What They Are Saying: Virginia Tech Week

10/11/2023 6:38:00 PM | Football

Hear what the Demon Deacons are saying going into the Virginia Tech game on Saturday.

By: Dylan Shackelford and Blake Lowry

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest Demon Deacons prepare to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies. After a close game in Clemson, S.C. the Deacs hit the road again to take on the Hokies at Lane Stadium on Saturday, 14th at 3:30 p.m. The game will also be airing on the ACC Network.

Ahead of their 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
"On Clemson, I was certainly proud of the effort and proud of the energy. Our guys played really hard. Entering the game, the big thing on defense was to limit the explosives, and we did a good job of that. Their longest pass was 16 yards. They had a couple of 20-21 yard runs, but we really didn't allow the ball to get over our heads, which was critical in that game.

"We tackled well, we created a turnover on defense and on special teams. Offensively, we took care of the ball. We had the one turnover. I didn't feel like we beat ourselves like we did in the Georgia Tech or ODU games. But right now, what has really been hurting us all year is our red zone offense. Our red zone execution has to improve. There are too many plays that we left out there, whether that's a receiver open and we missed them, or there was a protection breakdown. People were open. We got what we wanted from the design of the plays. It was hard watching that film Sunday, because if any of those are touchdowns, it's a different football game. We got down there five times and scored one touchdown.

"Different problems pop up, but the last three years we've been second, third and fourth in red zone offense. Right now, we're dead last in terms of touchdown percentage. We didn't turn the ball over as much, didn't take as many sacks or negative yardage plays, but the inability to score in the red zone was probably the difference in the game. Give Clemson credit.

"The great thing about football is you have a game the next week. This week we go to Virginia Tech, which is one of the best game-day atmospheres in the ACC. The fans up there love their Hokies. They have great fan support. Like at Clemson, it's always a hard environment to play in. I've coached up there two times, once while at Bowling Green and once here at Wake Forest, and neither time is a really good memory.

"I've known coach (Brent) Pry a long time. I coached him at the University of Buffalo in 1991. I was hired as the secondary coach at Buffalo, and coach Pry was one of my safeties. That was 32 years ago. He comes from a coaching family. His father, Jim Pry, was an excellent football coach at a number of places. Brent has come up the right way. He was a GA at Virginia Tech, then was at Western Carolina, Vanderbilt, and had a lot of success as the defensive coordinator at Penn State.

"They're improving and he's building the program. They're going through some of the ups and downs of growing pains. They are clearly better from what I saw on film a year ago. The quarterback, Kyron Drones, is a heck of a player. He's a big, good looking athlete. He's 6-foot-2, 234 and throws a nice deep ball. He's athletic and has rushed for about 300 yards. He has certainly given them a spark. The running back, Bhayshul Tuten, is a very good player. He had a 99-yard kick return against Florida State. If you can outrun Florida State's kickoff team, you're probably pretty fast. They are trying to get him the ball, and he's a good combination of speed and physicalness.

"They have some transfers on offense. The guy Jaylin Lane from Middle Tennessee State certainly sticks out. Stephen Gosnell, from North Carolina, is someone we recruited heavily out of high school. Small world, their center, Kaden Moore, coach Higgins and I coached his dad at Lehigh back in 1993. He is a very good player as well.

"On defense, the two corners are excellent, Dorian Strong and Mansoor Delane— who is a very versatile player. He can play corner, nickel and safety. The linebacker, Keli Lawson, is very athletic and productive. They have a defensive end from Florida, Antwaun Powell-Ryland, is an elite pass rusher.

"Probably the best part of their team is their special teams. Their special teams coordinator, Stu Holt, is one of the very best in the business. He was at Appalachian State and did a great job there, then went to Louisville with Scott Satterfield. Their special teams, every one of their units are in the top half of the ACC. It's well-thought out and there's change-ups. He has a really good mix of being fundamentally sound with some change-ups. He makes you work.

"This should be a good game. We're excited to get up there and try to get a win. It's been awhile."

