Dave Clawson reflects on how college football has changed in his 25 years as a head coach

Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson is one of the more experienced college football coaches in the game today. With the exception of one year as the offensive coordinator at Tennessee (2008), Clawson has been at the helm of a program in college football since 1999. And his journey across the college football landscape has taken him to various programs, such as Fordham (1999-2003), Richmond (2004-2007), Bowling Green (2009-2013), and now Wake Forest (2014-present).

Recently at ACC Media Days, Clawson took some time to talk about how much the game of college football has changed over the years with the expansion of the transfer portal and NIL.

Dave Clawson on all the changes in CFB over the years

“It’s become a completely different sport in terms of the off-the-field. This will be my 25th year as a head coach at different levels, FCS non-scholarship, FCS scholarship, Group of 5, and now Power Four. I can remember 10, 11 years ago when you were allowed to put out bagels and not put out cream cheese,” Clawson explained.

“Now we’re paying players 10s, hundreds, and millions of dollars a year with unlimited free agency. I think the product on the field is as good as it’s ever been. I think there’s a lot of good with this, that more and more players are pushing off the NFL, and so many good players are coming back. I think the product on the field is as good as it’s ever been,” the Wake Forest head coach noted.

“Certainly, the job of being a head football coach at this level of football has changed drastically in the last two to three years. In some ways for me it’s been a fun challenge, that you learn a new skill set, new ways of doing things, managing your football team,” Clawson continued.

“It’s the evolution of our sport. You have to embrace it,” the Demon Deacons head man noted.

Wake has had to deal with roster turnover from the portal

Clawson has done a phenomenal job over the years implementing his “slow mesh” offensive scheme with the Demon Deacons.

Unfortunately for him, he’s had to deal with a lot of roster turnover in the transfer portal the past few years. This offseason, he lost two of his top receivers, Jahmal Banks and Wesley Grimes, to Nebraska and NC State, respectively. Clawson also lost running back Justice Elllison to Indiana. He was yet another major piece in the Wake offense over the years.

This year, the Demon Deacons’ hopes will be riding on the shoulders of Louisiana Tech transfer quarterback Hank Bachmeier. He began his career at Boise State, transferred to Louisiana Tech, and now it’ll be up to either him or Michael Kern to get the offense rolling.

They’ll be joined in the backfield by running back Demond Claiborne, who put up 586 rushing yards and five touchdowns last year behind a problematic WFU offensive line in 2023. Wake will need to have the offensive line improve substantially if they wish to improve upon their 4-8 record last year.

Wake Forest will open up their 2024 season against North Carolina A&T. That one will be played on Thursday, August 29th. Kick is set for 7:00 PM EST.