Demon Deacons make changes on defensive staff
Wake Forest’s defensive woes became so extreme that head coach Dave Clawson dismissed coordinator Jay Sawvel after the fourth game of the season.
Home losses to Boston College by 41-34 and to No. 8 Notre Dame by 56-27 led to the change; Clawson said it wasn’t a spur of the moment decision.
With pass defense that continues to be problematic, Clawson determined a personnel change on his staff was the best way to solve the situation.
Clawson said attempts at simplifying the defense failed.
“It’s the alignments, the communications and the checks that we’re struggling with,” he said. “Our kids are giving us great effort; they’re playing hard, they’re working hard, they’re watching film. I just don’t think we’re putting them in the best position right now.”
The Demon Deacons (2-2) will try to change that in the non-league finale Saturday against visiting Rice.
Tom Gilmore, who had been a defensive analyst in his first season with the program, was elevated to a full-time assistant coaching position, though he wasn’t given the tag as defensive coordinator. Gilmore is a former Holy Cross head coach and a one-time defensive coordinator at Lehigh.
Notre Dame’s big offensive numbers came from a unit that had struggled in three victories. That might have made Wake Forest’s situation more troubling.
“I think we’re a better team than we’ve been playing,” Clawson said. “I don’t think it’s good giving up 56 points to a team that has yet to score 24 all year. They’ve been struggling on offense but we gave them some gimmes. We have better talent than to give up big plays like that.”
Rice (1-3) had struggled on defense as well. The Owls have given up at least 40 points in the past three games, so that ought to give Wake Forest’s red-zone sluggish offense a chance to perk up.
“It’s something that we have to fix,” running back Cade Carney said. “We feel so good about moving the ball and that’s why it’s heartbreaking right now. We get inside the red zone and then we stall it out.”
After a bursting onto the scene, freshman quarterback Sam Hartman has been a bit mistake-prone the past few games.
“Sam’s tough though, he’s mentally tough and he’s ready,” Carney said. “He knows that there will be hard days, he’s already dealt with that, so we’re not worried about him moving forward.”