225 through the air."
"It all starts with the quarterback. He is one of the most gifted and talented players in the league. He has really improved reading plays and his accuracy on throws. When he sets his feet and is able to get through a progression, he puts the ball on the money. Every single year he has gotten better. His completion percentage is over 60%, he's thrown for close to 1,100 yards. The plays that scare you the most are when you cover people and give him any type of seam. He's run for nine touchdowns, he's their leading rusher right now with over 500 yards. He's a really gifted playmaker and a very smart football player. Louisville always has good skill, they've got four different tailbacks. Even if (Tiyon) Evans doesn't play, some of their other guys they have, they're all very productive. They've got really good receivers, the FCS All-American they got, (Tyler) Hudon is elite. Their offensive line is a little bit like ours. Five starters on the offensive line have combined for almost 150 combined starts."
"On defense, they've got seven guys that are really returning starters for them. It starts with the two defensive ends. Those guys are both All-ACC caliber players. (Yaya) Diaby and (Yasir ) Abdullah. If you watch the Pitt game, those two guys really took the game over. They're extremely disruptive, (Monty) Montgomery is an excellent linebacker, very productive. They lead the ACC in sacks, they're second in the league in forced turnovers. They may give up some plays, but they're going to eventually get you off schedule. It seems like they were taking criticism early, and then I looked at the stats and they're only giving up 20 points a game. This is a good team, always a hard place to play. They get great crowd support up there, people up there love their Cardinals. Other than 2018, we've never really played well up there. This will be a tough game. So we got to have a great week of practice, go up there and execute at a high level, and hopefully we can do that.
On the back half of the defense
"The one play Malik (Mustapha) made, that was very encouraging. When you saw that ball in the air, and you saw that matchup, based on this year... that was a great play Malik made. More than anything, go up and get the ball and strip the arms. Otherwise, that's another big play. We're improved on defense. Our defensive line is rushing the passer. Our redzone defense, our third down defense, balls are just getting over our heads. They had a double move on us and the guy was wide open down the sideline and because of the pass rush he threw it out of bounds. Again, we have a pass rush and that's part of playing defense, get the quarterback off his spot. As a coach, you look at the film and say, ' we held them to this, but this is very easily what it could have been.' I thought BC had a good plan. Just, they're a little banged up on the offensive line, fortunately, we're healthy and deep on the defensive line and that was a big difference in the game."
Mindset on not playing their best but still being dominant
"We've been in this position, really three years in a row. People don't like it when I say this, but in a lot of ways, I dismiss the COVID year. Our football team got here three weeks before the season, they all lived in the same dorm, every time someone got COVID... that was not a fair indicator of what our program was. 2019, 2021, and 2022. You've been in this position and you can never ever relax. It takes so much work to just be in this position. To get to November and playing big games when you're nationally ranked. A great lesson was this game in 2019. We're undefeated, feeling good about ourselves. We went out there, and didn't take care of the football. We gave up two kick returns, we gave up a punt return. When you play a talented football team, which these guys always are, these guys never lack for players, when you make those mistakes you're going to get beat. So some of those mistakes we made last week: we fumbled the ball twice, we got one of them back, we threw a pick, we gave up a fake punt, and we let the ball get over our head, the margin of error will not be as great this week. Again, I'm proud of our effort, we won the game, you certainly celebrate the wins, we're excited to be bowl eligible and those are important goals, but I do feel as if in this room there's a standard. We haven't felt like we played to our standard. To win these games this week and down the stretch, we're going to have to play to our standard."
On the biggest change on defense
"We're deeper and older and we've got more depth on the d-line. So far *knocks on wood* we're healthier. Anytime you go there, it's going to be taken as a criticism of last year's group. I don't want to do that. It's not always what you do. Brad (Lambert) and those guys have done a great job of getting the players to buy in. We're older, we're deeper, and we're a little more aggressive on the defensive line. There's a little bit more penetration involved and a little bit more disruption, and Those guys feel like they can cut it loose a little more between pass rush, getting up the field. and getting people off schedule. When you do that there's always a little bit of risk/reward, maybe some of those runs that hit are hitting because we're doing that. But it is helping us on third down, I do feel that our defensive linemen: Rondell (Bothroyd), Jasheen (Davis) have really improved as pass rushers. Kobie Turner has been a big difference.
"We're very fortunate that with our grad transfers, we've hit the lottery. I just don't mean the caliber of players, but the people that we got. All those guys, Jaeger Bull I don't know if we beat Florida State without him, Jermal Martin has given us really good snaps, Kobie Turner is probably the most impactful of that group. A lot of times when you take transfers, even if they're good players you worry how they're going to fit in the locker room. Those guys fit our team very well. We played five safeties, when you watch us play we start Chelen Garnes and Malik Mustapha. But AJ Williams is out there, Evan Slocum, and Brendon Harris. When you can play that many guys, it forces your practices better because there's internal competition. Your special teams get better because all those guys can be on teams since they're not playing 70-80 reps on defense. You keep them fresh and healthy and that's great for morale. We're playing five safeties, we're playing five linebackers, we're playing four different corners, we're playing three different nickels, we're playing nine different defensive linemen. We're not playing them to keep them happy, we're playing them because they've earned the right to play."
