Deacs Move Past Sluggish Performance, Shift to Clemson
When the dust settled after Wake Forest’s 37-36 win over Liberty, the same few words kept floating around describing the team’s preparation for the game. Sluggish. Lazy. Flat. According to WR Taylor Morin, the veterans on the team need to hold themselves to a higher standard.
“There wasn’t a sense of urgency that we need every week,” Morin said. “I think that that’s the fault of the older guys on the team. We could have been more vocal, could have been pushing guys a little bit more. That’s what we needed. It was a kick in the butt.”
According to safety Chelen Garnes, the team has flipped a switch in terms of intensity in practice this week before the Clemson game.
“Coach Clawson talked about being intentional in everything we do,” Garnes said. “We’re doing everything the right way in the fine details to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
Clawson said in his Tuesday presser that Clemson is the most talented team Wake Forest faces year in and year out. Even with such a high-caliber opponent coming to town, Morin said the team needs to maintain their identity.
“I don’t think it’s about them,” Morin said. “It’s about us being who we are. Focusing on the details on the practice field and controlling what we can control.”
Wake Forest hasn’t had much recent success against the Tigers—it’s been 13 long years since the Deacs defeated Clemson. But according to Garnes, the past doesn’t matter. It’s about this team, this week, this game.
“It doesn’t have to be perfect,” Garnes said. “Like coach says, 1-0 every week. Nothing changes. Being intentional about everything we do with a purpose—that’s what we’re going to do.”
Though the Deacs won’t change who they are because of who they face this weekend, everyone in the program knows how important this game is and the impact it could have on the Deacs’ season.
“Obviously it’s a big game,” DE Rondell Bothroyd said. “We all know that, we can’t ignore it. It’s important for us to ignore the noise and be us.”
Ben is a managing editor and lead contributing writer for Deacons Daily. Ben has a year of experience as the Sports Editor for the Old Gold & Black, and a year of experience as the publication’s print managing editor. He has a journalistic profile of over 40 published news and sports pieces for the Dayton Daily News.