DL Dion Bergan on Wake Forest’s Emerging Defense
Coming off a dominant 45-10 win over Army, Wake Forest earned some needed time to take a breath and get ready for the final stretch of the season. With fall break for students coinciding with the bye, players were able to leave Winston-Salem on their own for the first time in months.
“The bye week was good, we got to rest up,” defensive lineman Dion Bergan said. “We got to put our feet up, hang out a little bit and see our families.”
The defense certainly deserved the break. Against the Black Knights, the team forced four turnovers and only allowed one touchdown, holding their opponent scoreless well into the fourth quarter. The performance was a microcosm of their season thus far; along with looking like a better unit in the pass rush and in coverage, the Deacs have allowed 30 less yards per game and less points.
“We try to not think about last year,” Bergan said. “We just try to be the 2022 team. We are trying to be the same [unit] the whole season.”
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A lot of the defensive success can be attributed to a new and improved front four. The starting combo of Bergan, Rondell Bothroyd, Jacorey Johns and Tyler Williams have combined for 57 tackles, 4.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss. Their work this season to improve the pass rush and run defense has made them an incredibly close unit.
“We’ve been able to build a bunch of trust and form a bunch of friendships,” Bergan said. “I think that really does correlate to how well we play on the field, just being able to trust the guy beside you. The D-line room is probably as close as it's ever been.”
It’s not just the starters either. Second stringers Kobie Turner, Jasheen Davis, Kevin Pointer and Kendron Wayman see significant time on the field. Even in a highly competitive game against Florida State, the starting unit combined for 143 snaps, while the second group compiled 108. In addition, Turner, who sees more snaps than others, but is still listed as a backup, was recently named to the Pro Football Focus Midseason All American Team.
“It’s been great,” Bergan said of the rotating units. “I’ll get 50 plays, but it won’t even feel like it because we have such a good rotation going. There’s never any fall off between the first and second groups. We have a bunch of talent. It’s like a starting nine that we rotate through.”
Looking ahead, the defensive front has a tall task ahead of them. At times, quarterback Phil Jurkovec can show signs of being one of the best in the league. Running back Pat Garwo is a consistent downhill runner. And, of course, wide receiver Zay Flowers truly is one of the best in the ACC.
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One advantage: with what was already a young offensive line, Boston College has suffered from several injuries at the position. Head coach Jeff Hafley said in his midweek press conference that the Eagles were down to one starting lineman in practices this week.
“They have a good, high-powered offense,” Bergan said. “It’s going to be on the D-line to make plays against their young offensive line. We plan on coming with a different mindset of just getting to the quarterback, eliminating passes and stopping the run. I think we'll be able to have fun doing that this week.”
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