The Demon Deacons Run Game Needs a Push

For all of the talk about the potency of Wake Forest’s offense, head coach Dave Clawson is concerned. The Demon Deacons run game needs a push. Last year’s offense lacked balance between the passing game and the rushing attack. Clawson says that needs to change starting in Fall camp.

Wake Forest was ninth in the country last year in passing yards per game. The Demon Deacons averaged just over 311 yards per game through the air. Sam Hartman was seventh in the country among quarterbacks for passing yards per game. They had five receivers with more than 500 pass-catching yards, including A.T. Perry with 1,096.

But the offense’s see-saw was not going up and down equally. The team’s leading rusher was Justice Ellison. He finished the season with 699 yards, which got him ranked all the way down at 106^th in the country.

Imbalance Needs Addressing

As training camp opened Monday, Clawson said it is a priority for improvement. “We were one of the best pass offenses in the country last year. But it was the least productive year running the football since 2015,” Clawson pointed out. Wake had only nine runs of 20 yards or more all of last year. It wasn’t just a matter of the lack of yards on the ground. It was the lack of explosive plays out of the backfield.

The coach said part of the issue last year was falling behind frequently. Instead of being able to run the ball to close out a game, the Deacs were having to throw the ball to catch up. He called it a team issue, needing the offensive line to get that push to the second level of the defense, and needing the running backs to have the explosiveness to exploit the open space. He emphasized that it was something they needed throughout the game, not just in the closing stages, in order to have that balance.

That puts more eyes on Ellison. The fourth-year running back finished just shy of 700 yards in a backfield that ran the ball by committee. But he averaged just over four yards per carry. He added 62 yards on 10 catches out of the backfield. At ACC media days last week, quarterback Mitch Griffis called Ellison, “A Swiss army knife,” for his ability to do a little bit of everything. “I cannot say enough good things about Justice Ellison,” Griffis said last week. “He works his tail off. He’s a great leader.”

Ellison’s Preparation

Ellison told us this week that because he played so many different positions in high school, he is used to training for everything. “My dynamic in catching the ball out of the backfield, running the ball, or pass blocking has helped me be a well-rounded running back.”

Clawson said he noticed a difference in the Spring. “To me, he [Ellison] was a step quicker, a step faster and he was making people miss in the second and third levels better.” Ellison said the intensity and focus have changed for him, but that it has to more to do with trusting what he is seeing in front of him. “What I have been working on all Summer is that when I see that crease, when I see that opportunity, I’ve got to take it,” Ellison told us. “It’s all about reaction. Last year I did a little bit of overthinking.”

The team inclination is still going to be there to move the ball downfield via the pass. Wake is returning four receivers who combined for more than 2,400 yards last year. But Clawson said he needs to see more of the yards on the ground, earlier in the game to maintain balance throughout the contest. It’s not just about making it easier for a first-year starting quarterback. “Running the football and being patient with the run game isn’t a position issue. It’s a team issue,” he said after practice. “If you’re ahead, and playing with leads, you can run the ball and be patient.”

The Need

Clawson said, “If you get in one-score games, which traditionally we get in a lot of those, the ability to run the football and close the game out becomes very important.”

And then there is the expectation for big plays out of the run game, the way they have been getting them out of the passing game for years. “A lot of times, the two, three, four, five-yard play is the o-line and the tight end getting the box count right, and getting the right play. For the explosive plays, the running back has got to get you from five to 50 [yards].”

Theoretically, the run game will still be by committee to a degree. Will Towns and Demond Claiborne are going to get carries. But in 2022 they combined for 26 carries for 128 yards. Whoever can get that explosion through the second level of defense is going to get the workload. But for now, it is Ellison’s ball to carry in the run game.