Coachesclinic.com Featured Matchup: Army vs #16 Wake Forest

• By Caleb Hopkins

The #16 Wake Forest Demon Deacons take on the Army Golden Knights Saturday. Coming in at 6-0, the Demon Deacons are off to their best start since 1944, a time when the ACC did not even exist! But don’t count Army out. They come into this game allowing 129 points LESS, a stellar defense coached by Nate Woody, a 29-year coaching veteran. Will the Deacons become 7-0 for the first time since 1978? Or will the Golden Knights have the upset every team dreams of?

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (6-0)

Wake's Offensive Line is solid as usual and they block what Wake likes to do very well. The offense still relies on their read-option and RPO long mesh and the line does well to sustain blocks as well as getting a big push up front to create running lanes for the backs

Dave Clawson has been leading the Wake Forest football program for the better part of a decade now and even though he consistently gets them to bowl games, people are still surprised when he has his team playing well. 

The RPO isn’t anything new to Clawson. It really opens up your playbook, leaning on the run with a high likelihood of those big gain pass plays. Their main goal is to decrease the amount of time they are in pass protection while maintaining their control of the extra defender in the box.

He gives you an RPO where their QB is actively blocking, becoming the 7th blocker to take the end man on the line of scrimmage. A great way to get everyone involved!

Dave Cohen, head Defensive line coach for Wake Forest, uses a variety of stunts and movements out of his defensive front to create confusion on offense, giving the defense the upper hand. Against Army’s triple-option wishbone offense, he’s going to have to pull a rabbit out of the hat and create turnovers and big-time stops. 

Coach Cohen gives you an elite way to cancel interior gaps; the run TEX concept. He explains that when the corner is used as an edge force against a gap scheme, you lose the cutback defender. 

Instead, he uses the 3 technique in a wider split to set the edge, forcing everything back inside, keeping the corner strictly for pass coverage and secondary run fits.

Dave Cohen - Movements and Stunts to Stop the Run 

The Wake Forest defense has been absolutely outstanding this season, only allowing an average of 21 points per game, and 11 passing touchdowns. Defensive backs coach Paul Williams has the “bend but don’t break” montra, which many teams in college football ar enow relying on.

His defensive backs are among the best in the ACC and college football.

The reason why? It's all in the feet. 

Coach William's gives you 4 pedal series, great for creating faster breaks on the ball, as well as covering digs, hitches, or any other routes that may come their way.

Paul Williams - DB Drills and Techniques

Army Golden Knights (4-2)

Army is coming into this game as the underdogs, but grit is one thing the Golden Knights never have to worry about. Their program revolves around the “7 Commandments”, a number of philosophies head coach Jeff Monken has instilled over his last 7 years as the commander. 

“We want our players to identify as a physical, competitive, even combative personality as a football player. Run with force, knock people off the ball, and be dominant.”

But this isn't’ the only toughness Monken wants from his players. He needs his players to be mentally tough, using the phrase “Don’t react, respond.” Army believes they’re going to find a way a win in every situation at every position, and they very well could come game time.

Jeff Monken - The Plan

The Golden Knights have been running the same offense for years: the triple-option wishbone. There are 4 main fundamentals QB coach Cody Worley asks his QB to master every day at practice.

Footwork

Posture

Mesh Mechanics

Pitch Progression

They want to be the most fundamentally sound teams. In the film room, the Army coaches are hyper-critical, wanting nothing but excellence for their unit. The smallest flaw can be the difference between winning and losing. He breaks down their option footwork, from the toes to the quarterback's eyes. Every piece of the puzzle has to fit for Army to win this matchup. 

Cody Worley - Option Framework & Fundamentals 

In years prior, the Army defense has ranked inside the top 10, at one point only allowing 276 yards per game. This season, Army has been causing numerous turnovers with their aggressive and pinpoint precise defense. They run a 3-4 defense, which should slow the Demon Deacons high-powered RPO offense.

Defensive coach Nate Woody breaks down their base defense, showing that their strong safety is a major key to the defense, being the coverage caller while the middle backer handles everything from the line of scrimmage to himself. They need to bring pressure and force turnovers, keeping the Wake Forest offense out of the red zone as much as possible.

Nate Woody - Army Defense

The Army staff was a big part of the Lauren’s First and Goal Clinic for Pediatric Brain Tumor Research this past January.  John Loose and his wife Marianne created the foundation in honor of their daughter Lauren, a cancer survivor.  The following clinic talks were presented by members of the Army staff:

Matt Drinkall - RPO & Run Game Bundle (includes 4 courses)

Cortney Braswell - Cover 6 Defense

Saga Tuitele - Inside Zone Fundamentals and Technique

John Loose - Corner and Safety Blitz Schemes

John Loose - Tackling and Defensive Fundamentals

Conor Hughes - Organization and Management of Large Teams in the Weight Room

Mike Sullivan - Teaching the Quarterback to Watch Film

Sean Saturnio - ABC’s of Punt Blocking

Clayton Kendrick Holmes - The Chief of Staff Role