Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson is walking the walk when it comes to make sacrifices to try and play a 2020 football season and he talks more about the challenges facing his program as they try to get in the 2020 season.
On trying to differentiate between guys having heat issues versus COVID symptoms in practice
Again I viewed this first week as a bonus week. So this first week was to get more of an idea of where we are. We haven't conditioned me when I don't condition at the end of practice. The check-in hydration levels and body weights daily. And because of not having the players here. Not only are we dealing with the concern of COVID. But we are being extra vigilant of monitoring our players' condition levels, and by going every other day we're allowing for a much longer recovery so our one group. When Monday and Tuesday and our other group went today and tomorrow. Other than that, that's the only time so far players have done back to back practices within the practice. Give them a full day for recovery, and then practice the next day the odds of that those types of things happening go way down. And so we have just been. I mean I think as cautious as we can possibly be to make sure that we're protecting against those other types of injuries or illnesses that can happen as a result of the players not having the same conditioning level they would normally have. In a typical year, we would be in a much different place and we'd have a better idea of where, where they're at because they've been with us longer.
On looking at potential transfers from leagues not playing
it's just, it's hard to bring someone in if we're not sure we're playing. But if a player goes into the portal by their choice, and they reach out to us. It's just, there are very few scholarships available right now. Yeah, so I don't, I don't think there's going to be this market but you know if you were a grad transfer. And you transfer to one of those schools to play your fifth year and then you were hoping to go to the draft. I would imagine that if we do client and some of those people that were in a little bit that canceled. They like to play their fifth year somewhere else because there's not this three-four or five-year investment in the program that they're at. So right now I don't anticipate anyone else coming here but, you know, three or four days from now. If a player reached out at a position of need, we would certainly consider it but we just don't have a lot of room.
On the makeup and identity of the 2020 Wake Forest Football team
Whether there is a season or not, I think one of the biggest concerns I had going into this year was just, we lost so many good leaders off of our team last year. Justin Strnad, Essang Bassey, Justin Hernon, Jack Freudenthal, and Cade Carney, and we usually take the offseason and get a group of players and really try to develop the next group of leadership and we didn't get to do that because of the pandemic. It has forced players to really step up and make sacrifices and say that this is important so I feel much better about the leadership of our team than I did in the spring because I think the pandemic in some ways is fortunate. I think the social injustice that has happened has allowed players to find a voice and speak off and develop leadership roles.
I always enjoy our team. We have very smart, very well balanced players who love football but I think the players here have always seen the big picture. Probably as well as anywhere I've been. And I think they're enjoying the moment day to day. I've tried to not give them false hope. We knew that you know, with the vote with the Big XII the other night, it could have hung in the balance and I think they were excited when the Big XII continues.
So I think that's why there's part of the joy and going out there is every day. We don't know how much longer we're gonna be able to do this and we're hoping and working hard that we can have a season. But we're here, we're together, and we might as well enjoy it. And I think that's created a really positive vibe and energy on our team. You know, now we can get into different position breakdowns and how this player is looking and all that. But that would be a very long-winded answer that you guys would be looking at your phones or. or. I'd lose your interest in that one quickly but I'm happy to get into that stuff if you want me to.
On the leaders on this team
Boogie Basham certainly. Sulaiman Kumara, Ja'Sir Taylor to me is really developed as a leader. He has found his voice in a lot of different ways and I'm really proud of him of how far he's come along. Ja'Cquez Williams has done a nice job speaking up as has Ryan Smenda. I think on offense, Zach Tom. Michael Jurgens, Sage Surrat, Sam Hartman and Brandon Chapman. I'm sure I'm leaving guys out. But the pandemic has forced them to speak up and speak out and hold other people accountable. Those are the guys that our football team that love football the most. And they know in order for them to play. They have to get the other hundred guys to buy in the word of mass social distancing and trying to create that bubble. And what we've tried to do, and a lot of schools have done this is we've tried to create a bubble on Wake Forest football. Now in the next week or two, Wake Forest University is going to try to create a model in which we still have to remain that bubble within the bigger bubble. And we cannot let COVID, or a desire to have a social life jeopardize what we're trying to do for the greater good of our football team and the University.
On who and how many have opted out
I don't, I think our policy is going to be that we're going to let the players announce that. And I think once we play a game if they're not on the depth chart in the roster. You'll probably be able to figure it out. We've had really three players opt-out. One scholarship player and to walk-on players. And we're hoping that those guys will rejoin us in January or when the pandemics over by. It's been three It's been one scholarship and two walk-ons and decided that, because of COVID, they are not going to participate in football this semester.
On Brian Kelly mentioning the so-called Dave Clawson plan for spring football the ACC looked into this summer
Well, it was very nice of coach Kelly at Notre Dame to share that document with the Athletic. So I, I called him after he did I said thanks I had all these national media people want to know what the Clawson spring plan was, and I was very clear. It is not my plan it was the plan that we put together as ACC coaches that was a collaborative group effort.
We were asked by the ADs to put together a spring plan. If we didn't have full football or choices we wanted to play on the phone, and the spring plan was not put out there as you would rather do that than the fall. Without would be preferred to know football in the fall. And so we work together collaboratively we put together a plan. Now, we all agreed on that if it had to be in the spring, that we felt comfortable with in terms of the amount of games the end date. But we really haven't we visited I think we're so focused right now and trying to play in the fall. And I think one of the things that and we met as coaches the other night. It would be really hard to ask our players to go through this whole process again without a guarantee of playing. It's nice to say, you know, we're gonna play in the spring or January/February.