On Mitch Griffis' red zone struggles
"When you play 65-70 plays, we grade every play. So the overall grade in terms of his execution level and not making mistakes was higher. But the ultimate grade for the quarterback is winning the football game. We're not happy with the result. Anytime you lose a game by one score, you can pick up 15 different plays, that if you make that one play then maybe the result is different. Some of that was at the quarterback position, some was at running back, some of it was the left or right guard position, and some was at the safety position. When you don't win, ultimately it's our job to get those guys to make those plays. You always look at yourself first. After the last two games, there was certainly an emphasis on not turning the football over. Move forward in the pocket and get positive yards whenever possible. There are times he did what we asked him to do and maybe over adjusted a little bit. It gave us a chance to win the game. If they don't have that one shoe-string tackle, he probably scores on that run. It's hard. When you're that close in a one-score game. He got better. Did he play to a winning level? No. We didn't win the game, but he made progress."

On Griffis' continued progress and keeping his expectations in order
"If you watch that game, he got the absolute crap kicked out of him. He kept playing and he kept competing. It wasn't an easy game to play quarterback. The goal is to win. Mitch will be the first one to tell you he wishes he made a different play here or there. I've said for three weeks we have to play better around him. I mean, that guy got killed. The fact that he could even walk Sunday after we watched the film, but he went right back out there and played with courage on the field and kept his eyes down the field and not on the pass rush. That's progress. We have to get him better. We need to help him. He got better in his overall execution of the offense. Would we like to have had five-or-six plays back? Absolutely. If you win a game by 28 points, you'd have those plays too."

On their approach to fixing red zone struggles
"You call plays and guys were open. We had Jahmal (Banks) on the naked bootleg and we missed it. Then we came back and ran a high-low concept and he was open in the back of the end zone. The pass rush jerked Mitch around and he was trying to stay up and make it, got disrupted and then three other guys were on him. Could he throw it a fraction of a second earlier? Maybe. But did we get from the design of the play what we wanted? Not always. But some things were there and open, and we just didn't execute as well as we needed. When you play a team like Clemson, they make it harder to execute. They're really good up front. That is an elite defensive line. Our offensive linemen battled. That was a baptism by fire for some of those guys who are playing for the first time. Our offensive line played really hard. They weren't perfect. They will get better, but that was a heck of a challenge for them."

On if they might get some guys back from injuries soon
"I'd be shocked if we get Donny (Donavon Greene), Chase (Jones) or Nick (Sharpe) back this season. Brendon Harris, we'll get him back in November, probably by Duke or NC State. We are starting to get some guys back. Spencer Clapp is supposed to practice tomorrow. Jaydn Girard practiced today. Davaughn Patterson will be able to start practice next week. We are getting some guys back. I would be shocked if we get Donavon, Chase or Nick back this year."

On what that means for Chase Jones
"I don't know. It's one of those things that has taken longer than anybody anticipated. We just do what the medical people tell us to do. We're never going to put a player out there unless it's safe and they're cleared. I coach the team, and the doctors and trainers tell us who we have. They give us updates, and that's one of the ones that could clear up next week. I never thought we would play this year without Chase Jones. He was one of the defensive starters back and one of our captains. I'm not going to put him or any player at risk."

On Justice Ellison
"He practiced today. He had limited reps, but did practice. He went into the game Saturday and we expected him to play, and he re-injured it right away. He's a go. He practiced today and I know he wants to play."

On the work the linebacker room with coach Glenn Spencer has accomplished without Chase Jones
"Jacob Roberts is clearly a good player. Dylan Hazen has become a really good player and is playing great football. He played really well against Clemson. He tackled thick and his fits were really good. On the goal line he jumped over the center. To me it's always the second-year guys who become good players. Last year was the first time he played, and he did some good things at times. But he's consistent, comfortable and confident, and is playing fast. He's playing both linebacker positions, which isn't easy. Another linebacker who is making great strides is Quincy Bryant. Quincy is playing good football and is getting better every week. The trajectory is upward. Aiden Hall is coming along. We're down Chase and Draco (Eldrick Robinson), who we thought were two of our top three linebackers going into the season. Glenn has done an amazing job getting those guys ready and productive, and playing to the level they're playing."

