Dontavious Jackson details slowing down Wake’s tempo and praises defensive line

Florida State’s defense struggled early in the game and a big part of that was the tempo that Wake Forest’s offense was able to maintain for much of the first half. As the defense adjusted to the fast pace, linebacker Dontavious Jackson said strategy for slowing them down was simple.

“Hit em,” Jackson said. “Be more physical. When we tackle them, make them feel us. Make them want to get up slower.”

Stellar play from the defensive line headlined the day as they left Wake quarterback Sam Hartman with very little time to get rid of the ball.

“I would say that’s just our D-line being our D-line,” Jackson said. “All those guys up there are studs. The DT’s and the D-Ends, all of those guys are studs and they showed it today. We didn’t even blitz a lot. We just played and they just made plays.”

Another player that impressed on the defense today was Jackson’s fellow linebacker Emmit Rice who recorded a sack and a TFL while he was in the Deacon’s backfield throughout the day. Jackson was happy to see Rice enjoy some success after dealing with injury.

“I was excited, man.” Jackson said. “That’s my dawg, man. It’s been a long time coming. He was fighting that injury and trying to get back to 100%. It felt so good to see him make a play, he got so excited.”