On Evan Slocum getting the start at nickel
"It was his first start, he had what I'd call a very tough matchup. Here's your first start, by the way you gotta cover Zay Flowers. Nobody is covering him. But he competed, the play he made on the screen, it was a huge play. He's a good player, he was playing as well as any safety in the program when he got hurt in the spring. He's finally healthy and he's just going to get better every week. He's a very conscientious, smart football player who is competitive. Start one, that would've been tough duty for anybody."
On what makes the team better equipped this year
"The fact that we've been in this position before. It's not like we came in the room, 'we're ranked number 10 let's celebrate.' We were ranked here a year ago and when we got that ranking what did we do? In 2019 we got ranked, what did we do? We've been here before, how did we get here? Don't change the formula. Let's have a great Tuesday practice, let's have a great Wednesday practice, let's study the gameplan. The teams that just try to win the week eventually end up in a good spot. You can't win five games in a row, you just gotta win the next one. That's the nature of college football, everyone gets talking ahead. People make bowl projections after the third week. Just throw stuff on the wall and see what sticks. I get it, people click on that stuff and there's advertising dollars, and that's part of the way the news cycle works now. Within a football program, I just wanted to have a good Tuesday practice. If you can do that, it'll give you a good chance to win on Saturday."
"We are playing teams, starting this week, that we know are good. Louisville has beaten us two out of the last three years, and last year we won on a last-second field goal. So our football team respects these guys."
On Dashawn Jones' ascension
"He's earned it. I would say in September, I didn't know if we could put him on the field, even on special teams. When it happens, it's great, something clicked. He's practicing at a level that he now has earned the right to play in games. So we're very confident putting him out there, and when he's gone out there, he's played well. It just keeps building, he stacks these practices, then he goes into a game and sees we trust him and he performs well. With Caelen (Carson) who I do believe we're going to have this week, when Gavin (Holmes)was down and JJ (Roberts) was down, those weren't good things, but Dashawn now was able to get reps. Fortunately he took advantage of those reps, all that does is make our football team better. It makes us better on special teams, it gives us more depth on defense, internal competition, all those things are the engine to drive a football team in the second half of the season."
Jahmal Banks and his buy-in
"It's a role Jahmal probably would've liked a year ago, but he wasn't quite ready for it and he didn't quite realize it. Now he's ready for it and he realizes why. When you're not handed something and you truly have to work for it, and you've truly earned it, you probably appreciate the success more than if it's handed to you. That's where our football team is, they've really worked hard to be in this position. Now that we have it we don't want to lose it, the way you don't lose it is focusing on the next play, the next segment, the next practice, and the next game."
Junior Defensive Back Chelen Garnes
On what makes it hard to defend a player like Malik Cunningham
"It's a challenge, I would say, but our defense is always going to have eyes on him and be good tacklers as well. We're going over and reiterating that, being great tacklers, because he can make you miss in open space and he can also run past you. It's not only about being able to stop them, once you get there you have to be able to make the play as well."
On facing three mobile QBs in a row, playing a pocket passer, then playing another mobile QB
"It's a bit different, scheme-wise. We weren't expecting (Phil Jurkovec) because he ran. He ran a quarterback run probably like two or three times like coming out in the first half. We weren't expecting that. That's a little different. It's just getting back to what we've been doing early in the year, defending running quarterbacks, so it'd be fun."
On the drive with the fake punt and reverse fumble
"I was trying to tell the defense, 'let's keep going'. It's just more football, like what more is there to ask for? We just keep playing. Fortunately, we had the big play. Our conditioning was up there for the most part. Just had to tell them to keep going and push through."
On the difference on the defense from this season and last
"I have to say, our mindset. Our mindset and our effort is different. We have more buy-in from everybody, which is making us run to the ball more. Also, fine-tuning the details, the little small things. The fundamentals, like tackling, stepping on toes, as coach Adams would say, playing the ball in the air with the deep ball. It's just doing those things over and over again in practice. We're always flying to the ball. If you're getting blocked, you're wrong. You should always be running to the ball no matter where the ball is."
On if strides are being made
"Definitely. I feel that we're going in the right direction. I don't know how many turnovers, and things like that, we have. I don't keep up with all that stuff. We all feel like we're playing better. Just collectively, like during the week, we are locked in to the game plan and make sure we're always around the ball and wrapping up, not missing tackles and no missed assignments. That's what we're trying to limit."
