WINSTON-SALEM — Now in his 11th season as Wake Forest’s head football coach, Dave Clawson is hoping that his Demon Deacon team can rebound this fall after finishing last in the ACC standings and failing to make a bowl game last year.
Barring the abbreviated 2020 campaign, last season’s 4-8 (1-7 ACC) record was Wake’s first losing season since 2015. It wasn’t as if the team had struggled heading into the campaign — the Demon Deacons had accumulated a 19-8 combined record in the two previous two years leading up to 2023.
Last year
Wake found itself digging out of quicksand last fall after star quarterback Sam Hartman departed for Notre Dame and elite wideout A.T. Perry jumped to the NFL Draft.
Despite the presence of veteran offensive coordinator Warren Ruggiero, the Deacs’ offense led by quarterback Mitch Griffis fell off a cliff as the offensive line allowed 49 sacks and the team failed to sustain extended drives.
Defensive coordinator Brad Lambert’s unit managed to hold ACC teams to 27.5 points a contest, but Wake consistently struggled to keep up on the scoreboard. A 4-0 start to the season quickly became fool’s gold as Wake sputtered with a tough schedule and ended the campaign with five consecutive losses.
After a 26-6 home loss to NC State late in the season, Clawson admitted that his team had “lost its way” and that the booing crowd inside Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium was “justified.”
Changes and newcomers
Entering their second transitional season in a row, the Demon Deacons are crossing their fingers that Boise State/Louisiana Tech quarterback transfer Hank Bachmeier will get the offense to a gear it couldn’t reach last year; sixth-year senior Michael Kern is considered as the secondary option for the starting job.
This marks Bachmeier’s sixth season after four years at Boise State and a year in Louisiana. He has a collegiate tally of 8,663 yards, 51 touchdowns and 24 interceptions, with a career completion percentage of 63%.
Due to the transfer portal, the Deacs will be without three of its top four previous targets: Jahmal Banks (Nebraska), Ke’Shawn Williams (Indiana), and Wesley Grimes (NC State). Joining Williams, leading running back Justin Ellison also left for Indiana.
Wake will look to get some solid production from corner transfer Capone Blue, who broke up 11 passes last year at Kent State.
Players to watch
Along with Bachmeier at the QB position, running back Demond Claiborne and receiver Taylor Morin are primed to make up the team’s base offensive attack, at least on paper.
Claiborne finished the 2023 season with 586 yards and five touchdowns, leading into Wake’s recent spring camp where he showed signs of possibly having a breakout season this year. When it comes to Wake’s running back core, the junior rusher is the most experienced and productive player in the room.
Like Claiborne, Morin finds himself embracing a bigger role as the opportunity presents itself. The redshirt senior slot receiver has 2218 yards and 19 touchdowns heading into his fifth full season with the team.
On the other side of the ball, senior defensive lineman Jasheen Davis returns as one of the ACC’s top pass rushers with 7.5 sacks and 17 tackles for loss last season.
Best case
The Demon Deacons make 2023 look like a vast outlier by playing competitive football again in the style that Clawson and his staff are accustomed to.
Bachmeier proves to be the answer and true successor to Hartman under center and fires up a Wake offense that — unlike last year — can match the energy of the defense, leading to seven or eight wins and a return to a bowl game.
Worst case
Wake continues to slump without the star power of former years, agitating both the fan base and program boosters who are now beginning to question the trajectory of the team in this current college football climate.
The depth and talent concerns on both sides of the ball fail to improve as the transfer portal continues to make a big hit after a second-straight season without a bowl appearance.
Key games
The team’s schedule isn’t necessarily a killer, but it will be a true test of what this roster is capable of.
Sept. 7 vs. Virginia — Wake’s ACC opener is an opportunity to start the season 2-0 after what should be a season-opening win against North Carolina A&T. While there are winnable games left on the Deacs’ schedule, a potential bowl game is much more likely if they can beat the Cavaliers in Winston-Salem.
Nov. 16 at North Carolina — Wake is 4-6 in its last 10 games against the Tar Heels and has lost each of the past three matchups. Neither team is in top form heading into the fall, providing a chance for Wake to steal an important conference game in Chapel Hill.
Outlook
There seems to be a wide range of outcomes and unknowns for the 2024 Demon Deacons.
In his near-dozen years at Wake, Clawson has proven to be a formidable leader who can make the most of what he’s been given.
However, it’s unclear what he will make of this roster that is in a continued rebuilding stretch. Tough circumstances combined with a tough schedule to make for a dismal showing last year, and now Wake will attempt to improve in its second consecutive transition season.
