With so much focus being put on the changes in how Spring camp was run at Wake Forest, it has been the offense that has gotten the bulk of the attention. But the Wake Forest defense is going through a metamorphosis of its own.
There has been plenty discussed, including in this space, about how running 11-on-11 drills on two fields is getting the offense extra snaps. But it’s not like they are out there by themselves. The Demon Deacon defense is building depth through the process as well.
There is plenty of veteran experience on the defense, built through the “traditional” Wake Forest system. Plenty of guys at the top of the depth chart came in as young players and sat for years waiting for their turn to get snaps at practice. But now, with head coach Dave Clawson overhauling the system he relied upon for a decade, there is plenty of work to go around for everyone.
We spoke with defensive coordinator Brad Lambert during camp. He talked about how running the scrimmages on both fields simultaneously was getting more players more snaps than they would have gotten in the old system, and what it means specifically for the defense.
“We getting to look at some of these younger guys and say, ‘Hey, can we use these players early, as young players, as freshmen,’” Lambert told us. “It’s been really big for all the young guys.”
Lambert talked about what precipitated the changes. It wasn’t one thing. Last year, as the Deacs got hit with a high number of injuries, they had players to put in, but they were not game-ready. Having to get someone ready to step in with only a week of first-team reps, after not getting much activity in camp just did not work.
And now, with players being free to move from school to school so freely, Clawson and his staff could not count on having three years to develop players. The on-field learning needed to start right away. “You just have to take it one year at a time now,” Lambert said. “It’s a big change for Wake Forest.”
As all of the coaches told us over the course of the camp, the change in live play on two fields means there is more coaching going on in the film room. The practices have more of a game pace to them. “Nobody’s out there with you in the game, so they have to figure some of it out on their out there,” Lambert said. “Then we go to the video and say, ‘Hey, I would have done this, or you should have done this.’”
Another factor in making the change was the higher-than-usual number of early/mid-year enrollees. It gave Lambert and the other coaches the numbers needed to run their units over two fields at the same time. He added that he is glad Clawson made the change. “The trend now in college football is for all those young players to come in January.” He said the younger guys have more time to bond with the older players at their position. Lambert said that gives the coaches more time to work on the engagement on the field for the newer players. “They’re going to be important pieces for sure.”
That also changes the role of some of the older players. They are always mentors or tutors to the guys behind them. But in the current construct, that on-the-field teaching is about getting the younger guys ready to play now.
Lambert said veteran defensive lineman Jasheen Davis has been big in that role. Davis is entering his fifth year. He is one of the returning starters who Lambert said are, “Upholding the standard.”
Davis said it is a new role for him. He gives credit to past Deacs like Rondell Bothroyd for playing the mentor role for him. Now it is his turn to teach the younger players. “It’s a new role for me. But I just have to take on that position, being an older guy now,” he told us. “It allows for me to use my experience to give my knowledge off to them and in a way for them to digest it.”
Davis finished the 2023 season with 49 tackles including 17 for loss. He also had seven-and-a-half sacks. He is going to be at the forefront of every realistic pre-season all-conference team when the time comes.
After the 2023 season, he briefly thought about putting his name in for the NFL draft. According to him, it was very brief. “I feel first and foremost that education is the key to having a good life,” he told us. “I was so close to getting my degree, (in Communications with a minor in Entrepreneurship). Coming back allows me to put a better football resume on tape. And it allows me to get my degree.” He also said the team finishing 4-8 last year made him hungry to come back with his teammates to erase the bad taste of that season.
So now the players are doing a lot of coaching on the field. Davis says he is a lead-by-example kind of guy. And the coaches are able to do a lot more teaching in the film room. Davis said, “Now the film room is the coaches’ playing field.”
Even with key players returning in all facets of the defense, there are holes to fill. The defensive secondary losing Malik Mustapha and Caelen Carson to the NFL is huge. And then this week, DaShawn Jones went into the transfer portal. Assuming the practice regimen stays the same in the Fall, younger players who Lambert highlighted to us like Tayshaun Burney and Myles Turpin will have to take advantage of their newfound time on the field.
