The unincorporated township of Aylett, Virginia has a population of 8,203. That means if everyone in his hometown made the trip to Winston-Salem to show up at one of Demond Claiborne’s Wake Forest home games this year, they’d fill just over a quarter of the stadium—which is one of the smaller ones in the ACC.
Numbers aren’t the best way to describe a town like Aylett, though. Perhaps Claiborne has a better way.
“Yeah, country, country, country,” he said. “Really country. We got cows at my school, chickens at my school, turkeys at my school.”
Claiborne certainly wasn’t poking fun at the small town he calls home. In fact, the ACC’s second-leading returning rusher credits his roots for his success.
“Growing up in that environment definitely was cool,” he said, “but those country folks—they teach you how to work and go get it. That’s definitely something that’s embedded in me, and I’m ready to continue to roll with how I was taught coming from the country.”
And Aylett really isn’t all that small. There’s a DoubleTree Inn within a 45-minute drive. And a Sheraton hotel. And a JCPenney department store.
Claiborne knows this, because his mother, Tomeka worked at all three—at the same time.
“My mom was definitely,” he began, searching for the right word. “She’s gritty. My mom worked three jobs to this day, you know. So, my mama texted me every morning, ‘Hey, son, I love you. About to go to work. Have a great day.’”
Like many players, Claiborne has a list of goals going into each season. Near the top of that list, every year, is a simple goal, “Never let my mom outwork me.”
A single mom, raising five sons—Demond is the second oldest—Tomeka also serves as the role model for Claiborne’s work ethic.
“Having that mindset to not let my mom outwork me is definitely something that’s allowed me to be in this position I am today,” he said. “You know, I told my mom not too long ago that eventually I’m getting her out of this situation. I just told her to stay down with me. And, you know, she always texts back like, ‘I got you, son, I love you. Have a great day,’ you know? So, Ma Dukes is definitely the reason why I continue to do this.”
Claiborne’s country upbringing taught him more than just a work ethic. He also learned loyalty.
Claiborne rushed for 1,049 yards last season, and his 11 rushing touchdowns tied for second most in a season in school history. At a time when football stars in the most stable programs are hearing whispers of the NIL money they could make with a trip to the transfer portal, the rising senior saw longtime coach Dave Clawson step down. No one would have blamed him for shopping for a better situation.
From the day he arrived for his introductory press conference, however, new Wake coach Jake Diekert made it clear that keeping Claiborne was a major priority.
“I think when we (Claiborne and Dickert) met, it was solely off of can he help me on the personal aspect of life,” he said. “A lot of coaches during that time when Coach Clawson stepped down were calling my phone asking if we could give you this amount of money to come here or if we could do this for you. Coach Dickert came and his message was, ‘How can I help you as a man off the field?’ So that’s something that stuck out to me. When I first met him I hit the ground running. I wanted to make a statement with him, and we made it happen.”
“He’s one of the first players to say, ‘I believe in this new era of Wake Forest football,’” Diekert said.
As the Demon Deacons go through a transition, they’ll be leaning heavily on their running back with roots in country toughness and grit. Even if Claiborne doesn’t accomplish his most important goal.
“Ma Dukes is gonna outwork me every time,” he said, “but I ain’t gonna let it stop me from continuing to try to reach that goal. I mean, my mom raised five boys, so her story is just a little different. Regardless, she’s gonna be the hardest working person I’ve ever come in contact with. So I don’t know if I’ll ever reach that goal, but it’s not gonna stop me from trying to.”
