The Demon Deacons did what they were expected to do Thursday night. They beat up an undermanned North Carolina A&T team. It took a while to get their bearings and perform at a good level. But get their bearings, they did. So then it’s time to find out what Wake Forest said after the game, to dig into the many, many post-game thoughts.
Dave Clawson
Head coach Dave Clawson talked about the thing that plagues many teams in week one. “We got off to a little bit of a slow start,” he said. “I thought offensively we left some explosive plays on the field. I think we dropped like three or four post routes in the first half.” The fix to that? He said the rhythm found in the second half came from, “Our best offensive players made plays.”
Hank Bachmeier
Quarterback Hank Bachmeier put it another way. “Once we settled in, it was just about doing our job every single play and executing your assignment.” And speaking of players making plays, eight different receivers got passes from Bachmeier and Michael Kern. “That’s the beauty of the offense,” Bachmeier said. “It’s the ability to distribute the ball to any receiver at any possible time on the play.” It’s easy to enjoy the offense when you go in and the first play is for you to chuck in downfield. That’s pretty fun, even with the dropped ball.
The offense will also flow better if there is going to be a consistent running game. It’s too soon to make much of the stats against an FCS team that is in rebuild mode. That’s why seeing it with your eyes tells you Demond Claiborne had a terrific game. Seventeen rushes for 135 yards and a touchdown are the backup for what your eyes saw. “He’s a stud,” said Bachmeier. “Tate [Carney] as well I thought ran really hard.” Nine carries for 40 yards and a touchdown are the backup for Bachmeier’s view of it.
Demond Claiborne
When the team is in camp and not scrimmaging full contact, Claiborne has a habit of running the rest of the way to the end zone, even after he has been “touched down.” He says it is his way of working to make practice harder than the games. He also said the stats will say what they say, but he wants to see the film to assess how he did with his blocking.
Clawson said after the game that if Wake is going to have a good season, the running game will need to step up. “When he’s healthy, he’s a stud.” We have no evidence that Clawson and Bachmeier rehearsed the “stud” assessment of Claiborne. “If we’re going to win this year, he’s got to rack up a lot of hundred-yard games and make a lot of big plays.”
Taylor Morin’s Turning Point
Clawson said one of the turning points of getting out of the slow start was the 73-yard punt return for a touchdown by Taylor Morin. We asked Morin what he saw when he took the punt and looked upfield. “A lot of black shirts in the right places.” He credited the scheme for the return, but added, “That play doesn’t happen without my teammates out there, busting their rear.”
Conor O’Neill of Deacons Digest pointed out to Morin that it was his 65th punt return in his Wake Forest career. It was Morin’s first touchdown on a punt return. “I’ve had a couple of big ones, but never got into the end zone. That one felt good for sure.”
Better Than Covering Deion’s Press Conferences
Bachmeier had the better game between the two quarterbacks. But Clawson said Kern did not get the opportunities they had planned. The time of possession between the two teams was lopsided in favor of North Carolina A&T, (36:21 to 23:39). So when we asked if the competition was over? Clawson grinned. “I mean Tony, come on. Do you think I’m going to come to a press conference after a game and tell you what we’re going to do?” Hey, we had to ask, right? “I knew you’d ask the question though,” he said good-naturedly. It’s what we do when we need to hear what the Demon Deacons are saying.
