Hartman, Masterson and Roberson shine at the ACC Kickoff

CHARLOTTE- Wake Forest brought out the big guns for the ACC Kickoff in Charlotte with quarterback Sam Hartman, receiver Jaquarii Roberson and linebacker Luke Masterson taking turns at the podium on Thursday. Here is what they each had to say to the gathered media.

Q. With the news of Donavon Greene unfortunately going to be missing the season, working with guys like Jacorey, but also Donald Stewart, Jahmal Banks, A.T. Perry, what has been some of the highlights working with the guys in the spring and some of the growing pains?

SAM HARTMAN: Yeah, no, it's definitely tough for Donnie. He's been working really hard. He's a great teammate, great kid. You feel for him.

But definitely a lot of highlights. You got a lot of young guys that have a lot of opportunities now to step up and make their names known. A.T. has had a great spring. Donald Stewart had another great spring, transfer from Stanford. Then Jahmal Banks is probably a guy you haven't heard of, but he's doing an incredible job. He's a great guy. You love to see guys being able to have opportunities to play at Wake in the ACC.

Q. You're in familiar grounds here in Charlotte. Representing this team with the coach that you have, what can you say about the vision of Dave Clawson, how it's come through for you and why you bought in?

SAM HARTMAN: Like Coach hit on before, it's a culture, it's a legacy that guys left before me, guys that stood on this stage, the Cam Serignes, Grant Dawsons, Cade Carneys, Justin Strnads. I believed in that program just based on meeting those guys, meeting Coach.

It's been an incredible ride. I played early, played at the high level. There's a job that's not finished. I'm looking forward to completing those goals that I set when I was a freshman this year and years to come.

Q. What was kind of the mentality during last season? Obviously a lot of teams faced challenges. For you guys having the three games canceled, how did you display your leadership, keep your guys focused?

SAM HARTMAN: I just kept reminding them of the goals we set at the beginning of the year. It was really easy with Coach Clawson at the helm. He kind of really set the example for us as players, what he did with his family in quarantining away for their safety. It was easy for us to kind of make that decision.

With that, you have an example to tell, Hey, you got your coach up there, staying away from his family to play this season. For us, it was kind of a no-brainer at the end of the day. We have a coach that's leading us like this, why not? Keep fighting for him because he's fighting for us.

Q. Describe your relationship with Coach Warren Ruggiero, how you work on your progression as a quarterback, but help him execute his game plan?

SAM HARTMAN: Coach R, he's the best. He's got quite the schemes. What we run is a little bit unique compared to the rest of the country.

Coach believes in me. He believes in me as a freshman and every year since then. It's been an honor to play for him and run his offense. I just try and do what the system tells me to do, and it works.

That's the best part bit. I've learned from freshman year when you try to kind of make plays, make things happen on your own, it usually doesn't pay out that well. There comes a point where you have to make plays, help him be right. Most of the time it works.

We kind of feed off each other. We work as a unit and have learned from ins-and-outs of the game. I've enjoyed playing for him. Hopefully he's enjoyed coaching me.

Q. For four years John Wolford had to win a quarterback battle, for two years you battled Jamie. Now this is two years where you kind of go into an off-season as the guy. Is it something you asked Michael and Mitch to push you, or do you push yourself from within? A mix of both of those?

SAM HARTMAN: Yeah, definitely different than being in a battle. But we compete every day. Mitch and Kern do a great job. They're great quarterbacks. They push me. I push them.

It's just a competitive atmosphere. I think like this spring, especially the defense, did a really good job. Every day was kind of a battle. I think it's more just our whole team as a unit competes. The D-line is pushing our O-line, the defense is pushing the quarterbacks, receivers are pushing the DBs, running backs are pushing the linebackers. And it's all around. It's a team effort. And the coaches. The coaches challenge us, Coach R, Coach Clawson, they push me every day to grow on and off the field.

Back to the first question about how we grow as a leader, and I've enjoyed that. It's not always easy, but it's definitely going to be worth it.

Q. At the risk of being a yes or no question, I'm hoping you can elaborate a little bit. Do you feel like a linebacker now or is that still to come?

