Preview 2019: Previewing and looking ahead to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Recruiting Class Analysis | Schedule Analysis
– Wake Forest Previews 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2018 Record: 7-6 overall, 3-5 in ACC
Head Coach: Dave Clawson, 6th year, 28-35
5. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE WAKE FOREST OFFENSE
– It was a feast-or-famine offense that scored 50 points or more four times, and 27 points or fewer in seven games. Overall, though, it finished 28th in the nation in total O and averaged 33 points per game. There’s excellent balance, enough of a burst and explosion to come up with the big performances needed – like in the go-bowling-or-go-home 59-7 win over Duke – to be dangerous.
– The old adage that if you have two starting quarterbacks, you don’t have one doesn’t quite apply. There’s an excellent battle between Jamie Newman and Sam Hartman that will go deep into the fall camp, and there’s no real wrong answer.
The 6-4, 230-pound junior Newman stepped in late in the year and led the way to three wins in the final four games. He can run, but he’s got the size and the downfield passing skills to build around. Hartman is a smallish baller who rose up in his true freshman season and threw two touchdown passes or more in seven of his first nine games before getting knocked out for the season with a leg injury. They’re both good.
– Both quarterbacks will be positive rushers, but the bulk of the work will go to 5-11, 215-pound senior Cade Carney, who ran for 1,005 yards and eight scores. Now the depth has to rise up with Matt Colburn done, opening a spot for sophomore Christian Beal-Smith and slew of freshmen to find an early role. However …
– The offensive line is an early concern. It struggled mightily in pass protection and wasn’t good at keeping defenses out of the backfield, but it was solid against the run. Three starters are done – all in the interior – and there’s little in the way of raw bulk and the depth is a bit lacking. The tackles should be set, but it’ll take the fall camp to come up with the right starting five.
– Star receiver Greg Dortch is now a New York Jet, but it’s going to be a sneaky-good corps with the upside to do a whole lot more. Sage Surratt is a 6-3, 220-pound sophomore with deep ball ability, 6-5 senior Scotty Washington is a reliable veteran coming off a shoulder problem, and QB Kendall Hinton should grow into a dangerous target after seeing a little time last year. There’s a decent tight end tandem in Brandon Chapman and Jake Freudenthal that will combine for at least 30 grabs.
NEXT: What You Need To Know About the Defense, Top Players, Keys to the Season, What Will Happen
4. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE WAKE FOREST DEFENSE
– Seven of the top 12 tacklers return from the ACC’s second-worst defense that allowed 459 yards and 33 points per game. The run defense was an issue, and the secondary struggled, but the pass rush wasn’t all that bad. Now the defensive front has to reload after losing three starters.
6-5, 270-pound junior Carlos Basham is the only returning starter after finishing fourth on the team with 64 stops with 4.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss. Star recruit Shamar McCollum is just 220 pounds on his 6-4 frame, but he’s a keeper who should emerge as a pass rushing playmaker at one end.
There was hope for a big boost for the interior from Old Dominion grad transfer Miles Fox, but he suffered a torn Achilles tendon in spring ball. It’ll be a work in progress to find the main men on the inside, but there are just enough options to come up with a good rotation.
– The linebacking corps is gets its star back with the return of leading tackler Justin Strnad on the outside. He’s been banged up a bit, but he’s a hitter coming off a 105-tackle season. However, losing 50-tackle DJ Taylor is out for the year after getting injured off the field, and the overall depth in the corps is lacking. The D needs several new options – like sophomore Jeff Burley, who missed all of last year with a knee injury – to rise up fast in August.
– The corners are set, but the safeties are a concern. Not only do the Demon Deacons lost the top three starting safeties from last year, but heir apparent at free safety, Peyton Woulard, was injured in spring ball.
It’s a thin safety group that needs the recruiting class to be a factor – starting with 6-1, 210-pounder Jeremiah Gray – and has to hope for the great corners to be fantastic. Senior Essang Bassey is a broken up pass machine on one side, and senior Amari Henderson is a good-sized veteran on the other.
NEXT: Top Players, Keys To the Season, What Will Happen
3. TOP WAKE FOREST PLAYERS
Best Wake Forest Offensive Player
WR Sage Surratt, Soph.
The receiving corps needed a guy to rise up and be a strong second option to go along with Greg Dortch, and that’s exactly what Surratt was as a true freshman.