On how it feels to have a young defensive core
"It's great. It just gives us a point where, once the season ends, we can say 'we did this and now we elevate with the same people'. We would be able to elevate each other through workouts and stuff like that. Right now we are just focused on this fall and trying to do the best we can right now. Because even though we are young, injuries and stuff like that happens all the time. So, you just try to play every play."
How how to improve from the last Louisville matchup
"Missed tackles and missed assignments. Those are the two most common things, defense-wise, that we're working on. Those are what we gave up last year to give up big plays. That's how most explosive plays happen. It's just making sure everybody is 100% on our checks and making sure we're tackling well. You have to tackle well in open space."
Senior Defensive Tackle Dion Bergan, Jr.
On how the defense has improved this season
"Just trying to focus on the day-to-day. It's just a lot more intense than what we had last year. Last year, we kind of had the same mindset of taking it day-to-day, but we haven't dealt with that process as intently as what we're doing now. I also don't think the leadership was as there as it was this year. Not to say that last year we didn't have great leadership with our fifth and sixth year guys, this year it just comes from our third, fourth, fifth and sixth year guys just all buying in."
On the depth on the defensive line
"That's the best thing about it, is giving everybody a chance to play at a high level and getting our starters to be able get a breather after about eight plays or so. Then they can come back in with another set of four guys and still play at that high level is great. It's been a great thing to see this season."
On how important is it for the team to continue to increase that pressure into the backfield
"Yes, that's a huge emphasis that we make when we come in Tuesday mornings for our defensive line meetings, is just to continue to try to live in the backfield as much as we can with all the talent and experience that we have. It's just something that's kind of expected out of us and that we try to demand out of each other. It really starts with us up front, that's what we talk about every week. Just trying to control the line of scrimmage and cause issues for offenses."
On the change in mindset then when taking on a mobile quarterback like Cunningham
"Yeah, there's always a big emphasis on rush lanes, even when we're not playing a mobile quarterback. Now this week, the biggest emphasis is having rush-lane integrity. Like our inside guys, we can't get too caught up in trying to work moves in and out. We just have to keep our rush-lane integrity, like staying on the right side of the hip and just be more detailed with where we put our eyes, depending on where the quarterback is, so we don't let them out."
On where the "buy-in' mindset originated from
"I credited it a lot with Ryan (Smenda) and (Rondell Bothroyd). Ever since like January or February when we came back, everything has been player led. From the jump we have been getting extra film in together when there's no coaches here, getting extra workouts and then our little walkthrough practices. Everything's just been very player led and I feel like that's where the buy-in is really coming from."
On how he is preparing for Louisville
"You can't sleep on the offensive line. They're not like the biggest group of guys, but they kind of make that up with their athleticism and just their experience, because they've been there for a while. We feel like we can play really physical with them, but we just have to be detailed and stand in our gaps when they do hit us with that stretch. We know it's gonna come. They're really good at it. So we just have to be detailed in our steps, with our hands, and just plan to be as athletic as they are with that stretch."
Redshirt Senior Offensive Lineman Spencer Clapp
On how the offensive line has performed this season
"I mean obviously, anybody is really happy with 6-1, but we'd love to have the Clemson one back, that was a dagger for sure. I feel like we played pretty well, up front especially. We would definitely like to have that one back for sure."
On the key to keep the offense rolling
"It really just comes down to everybody doing their individual job. If 10 guys are doing their job and you have one guy that's not on the same page, that can be really crucial. It's really just about everybody doing their jobs."
On facing Louisville's defense
"I mean, obviously they get after the quarterback a lot. They do a lot up front, really with their front six and seven, but then they're a veteran group just like us. So it's just executing what coach Ruggiero schemes up for the week. It's really just, once again, taking care of your job and doing your job at a high level, because this is a very veteran group and they're very experienced and very talented."
On the challenge of going up against Louisville after its win over Pitt
"I personally have never been to Louisville, but what I've been told is that it's a pretty rowdy environment. It can get pretty loud. I don't know it's whenever you're on the road, it's just keeping your composure, staying on track and not letting the atmosphere get to you. So that's kind of the big point there."
On how he feels once a game has shifted to either primarily passing or rushing
"Once you kind of get a feel for how the game has been or how the game is going and what they've presented to you on the defensive side, yeah, you want to run the ball a lot. As an offensive lineman, that's what we want to do is run the ball, really every play. That'd be nice, but for (A.T. Perry), (Donavan Greene), (Ke'Shawn Williams) or any of those guys, if they're balling, that's good too."
On what the offense has learned since Liberty
"It's just everybody doing their job and not being not playing sloppy. It's everybody being on the same page. Everybody getting the same signals and everybody knowing what we're actually running. That's kind of a big deal there."