LUKE MASTERSON: Yeah, I do feel like a linebacker. I put on 10 to 15 pounds this off-season. I think playing in the box has always come naturally to me. I think I'm a better football player when I'm in the box. I played rover two years ago. Throughout different game plans, I've been down in the box in different situations. I've always excelled there.

So it was a matter of putting on the weight, getting stronger as well. I definitely feel comfortable now.

Q. Coach Clawson spoke about the fact he wanted to transition you for the last couple years. Speak about where you've elevated that game, going to that point of these last two years, finally getting to have that spot right now?

LUKE MASTERSON: Yeah, I think I've been blessed to play three different positions at Wake. Obviously it's been hard to go back and forth. But there are blessings in that as well. I know what's going on behind me and what's going on in front of me.

The transition hasn't been as bad because I've been used to being in the box and behind the box in the secondary. I've been on board with this decision from the get-go. I'm really excited for this year.

Q. You're a three-year member of the National Honor Society. You finished high school with a GPA of 4.7. What is the secret in how do you integrate academics and athletics?

LUKE MASTERSON: I think it's all about time management. As student-athletes, at Wake Forest especially, Wake does a great job with helping us getting ready for life after football, then helping us manage our time when we were playing football.

At a school like Wake Forest, school is very important. It's hard. Finding that balance between football and school is tough. But as a freshman they do everything they can to give you the resources necessary so that you can excel off the field so that you're not thinking about that stuff when you're on the field.

Q. You not only return all of your offensive players, but all of your special teams guys. Coach talked about the need for the defense to do better against the pass. What is the potential of the defense to help transform Wake from merely a bowl team to a contender?

LUKE MASTERSON: Yeah, I talked about this earlier. I think at Wake Forest the past five years that I've been here, every single year the offense has been really good and the defense has been really good, but we haven't been really good together. I think that's what our goal is this year, ties make our offense an elaborate offense, a very explosive offense, but also have a defense that can back them up, get them out of tough situations.

That's the challenge, trying to find that season where we can put them both together and play at one complete unit.

Q. With you and Ryan Smenda, what are you trying to get out of the linebacker room this year? What do you see out of guys like Chase Jones, Jaylen Hudson, Zach Ranson?

LUKE MASTERSON: All the guys have been great. Chase Jones has taken great strides. Jaylen Hudson, as well, in the spring. I think the biggest thing for us is consistency. We all need to build depth, we need to be consistent, be consistent tacklers, consistent in all aspects of our game.

Building that depth so that if something goes wrong throughout the season, guys like Chase Jones and Jaylen Hudson are ready to take that step and fill in for guys. And not even if guys get hurt, but just being able to play more guys allows guys like me and Smenda to be healthy, play less snaps, remain healthy throughout the whole season.

I think just building that consistency in the room, completely buying into the mission is our goal for this year.

Q. You had a great 2020, now you're back. What are you looking to build on in your own game?

JAQUARII ROBERSON: I think the main thing is getting the guys in the room going, getting Ke'Shawn going. It's not more so about me. I'm going to go hard, I'm going to do what I have to do.

I think I have to be that type of leader to get those younger guys going. It's just going to be I'm going to have to prepare younger guys to get ready.

Q. This offense, the attack is a predicated on the zone read, even the delayed zone read. Receivers have made so much noise at Wake Forest. What makes this such a dynamic offense for receivers?

JAQUARII ROBERSON: I think it starts with Coach Higgins. He does a great job of preparing us for games. He does a great job for preparing us for practice. We go over defenses. He does a good job of breaking down things, getting us to understand.

He just does a great job position-wise, working at our craft. Then we also keep each other going. We keep each other motivated. We keep each other prepared. I think as our unit at Wake Forest, as a wide receiver unit, we have a good unit going, we have great coaches behind us.

Q. What have you seen out of Sam over this off-season, his development and leadership?

JAQUARII ROBERSON: Sam is a great guy. I mean, he came back after the bowl game just with his feet down on the pedal, man. He hasn't stopped since. He's handled it well. You know what I'm saying? He's a great leader. He's one of our best leaders on the offense. He keeps guys going, keeps guys motivated, accountability. He's very consistent. Sam is going to get after it.