There aren’t many hot takes to add on the Clemson game. Wake was outgained 456-197. The explosive play margin was only 5-3 – somehow I thought it was worse than that.
The most interesting storyline was obviously the debut of Kyle Kearns, who many fans (including myself) have been wanting to see get more PT. Those wishing to see an end to the calls for more Kyle Kearns will probably be disappointed. The pro-Kearns crowd will (has already?) moved from “Kearns is ahead of Wolford right now” to “Kearns will surpass Wolford with X amount of experience.” Given that the pass offense with an experienced QB was averaging just 15-for-26 for 156 yards over the five games leading up to the Clemson game (with a TD/INT ratio of 2/6), that kind of discussion is to be expected.
While some in the fanbase may want to see more Kyle Kearns, Clawson certainly didn’t seem to share that sentiment, describing Kearns performance as “very uneven” and noting that the team was “very limited in what we could do.” Clawson said that they went with a very conservative game plan and tried to keep the play calls simple for him. They kept his reads to half field reads. Clawson also said that Kearns failed to account for some blitzes in his pre-snap reads.
What really comes through in Clawson’s comments is that he disdains playing FR and rFR at the QB position. He wants Wake to get past the point that the program has to do that. He values experience at the position. He would later acknowledge in his comments that it was not an easy task for a #3 QB with limited practice reps to make his first start on a windy night against a defense like Clemson’s.
This sets up that the most interest storyline of the offseason. How will the staff choose to invest first and second team reps in practices next spring and summer? Will all of those reps again be invested in continuing to develop Wolford and Hinton? Or will another QB earn a share of those reps? It will be interesting to see.
Positives from Kearns Performance: Good touch on the short throws. Generally had good poise, even under pressure. Kept good mechanics and didn’t throw from awkward positions. Seemed to move well behind the line of scrimmage. Displayed very good arm strength.
Negatives from Kearns Performance: Negated INT was a bad decision made under pressure. No positive runs. Didn’t sense a corner blitz on one play. Clawson criticized his pre-snap reads. TV announcers reported that OL was having a tough time hearing the cadence.
Incomplete: There were few attempts to throw the ball downfield, so it was tough to evaluate.
BREAKDOWN OF KEARNS PASS ATTEMPTS
Kearns attempted 20 pass attempts, including two that were negated by penalty and one backwards pass that was technically a rushing attempt. Not many attempts were made downfield.
7 were short, simple pass completions to either the RB, TE or Slot WR. Kearns looked comfortable, accurate and appeared to throw with good mechanics, but these weren’t challenging throws. One of these completions was turned into a 55 yard catch and run by Chuck Wade.
3 passes were dropped, including 2 in the end zone. The throw to Serigne was perhaps his best – and most challenging – throw of the evening. The announcers took the view that his next throw (to Wade) was not catchable because it was thrown behind him. I agree that it was thrown behind him, but I thought it was definitely catchable. To his credit, Wade immediately went over to Kearns after the play to take responsibility.
Only 10 attempts were made to push the ball further downfield. 3 pass attempts were effectively thrown away because of the Clemson coverage. Here’s a breakdown of the remaining 7 attempts:
Kearns two downfield completions were 1) a nice throw to a wide open Cam Serigne for a 41 yard catch and run, and 2) a sideline pass to Cortez Lewis that Kearns made while rolling to his right (Lewis made a good play to come back to the ball).
2 passes downfield were slightly overthrown. One to Lewis and one to Pike. Both were close to completions, especially the early attempt to Lewis that was just inches from being a big play.
Kearns’ 3 worst moments were 1) the interception (negated by penalty), 2) a sideline pass that was nearly intercepted on a nice play by the Clemson DB and 3) an awkward looking pass attempt to Steven Claude in the corner of the endzone that drew Clawson’s ire. The negated INT was Kearns was bad decision after Kearns was forced out of the pocket by the Clemson pass rush.
RUN GAME
The RBs faced a tough situation against the Clemson D and with a rFR QB making his first start, but they managed a very nice 59% success rate (% of runs 3 yards or more). Carney broke runs of 11 and 13 yards. Colburn added a 22 yarder.
