Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson made a splashy hire at defensive coordinator this offseason by bringing in veteran Brad Lambert.

Lambert has experience  — and a quality track record — at programs like Purdue, Marshall and Charlotte. He also previously served as an assistant at Wake Forest.

With Wake Forest coming off an 11-win season, Clawson said that experience was a big element of what he was looking for.

“I think the program where it is now, we’re past the point to take a chance on an up-and-comer and hope it works out,” Clawson said at ACC Kickoff on Wednesday. “Obviously, the work that Brad did at Wake Forest, at Marshall and at Purdue and as a head coach at Charlotte, he was a proven commodity.”

Wake Forest has quietly reached 6 straight bowl games, which is a program record. It’s also coming off its second 10-win season in program history.

Clawson also believes that Lambert will be an asset for the program on the recruiting trail.

“He spent so much of his career in the Southeast that he has been in the high schools in the areas that we recruit, and he is a great fit,” Clawson said. “I think we’ll be more aggressive than we’ve been in the past. Certainly with the way we play on offense it’s going to be hard to ever be the top ranked defense in the ACC just because we play more plays.

“By the same token, I think we’re capable of a lot of improvement on that side of the ball, and I’m very comfortable and confident that we’re going to get there with Coach Lambert and the staff that he brought in.”

Wake Forest opens the 2022 season with VMI on Sept. 1.