Wake Forest Athletics
What They Are Saying: Vandy Week
9/8/2022 5:35:00 PM | Football
Hear what the No. 21 Demon Deacons are saying going into the Vanderbilt game in Nashville, Tenn. on Saturday, Sept. 10.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Coming off a 44-10 victory over VMI on Thursday, Sept. 1, the No. 21/23 Wake Forest football team is set to face SEC foe Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn. on Saturday afternoon.
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
On Isaiah Wingfield's development
"He came from Harvard and I remember when I recruited him I told him it would really help him if he got here in the spring. It's a little different level. He said he'd be fine and he had some classes he was taking that he wanted to finish up. I told him it was a bigger job than he thought, and when he got here he learned the hard way. He's a very smart young man and very intentional. One of our advantages here at Wake Forest is for the most part we recruit smart people. They figure it out, and he's figured it out. He's taken very intentional steps to make himself a better player. I consider both him and Coby Davis starters."
On if any player moved from being on the fence to above the line through their play Thursday
"Not yet. You go through the month. We'll find out as we play Vanderbilt, Liberty and Clemson. I thought VMI did a great job with their game plan, was well-coached and played hard. But that's a game where we should have a lot of advantages, and that's not a knock on VMI. We should have better players than them. So it's hard to say somebody is over the line now."
On Ryan Smenda Jr. being back
"We're glad to get Ryan back. They wouldn't even let him be on our sidelines last week. It's like you make a bad decision and then just double down and triple down. I couldn't understand it. Usually when you get ejected from the game, you're allowed on the sidelines, but he wasn't allowed to be there. We're glad to get him back. He's a good player and one of the leaders of our defense. Obviously that will affect when Dylan and Jaylen (Hudson) won't play as much at linebacker. But it also makes us better on special teams. Jaylen Hudson is one of our best players on special teams. He was last year. Without Ryan last week, we had to limit him on special teams. It makes our football team better."
On the value of these non-conference September games to the ACC as a whole
"There's always going to be an early overreaction to it. I'm not sure if winning an extra game or two in September is going to change the perception. A lot of teams in our league just need to have good years. It's important to start out with some good wins and it's probably even more important that you finish with some great wins. These early non-conference games are opportunities. Then the bowl games seem to be what people remember. A couple of years ago, we went like 8-2 and were bragging. Then the last two years, we haven't been as strong in bowl games. That narrative seems to change week by week. Obviously there were some great wins by teams in our conference. It's just funny whenever that happens, your profession just seems to downgrade the team you just beat. It wasn't a great win, it was that the other team wasn't that good. Some of those battles, you're never going to win. So you just try to win on the field and hope it takes care of itself."
On his assessment of the offensive and defensive lines
"Our defensive line played really, really hard. There was penetration and a lot of the run game, we forced cuts in the backfield. I thought our offensive line played well. We ran the ball efficiently. We usually have a run efficiency goal of 55%, and we were in the mid-60s with it. We protected well. The one sack we gave up, there was a miscommunication with the snap count. DeVonte Gordon gave up the sack, but it really wasn't his fault. The ball was snapped early and he got off the ball late. That wasn't on him. Both lines played well."
On if Spencer Clapp rotating in meant Michael Jurgens was limited in any way
"We always go into the first few games being committed to rotating and playing people. The bottom line is Spencer Clapp played well enough in camp to where he deserves to play. Michael Jurgens missed part of camp and for his conditioning level and getting back into it. It was good to give him a break there. Spencer deserves to play, and can play both center and left tackle. He is a guy we're going to rotate in there. We feel like we have six starters. He may not play as much as other guys, but when he goes in there, we're very confident."
Redshirt junior defensive lineman Rondell Bothroyd
On having Ryan Smenda Jr. back
"It's big. He's a leader. He plays with his head cut off and everyone loves playing with him. It was a little bit weird not hearing his voice."
On the performance of the defensive line last week
"I mean that one drive, we had the two roughing the passer penalties and an offsides, that was awful. But we played with effort, we always played with effort. We did our job for the most part. This week we can be more productive and we have to be more productive to come out with a win. We played pretty well."
On how he was able to get into the backfield easier against VMI
"I don't even think I got stronger. The game just slowed down a little bit so you could put your hands in the right spot or plant off the right foot. I put a lot of work on that in the offseason. And seeing how the tackle sets so you could move him around how you want."
On your confidence in the front four
"There's always room to improve but we always have to be confident in this league. We're a confident group, we're all old. We've got guys that can make plays any down that they want. We're confident in everyone and ourselves too."
On Kobie Turner
"He's one of the best defensive lineman we have and it's cool to see him make plays. He had a great game."
Redshirt junior offensive lineman Michael Jurgens
On the offensive line penalties against VMI
"That's something we've got to get cleaned up, especially in the red zone. We take red zone offense very seriously here and we had 40 percent touchdowns last week and that's not good enough. The penalties down there will just kill you. It's something we take seriously and we're going to look at it. The good thing is, those are easier things to fix, it's just playing smart.
On the offensive line performance against VMI
"Great overall, definitely some first-game jitters. People are excited, Thursday night, lights are on, holding calls here and there. We were good with procedures, very few M.As. It was good to get multiple guys in there and get comfortable."
On what he has learned on Vanderbilt so far
"They are a very well coached group. It's an SEC defense, they have a lot of talent. All of those guys were highly recruited for a reason. It's going to be a good challenge for us. It's a big game for us when we get a Power-5, non-conference away game. It's good for us and good for the conference, we get to make a statement."
On Mitch Griffis' performance
"His composure was great. There's always a few things to clean up with any first start and even with people out there making their 30th start. He has an ability to run the offense. It was great overall. I'm really proud of him. He takes his preparation very seriously and that goes back three and a half years, probably back to high school as well."
"He was great. We consider Spencer a starter. A guy that's played for that long and been through as much as he has, it's great for him to get game reps. He did a great job."
Senior linebacker Ryan Smenda Jr.
On how fired up he is
"I'm excited, I'm juiced. I didn't get to play last week, obviously, but I'm just excited to be back out there with the boys and just try to get another win under our belt."
On what he was focusing on while watching the VMI game
"I was trying to look over and get the call and then watch Jaylen (Hudson) and Chase (Jones). I was really more dialed in on the linebackers, but I was looking at the defense as a whole. I tried to look at it, not just as a fan. I mean I am a fan when they are out there, I love football and I love the Deacon defense, but I'm trying to look at it so when they come back into the locker room at halftime, I can tell them 'hey make sure you're a little bit slower here and make sure you watch out for these things.' I'm just trying to be a coach and a mentor."
On Coach Clawson having his back
"I can't ask for anything more for him to do his best, and that's what he did. Every time he would come in the meeting he would tell me, 'I did this and this today,' and I told him that meant more than he will ever know, to have someone in my corner that's always on my side. We've all seen the tape and none of us agree with it, so just to know he did everything that he could and the appeal didn't go our way, it's just something I have to live with. I just had to be a coach and a mentor to Jaylen (Hudson), Chase (Jones), Dylan Hazen and Quincy Bryant, so they could be ready and go perform the way we need them too.
On shaking off the suspension and focusing on football
"It was a quick turnaround, 'sudden change', as we like to say on defense. An old coach of mine used to say 'wipe your lens and move on to the next thing'. That's what I've built upon and put into my foundation. You can't have a short temper with things."
On pregame activities against VMI
"I was trying to get that last bit of 'first game' in me. Obviously I can't run out with them, that's something I really miss, running out of the tunnel for opening kickoff, smoke's going, the crowd's going crazy, it's just those things you can't get back."