The slot WRs were credited with 4 runs (at least one of those might been a backwards pass versus a handoff), but they generally weren’t successful - gaining just 2, -6, -1 and 8 yards.
INJURIES
Jaboree Williams, Josh Harris and Ty Hayworth all returned from injury. Cam Glenn, Traveon Redd and Ryan Janvion all remained out, so for the second game in a row Wake was without three of their top 4 safeties.
RG Phil Haynes left the game with a neck injury and didn’t return. Patrick Osterhage filled his spot.
The passing game is suffering from injuries, and not just at the QB position. Scotty Washington wasn’t dressed out. Tabari Hines played almost the entire first half but didn’t see a single snap in the second half, and later tweeted that he was praying for quick healing. Cam Serigne is so banged up that he needed to be helped back to the bench after his 41-yard catch and run – and I don’t think there was a new injury on the play. When Wake has two TEs in the game and one TE splits out wide it’s actually been Devin Pike (who has just two catches on the year), while Serigne stays inside to block.
A FEW NOTES ON THE DEFENSE
I thought Josh Banks had another good game.
It’s time to acknowledge Amari Henderson’s contribution this season. He’s certainly not the best player on Wake’s defense right now – in fact opposing offenses pick on him some - but he’s become one of my favorites to watch. He battles so hard out there. For all of his ups and downs, he’s stabilized a corner position that was a very big problem for Wake last season and he hasn’t given up many big plays. He recorded his seventh and eighth pass breakups of the season against Clemson. No one else on the team has more than five.
THE SENIORS
I hope that those that are able to attend the BC game will come early to applaud the graduating seniors. While this group lacks a single player the caliber of Kevin Johnson or Brandon Chubb, they will be more difficult to replace than any other group of seniors that have departed during the Clawson era. Marquel Lee, Ty Hayworth, Josh Harris and Josh Banks are four of the best players on the team. Brad Watson, Ryan Janvion and Thomas Brown have each had a good year and have played a lot of football for the Deacons.
The most interesting storyline was obviously the debut of Kyle Kearns, who many fans (including myself) have been wanting to see get more PT. Those wishing to see an end to the calls for more Kyle Kearns will probably be disappointed. The pro-Kearns crowd will (has already?) moved from “Kearns is ahead of Wolford right now” to “Kearns will surpass Wolford with X amount of experience.” Given that the pass offense with an experienced QB was averaging just 15-for-26 for 156 yards over the five games leading up to the Clemson game (with a TD/INT ratio of 2/6), that kind of discussion is to be expected.
While some in the fanbase may want to see more Kyle Kearns, Clawson certainly didn’t seem to share that sentiment, describing Kearns performance as “very uneven” and noting that the team was “very limited in what we could do.” Clawson said that they went with a very conservative game plan and tried to keep the play calls simple for him. They kept his reads to half field reads. Clawson also said that Kearns failed to account for some blitzes in his pre-snap reads.
What really comes through in Clawson’s comments is that he disdains playing FR and rFR at the QB position. He wants Wake to get past the point that the program has to do that. He values experience at the position. He would later acknowledge in his comments that it was not an easy task for a #3 QB with limited practice reps to make his first start on a windy night against a defense like Clemson’s.
This sets up that the most interest storyline of the offseason. How will the staff choose to invest first and second team reps in practices next spring and summer? Will all of those reps again be invested in continuing to develop Wolford and Hinton? Or will another QB earn a share of those reps? It will be interesting to see.
Positives from Kearns Performance: Good touch on the short throws. Generally had good poise, even under pressure. Kept good mechanics and didn’t throw from awkward positions. Seemed to move well behind the line of scrimmage. Displayed very good arm strength.
Negatives from Kearns Performance: Negated INT was a bad decision made under pressure. No positive runs. Didn’t sense a corner blitz on one play. Clawson criticized his pre-snap reads. TV announcers reported that OL was having a tough time hearing the cadence.
