Getting off the field on third down. Along with not giving up explosive plays, it is a primary theme for Dave Clawson this season. That puts the onus on every position of the defense. But the defensive line is going to have to be a starting point in the Wake Forest “getting off the field” process.
The Demon Deacons defense was 70th in the country last year. That put them at ninth in the ACC…10th if you want to now include new sibling SMU. Wake gave up 386 yards per game at just under six yards per play. Giving up explosive plays will slant those stats against you. But so does giving up first downs when you have the other team at third and fourth or even longer. It happened routinely last season. Wake was 82nd in the country in sacks by the defense at under two per game. The pressure in the opponent’s backfield was too little and far too infrequent.
Wake’s opponents had a 40% conversation rate on third down and a 63% 4th down conversion rate last season. While the offensive production for the Demon Deacons rarely did the defense any favors, the defense had plenty of its own blame to take for being on the field far too long. The defense also had only 23 sacks on the season, half of what the Wake offense gave up. There simply has to be a more sustained push and containment from the defensive line in order to help the rest of the defense not give up so many explosive plays.
Toward the end of Fall camp, Clawson said he felt good about where the depth of the defensive line is. He called it, “A pair and a spare.” Translation: two defensive tackles who are your clear starters, but another one or two guys who performed well enough at camp to make the coaches comfortable with putting them in and not having the production drop. The same sentiment goes for the defensive end position.
“I feel good about the d-line,” Clawson said. “You have three tackles that are all grown men. Kevin Pointer, Bryce Ganious, and Justin Cody, and then you have three other guys fighting for time.” Clawson said he has high hopes that he can count on production from Ka-Shawn Thomas, Wyatt Crespi, and Zach Lohavichan among others.
The same holds true for the defensive end position. Jasheen Davis, Kendron Wayman, and B.J. Williams are the ones expected to set the table for the ends. But Clawson said guys like Kerrington Lee, Camden Hardy, and Tyler Walton are going to have to step up into being ready to produce. The numbers say it is about needing a pair and pair of spares.
Clawson referred to guys like Lee, Hardy, and Walton as, “The next generation.” That puts them as future leaders and starters. But he also acknowledged it is also about the here and now. It’s about how quickly they can step and produce now behind his first pair and a spare.
Wayman knows the song from the choir director. “Get off the field on third down,” was what he told us the most critical part of the defensive line’s job was going to be this year. And how do you fix that? “Consistency,” he said. “We have to keep working at being that good on every play, not just some plays.”
Wayman was also impressed with the camp Lee and Walton had. “They both did good and we’re looking for them to get a lot of playing time this year. We need to keep a nice little rotation to keep everybody fresh.”
Any group is a reflection of its leader. For the defensive line, there is little doubt that the person they are looking to for leadership is Davis. Wayman said it is a leader-by-example model. “Just watching the way he goes hard every day. He keeps us going with how he plays and his mindset.” Wayman said whatever it takes to, “Get off the field on third down is the focus and whatever it takes to do that.”
Clawson’s expectations on the topic are pretty simple. “If you have three, four, five opportunities in a drive to get off the field on third down, you better cash in one of them.”
The improvement in the defense overall is going to have to be substantial from last year. And it is going to have to start up front.
