Change continues to be the one constant throughout college sports. The transfer portal and NIL changed the game two years ago. Those changes had a different impact last year. And the impact will be different in the upcoming football season. So as the winds of change hit Wake Forest football from the outside, so too must things change on the inside.<\/p>\n
That much was clear as Wake opened its Spring camp Tuesday morning. It was not just the 30-degree weather that was jarring. But it was some of the changes in preparation philosophy that caught everyone\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n
Head coach Dave Clawson<\/strong> has long differentiated Wake Forest by stressing player development over several years. That meant relying heavily on fourth and fifth-year Wake returnees, while the others bided their time. But no longer. Not in this day and age of change<\/a>. Clawson is entering his 11th year at the helm of Wake Forest, (63-61 overall record), and had to spend this off-season re-thinking a lot of the old ways.<\/p>\n Tuesday he stressed that there is still more consistency at Wake Forest than at most other programs. But with that having been said, the change is still stark. The Demon Deacons enter Spring with 19 midyear enrollees. \u201cWe\u2019re probably going to have 30 to 35 new players on our roster,\u201d Clawson told the assembled media after practice. \u201cSo, before we used to return 80% of our players. Now we are probably returning 70%.\u201d<\/p>\n The most obvious alteration to practice was a couple of sessions of live 11-on-11 drills, running simultaneously on two fields. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to find a way to get guys more reps,\u201d Clawson said. \u201cAnd we\u2019ve got to have more guys get ready. And we brought in all these freshmen and all these transfers midyear, and we\u2019ve got to get them enough reps to see who can play and get them ready. So that\u2019s why we changed the practice format.\u201d<\/p>\n Wake Forest was caught flat-footed in 2023 when Mitch Griffis<\/strong> was pre-ordained as the heir apparent to Sam Hartman<\/strong>. Once the season started, Griffis struggled tremendously with the pace and decision-making in live games. The necessary change at quarterback, and ensuing injuries, gave way to inconsistency at the position. Michael Kern<\/a> played before suffering a shoulder injury. And Santino Marucci<\/strong> played sparingly. Griffis and Marucci both entered the portal during the off-season. Griffis is now at Marshall.<\/p>\n Clawson explained the need for change by reflecting on last year\u2019s 4-8 record. \u201cWhy did we not get to an eighth consecutive bowl? Where were the shortcomings and how do we address those things?\u201d He said he and his staff were very \u201cspecific and very intentional,\u201d in how they ran the off-season program in preparation for Spring camp.<\/p>\n Clawson said his review of last season revealed a large number of games where Wake beat themselves. He called it a lack of attention to detail with late-game turnovers and penalties that created insurmountable problems. \u201cThose were not typical Wake Forest issues, that popped up last year.\u201d He said the focus and attention to detail can no longer be taken for granted when 30% of the roster is turning over every year.<\/p>\n So with the new regimen, and the increase in Spring workload for seemingly everyone on the roster, the focus inevitably turns to the quarterback position. Unlike last year, no one is being pre-ordained for anything. Clawson made sure to point out that with everyone getting more snaps, the competition is open.<\/p>\nEven Wake Forest Has To Adapt<\/h3>\n
Details, Details, Details<\/h3>\n
The Quarterbacks<\/h3>\n