Wake Forest and their players deserve better
After Wake Forest’s 43-15 drubbing of Boston College this past weekend, the first question asked of head coach Dave Clawson in ACC Network’s on-field interview was a strange one — “Offensively, what would you say the team needs to clean up after this performance?”
Clawson, rightfully so, checked to ensure the field reporter didn’t mean defense. That would also make little sense, considering the Eagles’ meager 15-point output. But she didn’t mean defense. With a shake of his head and a chuckle, Clawson gestured to the scoreboard.
“Not too much,” he replied. “We scored 43 points.”
While the question was likely asked without negative intention, it was a microcosm of what Clawson and his team have been facing for far too long — a lack of respect.
Quarterback Sam Hartman did throw an interception in the game, yes. And sure, there were some three-and-outs that were avoidable. But, at the end of the day, Hartman passed for 313 yards and five touchdowns, while adding another on the ground — and the interception was tipped.
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That performance earned him the best Power Five quarterback grade for the week from PFF, along with honors like ACC Quarterback of the Week, Manning Star of the Week and Davey O’Brien Great 8.
The awards give credence to Clawson’s press conference statement after the Boston College game, when he said there’s no other quarterback in the country he would rather have than Hartman. It doesn’t make up for the fact that Hartman has flown under the radar on a national level his entire career — even when he took Wake Forest to the ACC Championship last season and has this year’s Deacs at No. 10 in the AP Poll. But, now in his fifth year in Winston-Salem, the lack of acknowledgement comes as no surprise.
“It’s Wake Forest,” Hartman said after the game. “What do you expect?”
The expectation should be for Wake Forest to get the recognition. For the second-straight year, as the smallest team in the Power Five with an undergrad enrollment of around 5,400, the Deacs are back in the Top 10. Even more noticeable, their only loss of the season came against No. 4 Clemson — in double overtime.
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“Overall, probably not,” Clawson replied when asked if Wake Forest gets enough approval on a national stage. “I'm never going to control that narrative. I don't care as long as we win games. That feeling in the locker room after a win, that beats any article that comes out Sunday.”
“At the same time, I do feel I need to support our players,” Clawson continued. “If you look at what Sam has done over his career, has anybody right now in the country done more to elevate a program than he has?”
As focused as Clawson is on the team’s mindset and results, the noise, or lack thereof, is something that is hard to ignore.
“It really bothered me in the preseason,” he said. “When our own conference’s network put the graphic out of the top four quarterbacks and [Hartman was] not included. Like, how do you do that? Those things bother me. I think our players deserve better.”
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Wake Forest’s resume this season speaks for itself — the players do deserve better. And to get their due, they’ll continue to fall back on one of Clawson’s biggest mantras — going 1-0 every week.
Wake Forest, with all their “offensive struggles” in the 43-15 victory, will be forced to continue what they’ve been doing for years now. They will carry on setting the new standard of pursuing trophies and rankings they couldn’t have previously dreamed of. The Deacs may never get the deserved credit for what they are doing — what they have done — but maybe someone will notice someday. Until then, they’ll just have to keep on winning.
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Essex is the lead football writer and a managing editor for Deacons Daily. Essex served as the Sports Editor for the Old Gold & Black for two years, in addition to roles as a beat and feature writer.