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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

April 26, 2017

Dave Clawson

Greensboro, North Carolina

DAVE CLAWSON: We had a very productive spring. For the first time ever we're starting to -- since we've been here, we're starting to get experienced and have a lot more fourth-year juniors, third-year sophomores, young guys that have played a lot of football for us that are starting to get older and have a lot of game experience.

Having said that, we're certainly having to replace some pretty good players on defense that helped us play at a high level the last couple of years, so we need some young guys to step up on that side of the ball and continue to develop playmakers on the offensive side of the ball so we can make more explosive plays and score more points.

So those are some of our goals going into spring, as well as developing depth. We took steps towards doing that, now our guys get back in the weight room and train and look forward to getting back at the camp in late July.

Q. This was sort of a big-picture question, but when you have a quarterback returning or you're breaking in a new quarterback, how much does it change what a coaching staff has to do in terms of putting together what the offense is going to look like? What kind of drills you run? How different are those two processes?
DAVE CLAWSON: I mean, they're very different. Because when you have a returning quarterback, I think you're continuing to develop and evolve the offense around their skillset, the things they do well, the things they excel at, their decision-making, their athleticism.

I think when you're breaking in a new guy, you have a perception of what that skillset is, but until they're actually out there playing games, that's a little bit more of an evolving process.

You also prefer to have the returning starter with a bunch of reps under. But when you're stable at the quarterback position, it's easier to fit the other pieces in terms of how your offense is going to look like.

When the quarterback position isn't settled, what your major personnel groups are and the types of things you're going to do, those things change, and you've got to be flexible with your system.

Q. Looking at your situation now, how much of a better handle or understanding of your quarterbacks do you have now that both of those guys have played for you?
DAVE CLAWSON: Yeah, we're going into John Wolford and Kendall both just finished their third springs, and John now is going into his fourth year and Kendall his third. And between practice and games, those guys have played a lot of snaps.

So we know the things they do well, the things they need to work on. We know how the pieces fit around them, the aspects of the offense that we emphasize with each of them. There is certainly enough crossover with both of them. It's not two completely different offenses. So what we major in or emphasize maybe changes a little bit with each of them.

But I feel like we're in a good situation there. We just need to keep those guys healthy. When those guys are healthy, I think they're both good players. We've just not been able to keep either of them healthy for three years.

So critical to this is our offensive line continuing to make strides. I thought we made a really good step from 15 to 16 on the O-line. We're running the football better. That's an area that in terms of keeping the quarterback healthy, you've got to take hits off the position. Again, we're getting better on the O-line, so I'm optimistic that's going to happen.

Q. On the defensive side of the ball, how did you see the defense progress and evolve with Jay as a coordinator?
DAVE CLAWSON: Well, our base is very similar. We're still based out of a 4-2-5. There are some crossovers with what we did and what we're doing in terms of terminology.

But there are some tweaks too. You have to let a coordinator do the things he believes in and the things they're comfortable coaching.

Probably for the first time we've been here the offense was ahead of the defense because we've been in and out of the same system offensively for four years, as the defense was learning the base and learning their tweaks, but I thought at the end of the spring things started to come together.

And I think for our defensive staff, we have three coaches on defense, and they have a much better feel for our personnel and what those guys can do and where our strengths are and our relative weaknesses are. So I think there's a much better plan now going into the season that they've been through 15 practices with these guys and know what the skillsets are.

Q. To look back from the beginning to where you stand right now, from the beginning to this point, seeing this plan evolve for you over the last couple years, just what can you say about where the plan is and the fact that you were at a school that gave you some time to put that plan in place?
DAVE CLAWSON: Well, I'm certainly grateful that they have given us time. But that goes back to the interview and when I was hired. That we had a blueprint or plan on how we wanted to do things, and that was going to involve red shirting.

Sometimes when you do that, that's a little bit of delayed gratification from that. Now that we're into year four, we're still not an old football team. We still have less than ten seniors in our program, that's three straight years. We now have a big junior class. We have a lot of third-year sophomores. So even though it's not senior heavy, we have a lot more experienced guys.

Now the challenge is to take the next step. We're in a conference and division that that next step is a very difficult step. There are no easy steps in the standings in this conference. There are some other teams that are getting better as well.

So we're a better football team. We're faster, we're bigger, we're stronger. The culture of our locker room I really like. I think our kids enjoy football.

But every year is a new year. Just because you got into a certain point the year before, there are no guarantees you're going to get there again. Our guys enjoyed going to a bowl and enjoyed winning the bowl game and all the things that go with it, but it's hard to get back there. Especially in this conference with our schedule.

Q. Getting the extension that you have, what's that say about how that helps recruiting-wise, knowing that you're going to be there and the plan that's set in place is a plan that continues? How does that helps you kind of know the feels, know the environment, the culture, and let athletes know that you're going to obviously be there for the long haul?
DAVE CLAWSON: Yeah, it certainly helps in recruiting. I think when you recruit young men, and parents, they want to know that the people recruiting them are going to be there through their career.

I think the other thing it does, it allows you to constantly make decisions that are in the best long-term interest of the program. You don't take shortcuts, and the plan is to go here a long time. So you constantly make decisions that are going to benefit the program for the long-term. That's a great position to be in.

Q. You returned one of the best defensive end combos in the league in Duke Ejiofor and Wendell Dunn. I just wonder, both had breakout years last year. Where can they go from here? What did you see in spring? Are they going to take another step forward, or are they already where you want them to be?
DAVE CLAWSON: No, I think the next step forward for Duke is to try to play at a First Team All-ACC level. His whole thing is being able to stay healthy for 12 games. I think when Duke has been healthy and he's at his best, he's shown he can be as good as any defensive end in the conference.

The problem over the last two years, we just haven't had him on the field all the time. But when he's healthy and he can go, he's a force.

Now, this is a league with a lot of very good defensive ends and a lot of good rushers. But I certainly think Duke can establish himself this year as one of the elite defensive ends in the conference.

And Wendell Dunn I think has to go from being that solid, reliable, dependable end that holds his gap to being more of a playmaker, to winning more pass rushes, to get off more blocks, to get more TFLs. He's a good, solid player, but we need him to be more dynamic and make more plays for us.

So those are the challenges for both those guys. So I don't think we're ever, ever going to be saying a player is fine where they're at. It's our job as coaches to push them and get the most out of them and help them develop. I think clearly those guys have done that in our program. But there is another big step to take. You're right, if those two are healthy and playing at a high level, that gives us two very good defensive ends.

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