Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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34 SEPT. 26, 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY PATRICK ENGEL T here's risk-averse, and then there's Dave Clawson. In this college football sea- son, extra caution is nothing but commendable, especially if it involves directly taking away an important football activity. Clawson, Wake Forest's seventh- year head coach, has taken a number of COVID-19 precautions that plenty of others in his profession and be- yond would simply be unwilling to do. He did not allow his team to begin live tackling until three weeks before its first game, much later than most college football programs begin full- contact practice (Notre Dame started tackling on Aug. 16, for comparison). "When we started camp Aug. 6 and the games got postponed," Clawson told reporters earlier in September, "as the head coach I didn't think it was right to have our players tackle and go to the ground where there is a higher risk of injury until I knew it was certain that we were going to play. We usually have two-or-three scrimmages through camp, but in- stead we had one and a half. "I have no regrets doing that, re- gardless of what happens on Satur- days. I think it was the right thing to do." Camp starting meant his home life ending — literally. In July, Clawson also moved away from his family for the entire season, citing his wife's high-risk status for severe COVID-19 complications and his exposure to 150-plus players, coaches and staff each day. He will remain isolated for the entire season, he said. His wife, Catherine, is a cancer survivor. "It's a very real thing for him at a personal level, and I think it has trickled down to the program," Dea- consIllustrated.com publisher Kelly Quinlan said. "It's, 'Let's be extra safe, let's not take chances where we don't need to.'" Any issues from shortage of tack- ling time are likely to show up only in the first game or two. Unfortunately, Wake Forest's early schedule is the most challenging part of its season. The Demon Deacons opened with No. 1 Clemson and now host Notre Dame, with a league game at North Carolina State in between. Wake Forest lost 37-13 to Clemson Sept. 12 for many reasons more im- portant than a shortage of tackling. Clawson belabored communication breakdowns, an absent running game and general sloppiness, among other things. Plus, the Tigers are the No. 1 team in the nation and have rail- roaded the ACC the past three-plus seasons. No one in the conference can match their overall skill level An early season gauntlet is dis- advantageous for assessment of the team, too. Wake Forest, an eight-win team a year ago, is replacing nine of 11 offensive starters and both starting cornerbacks. Mass personnel losses challenge the sustainability of eight- win seasons at a place like Wake For- est, which normally signs recruiting classes that finish in the 50s or low 60s in Rivals' team rankings. Early games against Clemson and Notre Dame, then, aren't likely to pro- vide a great indicator of the team's ca- pabilities. No matter how many start- ers returned, Wake Forest isn't built to hang around with Clemson or Notre Dame. The combined score of its 2018 meeting with the Irish and 2019 game against Clemson was 108-30. "It's kind of hard to gauge where they're at because of the level of com- petition they're playing," Quinlan said. "It's one of those things where it'll take a windup of a few games." In that regard, perhaps a 37-13 loss with two rare missed field goals by an All-American kicker offered a sliver of encouragement, relatively speak- ing. An unproven team put forth a better performance against Clemson than its talented, more experienced predecessor. Wake Forest lost all six skill position starters from a year ago, though junior quarterback Sam Hartman started as a freshman in 2018 and sophomore running back Kenneth Walker III ran for 579 yards last year. Everyone else is light on game experience. Hartman has neither of the Demon Deacons' two 1,000-yard receivers from last season at his disposal. One of them, Kendall Hinton, was an ex- pected loss to graduation. The other, projected early round pick Sage Sur- ratt, opted out of the season this sum- mer and declared for the NFL Draft. But against Clemson, there were no signs the position will be a liability. It may even be a strength. The replace- GAME PREVIEW: WAKE FOREST Facts & Figures NOTRE DAME AT WAKE FOREST Game Info Date: Sept. 26, 2020 Site: Truist Field, Winston-Salem, N.C. Kickoff: 12 p.m. ET Television: ABC Radio: This game can be heard on Notre Dame's IMG affiliates. Series Facts: Notre Dame leads the series 5-0 and won the last meeting 56-27 on Sept. 22, 2018 in Winston-Salem, N.C. Head coaches: Wake Forest — Dave Clawson (36-42, seventh season); Notre Dame — Brian Kelly (94-37, 11th season). Noting Wake Forest: Quarterback Sam Hart- man is replacing Jamie Newman, who became a graduate transfer at Georgia after the 2019 campaign, but has since opted out of this sea- son and declared for the NFL Draft … All five meetings between Notre Dame and Wake For- est have occurred since 2011 … No Wake Forest head coach has finished with a win percentage over .500 since Peahead Walker from 1937-40 … Despite the overall losing records, Wake Forest has had only three head coaches since 1993 … Eight of Wake Forest's 14 bowl game appear- ances have come since 2007 … The current four- year bowl streak is the longest in team history … The current four-year streak of winning seasons is the program's longest since 1944-48. Evolving on ThE Fly The Demon Deacons' camp caution and skill position turnover leave much to be sorted out in-season Sam Hartman started nine games at quarterback as a freshman in 2018 before moving down to backup duty last season. He's now back as the starter. PHOTO BY JOE VOGAN/COURTESY WAKE FOREST ATHLETICS