You know what guarantee is there that you can pull it off then. And after we've just made our players go through six weeks of quarantining testing. Not being able to isolate. I think it'd be really challenging to ask them to go through all of this again. Unless there's almost 100% certainty that you're going to apply this has been challenging, getting everybody back. But now I'm in the separate residence halls scoring team now not allowing them to have outside interaction or go home on the weekends. It is not that easy. And I just think to start that whole process again which you would have to do unless something happens out there medically that can guarantee that you can then play a game I don't know if that's fair to the student-athletes.
On the position battles in camp
I would say this last I think our depth overall and the amount of playable players that we have, in some ways, this will be in could be if we can stay healthy and other players decide not to doubt, some of the best staff we've ever had. Quarterback running back receiver tight end defensive line and linebacker. I like our depth in the O line we still got some battles going on for who's the starter, you know, who's four who's five who's six who's seven. But from one to 10. I don't think tans ever been as good as it is right now. And then the other thing that we've really got to get figured out is the secondary.
The corner position. So, you know, to me, the whole line battle. And again, I feel good about the line I'm just not sure is going to start and what the rotation is going to be. And then there are some battles in the secondary, especially a corner that we got to see who comes out of that process. As the starter and who else is going to play. And I think one of the challenges of COVID is, you know if you have a player test positive with all the contact tracing going up, that's going to happen. It's never ever been more important to not just have a to hook and fly but a three and potentially a four. And so the ability to get all these players extra wraps by practicing this every other day. No So what we've done is we've practiced. Let's say our a group on Tuesday and then our B group on Wednesday and or a group Thursday and the B group practice today, is there's just a lot more accumulation of reps for these young men than we've ever been able to give our threes in our 40s before and to develop that depth is going to be critical. But I think the old line and the secondary just looking at what we lost two years ago are clearly the positions right now that the most interesting battles and competitions are going on that know yet if you'll be able to get any help from your freshmen corners. Then we like them. We think they're good players but the challenge of Camp isn't who does well the weak one, but who can sustain it weeks two three and four. You know that that's always the breaking point with freshmen.
Tbe product in terms of general sloppiness like are things that you will anticipate being sloppier if we do get to play that you're contemplating and how to prevent them relies on other opponents sloppiness just, it's a question we can't know the answer to, obviously, but I'm curious your general thoughts on kind of what the dynamic will be considering all of the changes that we've endured over the past five months. I don't think you can miss spring football and all that weightlifting conditioning that happens in March, April, May and June and don't think the product isn't going to be effective. However, I thought the football oversight committee came up with a really good plan of allowing all those locks rings. So in some ways, I feel because of the walkthroughs that manually were ahead of where we would normally be now. I think our players know their assignments, better. To me it's the physical part of it is even that with the season being a game shorter. For now,
I'm just curious how we're going to hold on physically I think the teams that have doubt that can play the most players that can survive. COVID or contact tracing losses. So I don't think I think the product will be affected. but I don't think it'll be a huge effect and, you know, sometimes football is fun when it's a little bit sloppy. So there might be more players that Can you believe this happen. So, hopefully not at Wake Forest, but. But again, I don't think it will be as clean. When I certainly don't think it'll be a bad product. Just as an aside, that'll be worth hanging on to for sometimes football is more fun when it's not as clean it is not as fun for coaches but more entertaining.
On how he is handling being isolated from his family and whether he is sleeping in the office or not
Right now my, you know, it's still summer so my Catherine and Courtney and Eric are somewhere else and I've been able to stay at home. And then, you know, my daughter's going to college so she's going to go back for his senior year. Then when they come back to move her in I will stay in a hotel. And then I was going to stay in a hotel or I was even looking at getting one of the sleeping pods and putting it in the office and sleeping there. Then my son's school decided that they're going to go online, for the first four to six weeks. So my wife and son will stay out of town so I can stay at the house. And if at any point his school becomes live in-person, then I'll get that order for the sleeping pod back up, or stay at a hotel. So we're quarantining from each other. And, You know, I was able to see her a little bit ago that I kind of quarantine for a bit took a coded test and saw him for a quick weekend but over the last five or six weeks I've probably seen him a total of four or five days.
I mean it's not fun. I mean, you get married to someone because you enjoy spending time with him. And if you're in a good marriage and you enjoy spending time with your wife This is hard. But, like I've said to David (Hale) on a couple of articles, and we didn't take this as a perspective of complaining or while was us that, you know, people in the military have to do this all the time and they're risking their life. And through COVID, you know you have medical professionals and every single day work with COVID patients and put their lives on the line I think we've had 900 people in our country who are medical professionals who have died from code that I'm coaching.
And, you know, we'll be fine. It's not fun. It's not an enjoyable aspect of it. But it's the reality of the situation, and I said this in the article. It's not a hard decision. It's just an unfortunate circumstance of COVID, but we'll get through it, we'll be fine. And it'll make it that much more it's like those senior players, when I do get to spend time with them I'll probably appreciate it and enjoy it even more. Even though I do enjoy it when I do it on a daily basis. I guess it's that has been for me that's been the worst most challenging part of it, that's been way harder than managing all the protocols we have is just there and you go home at work at night. We look forward to seeing your wife and your kids and tonight.
