It would have been folly to think that Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson would name a starting quarterback by the end of Fall camp. Wake’s Fall camp is over. The team goes into prep for the season opener next week. But apparently the quarterback battle is not over. The Demon Deacons are one of only two or three ACC teams that have yet to name a starter for the season.
At least that is the case publicly. Next week, at his weekly press conference, it is likely the media will get a depth chart for week one that has the all-inclusive “or” in it. The quarterback position would be listed as Michael Kern “or” Hank Bachmeier.
One or Two Quarterbacks Next Week?
In theory, Clawson has to choose a starter for the first game, but the weight of that decision beyond week one has its limits. Both Kern and Bachmeier are likely to get snaps in the home game against North Carolina A&T. So then is that game the real audition for who starts going forward? It’s only a rhetorical question since the team is now media-free at practice, as is the norm for several schools.
The two were interchangeable in terms of snaps in the last week of practice. One would take snaps with the “ones” one day, and the other with the “twos.” The next day the roles would be switched. Any objective observation would have to say there was not a lot of space between them. Any gap in performance over the course of the camp taken in its entirety is minimal at most.
Purging the Past
Clawson will be the first to tell you he believes he will need both. He recites 2021 as the only time in his 10 previous years at Wake that they have not needed at least two quarterbacks in a season. It’s the competition in camp that is relatively new to the program. For a few years, the answers were known well ahead of time.
But last year’s decision in Spring to go with Mitch Griffis is something that clearly still sits in Clawson’s mind. He still seeks answers about the differences between “practice Mitch” and “game Mitch” and how he and the staff did not see it sooner. While the system for camp drills was changed for reasons of needing to adapt to a new world order in college football, it could be said that Clawson has yet to cleanse his own mind of what happened with his quarterbacks last year.
Saying the Right Things
Whoever gets the start next Thursday will be confident they earned it. “I’m very confident with how I have been playing,” Kern said Monday after practice. He was sure to add, “I’ll leave it up to them (the coaches) 100%. I trust them. And I will do whatever it takes to help the Deacs win.
For some reporters, the expected answer was not enough. So Kern was asked more bluntly, “Do you think you have done enough to earn the starting job?” He paused for a moment before answering. “If it was up to my interpretation, I believe I have done a good job. But it’s not (up to his interpretation).” Again he was quick to add his level of faith in the looming decision from Clawson and offensive coordinator Warren Ruggiero.
Bachmeier is a little more used to the process of practice and waiting. After being a four-star quarterback recruit out of Southern California, he spent four years at Boise State, and then a year at Louisiana Tech before completing the cross-country journey to Winston-Salem.
Bachmeier also took the quarterback 101 approach when asked about the quarterback competition. “It’s a big decision for these guys,” he said referring to the coaches. “Whatever happens, happens. I just want to support the team and contribute in any way that I can.”
That compelled the same reporter to come back with the same blunt question that Kern got. Do you think you have done enough to earn the starting job? “Yeah, I think I have,” he responded. “But I think Michael’s done a great job too,” he added. “I think we made it tough for them to make a decision.”
Filling in Gaps
Who they will be throwing to is not as simple. Donavon Greene did not participate in the last day of camp, although he was with the team. Nagging and minor physical issues kept him out yet again. Clawson had told the media Thursday they hoped to have him back Monday or early in the week.
Conversely, Walker Merrill was in full contact mode for one of the few times in Fall camp. He and Bachmeier were in a definitive rhythm together.
Running back Demond Claiborne who missed Thursday’s scrimmage was also back at full speed Monday.
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