Incomplete: There were few attempts to throw the ball downfield, so it was tough to evaluate.
BREAKDOWN OF KEARNS PASS ATTEMPTS
Kearns attempted 20 pass attempts, including two that were negated by penalty and one backwards pass that was technically a rushing attempt. Not many attempts were made downfield.
7 were short, simple pass completions to either the RB, TE or Slot WR. Kearns looked comfortable, accurate and appeared to throw with good mechanics, but these weren’t challenging throws. One of these completions was turned into a 55 yard catch and run by Chuck Wade.
3 passes were dropped, including 2 in the end zone. The throw to Serigne was perhaps his best – and most challenging – throw of the evening. The announcers took the view that his next throw (to Wade) was not catchable because it was thrown behind him. I agree that it was thrown behind him, but I thought it was definitely catchable. To his credit, Wade immediately went over to Kearns after the play to take responsibility.
Only 10 attempts were made to push the ball further downfield. 3 pass attempts were effectively thrown away because of the Clemson coverage. Here’s a breakdown of the remaining 7 attempts:
Kearns two downfield completions were 1) a nice throw to a wide open Cam Serigne for a 41 yard catch and run, and 2) a sideline pass to Cortez Lewis that Kearns made while rolling to his right (Lewis made a good play to come back to the ball).
2 passes downfield were slightly overthrown. One to Lewis and one to Pike. Both were close to completions, especially the early attempt to Lewis that was just inches from being a big play.
Kearns’ 3 worst moments were 1) the interception (negated by penalty), 2) a sideline pass that was nearly intercepted on a nice play by the Clemson DB and 3) an awkward looking pass attempt to Steven Claude in the corner of the endzone that drew Clawson’s ire. The negated INT was Kearns was bad decision after Kearns was forced out of the pocket by the Clemson pass rush.
RUN GAME
The RBs faced a tough situation against the Clemson D and with a rFR QB making his first start, but they managed a very nice 59% success rate (% of runs 3 yards or more). Carney broke runs of 11 and 13 yards. Colburn added a 22 yarder.
The slot WRs were credited with 4 runs (at least one of those might been a backwards pass versus a handoff), but they generally weren’t successful - gaining just 2, -6, -1 and 8 yards.
INJURIES
Jaboree Williams, Josh Harris and Ty Hayworth all returned from injury. Cam Glenn, Traveon Redd and Ryan Janvion all remained out, so for the second game in a row Wake was without three of their top 4 safeties.
RG Phil Haynes left the game with a neck injury and didn’t return. Patrick Osterhage filled his spot.
The passing game is suffering from injuries, and not just at the QB position. Scotty Washington wasn’t dressed out. Tabari Hines played almost the entire first half but didn’t see a single snap in the second half, and later tweeted that he was praying for quick healing. Cam Serigne is so banged up that he needed to be helped back to the bench after his 41-yard catch and run – and I don’t think there was a new injury on the play. When Wake has two TEs in the game and one TE splits out wide it’s actually been Devin Pike (who has just two catches on the year), while Serigne stays inside to block.
A FEW NOTES ON THE DEFENSE
I thought Josh Banks had another good game.
It’s time to acknowledge Amari Henderson’s contribution this season. He’s certainly not the best player on Wake’s defense right now – in fact opposing offenses pick on him some - but he’s become one of my favorites to watch. He battles so hard out there. For all of his ups and downs, he’s stabilized a corner position that was a very big problem for Wake last season and he hasn’t given up many big plays. He recorded his seventh and eighth pass breakups of the season against Clemson. No one else on the team has more than five.
THE SENIORS
I hope that those that are able to attend the BC game will come early to applaud the graduating seniors. While this group lacks a single player the caliber of Kevin Johnson or Brandon Chubb, they will be more difficult to replace than any other group of seniors that have departed during the Clawson era. Marquel Lee, Ty Hayworth, Josh Harris and Josh Banks are four of the best players on the team. Brad Watson, Ryan Janvion and Thomas Brown have each had a good year and have played a lot of football for the Deacons.
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