After seven consecutive seasons capped by an appearance in a bowl game, Wake Forest football stumbled to a 4-8 record last year.
Demon Deacons head coach Dave Clawson, who is entering his 11th season at the helm, didn’t panic, but he also didn’t want to rest on the laurels of the program’s recent success after going a combined 19-8 in 2021 and 2022.
“When things are going well you don’t want to mess with it, and then you have a thump and you go 4-8, it makes you examine everything,” Clawson said. “We don’t do things radically different, but we changed our offseason program, we changed our mat drills, we changed how we practice in the spring a little bit.”
The adjustments were made to steer the Demon Deacons back on the path to winning in 2024.
“I think our players noticed that (last season) wasn’t OK, this is how we’re addressing these issues and this is our points of emphasis going forward,” Clawson said.
Captains Jasheen Davis, DeVonte Gordon and Taylor Morin all expressed the need for improvement at ACC Media Day in Charlotte on Wednesday as the Demon Deacons return a majority of starters returning and some new faces in key positions.
“I just feel like at times last year, you know, we was hurt and we had a young team. So a lot of those inexperienced guys were getting their first feel of the game, and like with that comes mistakes,” said Davis, a defensive lineman. “But I feel like mistakes are needed in order to grow in life. So I just feel like that last year might not have been the best for us, but I feel like it could be a lesson.”
Starting quarterback spot up is up for grabs
Wake Forest enters 2024 with a battle for the starting quarterback spot.
Transfer Hank Bachmeier, a former standout at Boise State who joined the Demon Deacons from Louisiana Tech, will contend with redshirt senior Michael Kern, who completed 62% of his 92 passes last season for 647 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions, and a number of youthful options for the starting spot.
“We told Michael if he came back he’d have a chance to compete for the job, we told Hank if he came to Wake Forest he’d have a chance to compete for the job,” Clawson said. “I see those two as the two primary competitors for it, but I’m not going to eliminate this early the chance that someone else could emerge.”
Bachmeier completed 24 of 40 passes for 310 yards, a touchdown and an interception during Wake Forest’s spring game in April .
A variety of younger quarterback options played opposite of Bachmeier in April’s spring game, with freshman Jeremy Hecklinski, redshirt freshman Tyler Mizzell and redshirt freshman Charlie Gilliam all getting reps. Hecklinski impressed with 204 yards on 12-for-21 passing and three touchdowns.
Kern, who did not play in April’s spring game due to an injury, joined the Deacons in 2019 and has made occasional spot appearances before starting his first game for Wake Forest last season.
Clawson said that he is in no rush to make a decision on the starting quarterback ahead of the team’s Aug. 29 season opener. He’ll look for improved quarterback play from the eventual winner of the preseason battle.
2023’s offensive struggles leave room for improvement
Wake Forest scored just 243 points last season — 100 of which came in its first three games against Elon, Vanderbilt and Old Dominion — compared to the 574 it scored in 2021 and 469 in 2022.
A variety of factors played into the Demon Deacons’ struggles on the offensive side of the ball last year, including the fact that Wake Forest gave up an ACC-worst 49 sacks.
“Before you can go forward, you gotta stop going backwards. So to me on offense, it was the turnovers, it was the sacks, it was the TFLs and negative yardage plays,” Clawson said. “It’s the worst offense we’ve had since 2015 and our negative yardage plays and sacks were back up to that level.”
The Demon Deacons also struggled to convert on third and fourth down, ranking second-worst and worst in the ACC.
“I know a lot of guys in my room and every other room on the team feel as though we left something on the table,” Gordon said. “Every different direction you can say went wrong last year, but at the end of the day you have to take accountability and look at what you did wrong yourself. I think that’s something that everybody has embraced this off-season.”
Wake Forest will also look to new talent to strengthen not only the offense, but a defense that also saw heavy turnover at defensive back.
There will plenty of new faces at wide receiver and defensive back
Wake Forest’s incoming class slots in at No. 52 in 247Sports’ composite rankings , its highest-rated group since 2015, and boasts additions in key positions that the Deacons lost important contributors in, such as wide receiver and defensive back.
The Deacons lost three of their top four pass catchers last year by receiving yards, with Morin the only returnee — he caught 41 passes for 617 yards and two touchdowns last season.
However, Wake Forest will get redshirt junior Donovan Greene back after he missed last season with a knee injury he suffered on the first day of camp in 2023.
“It’s huge having a guy like Donovan who is as explosive as he is and is able to make as many big plays as he does,” Morin said. “We have a lot of weapons on offense.”
Morin praised returners Walker Merrill and Horatio Fields, who he said have made great strides in the spring and over the summer. The Deacons also added four-star wide receiver Jeremiah Melvin, one of three freshman additions at receiver. Clawson believes that the combination of returners and new additions will strengthen the wide receiver room this season.
“Over the last five, six, seven years at Wake, that’s been one of our strongest groups,” Clawson said. “We’ve had really good top line kids and we’ve had the next generation that’s really talented, ready to go.”
“Between Donovan, Taylor, Walker and Horatio I think we have really good top line guys. And then I’m really, really excited about Deuce Alexander, Micah Mays, Jeremiah Melvin,” he said. “I feel like ‘okay, we’re gonna get back on track at receiver.’”
The Deacons also lost a pair of defensive backs to the NFL Draft and DaShawn Jones to Alabama in the transfer portal, but added talent in Kent State transfer Capone Blue, Division II Lenoir–Rhyne transfer C’Darius Kelley and three incoming freshman corners.
“We wanted to add numbers and competition so that we have depth and hopefully the cream will rise,” Clawson said. “Those guys, everything we’ve seen from them athletically so far, makes me believe that they’re going to help us.”
In addition to Bachmeier, Blue and Kelley, Wake Forest acquired three more transfers in offensive tackle Keagen Trost from Indiana State, defensive lineman Mateen Ibirogba from Georgetown and linebacker Branson Combs from Southern Illinois.
2024 schedule keeps Wake Forest close to home
The Deacons’ unique 2024 schedule will allow them to stay close to home for most of the season.
Wake Forest won’t play an away game until on Oct. 5 at NC State and won’t travel outside of North Carolina for a game until Oct. 19 for a game at UConn.
In fact, the Deacons will only leave their home state three times all year for games at UConn, Stanford and Miami, with the rest of their schedule made up of seven home games and a pair of short trips to NC State and UNC.
“We love our rivalry with (NC State). We love our in-state rivalries,” Clawson said. “The history of Wake Forest in the ACC is Tobacco Road and our in-state games. Our players like those games, our fans like those games.”
The Demon Deacons seem determined to make last season nothing more than a blip, and their first chance to get back to winning ways will be in its season opener against North Carolina A&T on Aug. 29 at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium.
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