On how the offensive play calling being dictated last week by the opponent and how their own defense was playing
"Every week is different. Game planning isn't just schematic, but we look at personnel matchups. Going into the Clemson game, we were down basically two tackles. Then you look at who they have rushing the edge — we didn't want to lose the game on 3rd-and-long. We called passes. We wanted to throw the ball. But we didn't want to be 3rd-and-13 and have a strip sack. We had to stay out of bad situations. I didn't feel like our first and second down play calling was any different than we normally do. The only thing we did differently is if we had some long third downs, with the zero blitzes they were running, our chance of hitting a seam in a run play was certainly as good as our ability to protect. Part of it is we have young guys. There are times we have hot reads and the ball was right on the money, and the receiver wasn't expecting it. When we had those same plays a year ago, we had veteran receivers who made those plays. They will learn. They will get there."

On now pressing too hard in the red zone, but getting over the proverbial hump
"You have to execute the plays called. What happens sometimes is teams change their defense in the red zone. Most teams become a little more pressure oriented. You're running plays in the field and getting certain looks, then get into the red zone and you get different pressures and there's a tightness of the coverage. The margin for error gets smaller and the field shrinks. We just have to execute better. I know that's a cliche. But if you watch the film which I'm sure you do, you can see we have guys open. We had plays to be made. Mitch is a shoestring away from scoring on the one. We have Jahmal Banks wide open on two consecutive plays where we missed the throw. It's just getting guys comfortable with the plays we're running so they can execute them under pressure in a game environment. We have to execute the plays better. What Virginia Tech does in the red zone is different from what Clemson does in the red zone. It's not like we're going to run the exact same plays, but we have to go in there confident and run the plays the way we practiced them."

Junior Defensive Lineman Kendron Wayman
On if he thought he had the interception during the Clemson game.
"Yeah, I'm mad about that one. I should have had that pick. But there is always next time. So I'm gonna hit the jugs and work on that."

On how it feels to drop back on certain coverages
"It feels good. It makes me feel more athletic. Because, we're rushing the passer then we drop back too. So it feels good to make a presence on both sides in terms of in coverage and on the line of scrimmage."

On if that has been part of his growth as a player at Wake Forest.
"When I first came in as a freshman they had me at end. But then they switched me to Deacons around sophomore or junior year. JD and I switched positions. They put him in and then put me at Deacon. So it was funny how that ended up because we both came in each other's positions."

On differences if they were both still in their initial positions
"I felt like it wouldn't be as different because in the offseason, I had to work both sides. JD still remembered some Deacons. We both know each other's position pretty well. And physically it is similar because I can get into a three point stance and be an end too. Because in the offseason he was hurt in spring ball. So I had to play a little bit and it was a good experience getting both. And getting refreshed in both positions.

On playing close to home against Virginia Tech
"It feels good because I have a lot of friends and family, coaches, and people from church that want to come to the game. It's going to be fun seeing them especially because I haven't seen them in a while.

On what Saturday's game did for the defense.
"I feel like we took it up another level. We're still not where we want to be yet. But each week is a new challenge and we will keep working and try to perfect everything that we do and work on execution. Just keep getting better."

On feeling pressure to help out the offense during games.
"Yeah, we always focus on us. We try to do what we do and help out. We want to help with turnovers especially. We want to win the turnover battle. We just have to keep working on that. We don't really worry about them. We trust our offense. They're gonna be straight. We just have to work on us and help out as much as we can.

On what the defense is focusing on stopping from the Virginia Tech offense.
"The QB likes to run a lot. They're trying to get him to run out the pocket and get him to go sideline to sideline. We have to focus on that. We also have to focus on containing the running back. We are working on defending their pulls and GT."

On the mood of the team at this point in the season.
"We still are not satisfied. We just have to keep working and keep chasing after our goal. We are trying to go 1-0 each week, that is our mindset."

On how they are preparing for Virginia Tech's quarterback.
"The backers are going to be helping out with that. We're going to try to force them in certain ways so we get to prepare our defense."