The 6-3, 220-pounder has great hands, can get deep, and was able to finish second on the team with 41 catches for 581 yards and four scores. However, 11 of his grabs came in the opener against Tulane, and now he has to be a true No. 1 guy with Dortch gone.
2. RB Cade Carney, Sr.
3. QB Jamie Newman, Jr.
4. QB Sam Hartman, Soph.
5. PK Nick Sciba, Soph.
Best Wake Forest Defensive Player
CB Essang Bassey, Sr.
Ultra-reliable, quick, and tough, he’s been a rock for the secondary for the last three seasons with 38 career broken up passes with 74 tackles an interception and a sack last season. He’s a thin 5-10, 190-pounder but he’s not afraid to get physical and he’s a strong matchup for everyone’s No. 1 target.
2. LB Justin Strnad, Sr.
3. DE Carlos Basham, Jr.
4. S Luke Masterson, Jr.
5. S Nasir Greer, Soph.
NEXT: Keys to the Season, Prediction & What Will Happen
2. KEYS TO THE SEASON
Biggest Key To The Wake Forest Offense
Consistency. The Demon Deacons were able to explode at times, and they were able to rise up and rock enough to get to a bowl game and win it, but there were way too many power outages.
There’s always going to be a talent and depth gap compared to the stronger ACC teams, but the O was still able to put up over 500 yards against Boston College, Duke, and a good Tulane defense.
In all, the Demon Deacons cranked up over 500 yards six times and went 7-2 when coming up with 400 or more. Under 400, they went 0-4.
Biggest Key To The Wake Forest Defense
1) Stay healthy, 2) stop allowing so many big pass plays, 3) see No. 1. The Demon Deacons are way thin in the defensive front six and at safety. There’s always a drop-off from the ones to the twos, but it’s going to be more pronounced on the 2019 Demon Deacon D, at least in terms of overall experience.
Injuries were an issue throughout last year, and they were a big deal this offseason – especially losing Old Dominion DT transfer Miles Fox – but the starting 11 would be fine if it can stay in one piece. That includes the safeties.
The pass defense picked off two passes against Rice, and four in the other 12 games. There weren’t enough big plays, opposing passing games were able to crank up yards in chunks, and there was way too much stress put on the offense to try keeping up.
Key Player To A Successful Season
DT Sulaiman Kamara, Jr.
And/or 295-pound sophomore Dion Bergan, and/or 290-pound sophomore Tyler Williams, and/or anyone who can fill in the gaps on the defensive interior.
It’s not like the line was a rock against the run, but it wasn’t bad, and now it loses the combination of Willie Yarbary and Zeek Rodney. There’s going to be a rotation of options, but the more that Kamara can do to be an anchor – he made 28 stops last year – the better.
Key Game To The Wake Forest Season
Florida State, Oct. 19
This would be a good time to break the streak. Wake Forest should be good enough to go bowling, but it won’t be able to give away home games over the first two months of the season with a rough November to deal with.
That includes beating Florida State, which it hasn’t been able to do since 2011. The Noles will be coming off a trip to Clemson, and the Demon Deacons have a week off to follow. This is one to steal.
– Wake Forest Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2018 Wake Forest Fun Stats
– Field Goals: Wake Forest 19-of-22 – Opponents 8-of-11
– Penalties: Opponents 75 for 647 yards – Opponents 55 for 548 yards
– Red Zone TDs: Opponents 32-of-40 (80%) – Wake Forest 37-of-61 (61%)
NEXT: What Will Happen
1. WAKE FOREST WIN TOTAL PREDICTION: WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN
Head coach Dave Clawson has put together a nice program, going to three straight bowl games at a place that’s not used to enjoying a whole lot of consistent success.
How good have the last few years been? Before making it three in a row with last year’s campaign, the last time Wake Forest put together three straight winning seasons was from 1950 through 1952. Come up with another winning run, and it’ll be the first time to make it more than three in a row since doing it five years straight from 1943 to 1948.
The recruiting has been good enough to count on the freshmen and young players to step in and produce early on, and now it’s more about developing depth than it is finding a reliable starting 22.
As long as the line comes up with the right starting five in fall camp, the offense will continue to have its explosive moments against the weaker defenses, but the D that struggled so often last year will need a minor miracle to improve too much.
Wake Forest has to be ready to keep up in shootouts.
Set The Regular Season Win Total At … 6
The Demon Deacons will beat Rice and Elon, and a win over Utah State in the opener could be a must to provide a nice base of wins.
With road games at Boston College, Virginia Tech, Clemson and Syracuse, there are plenty of problems, but with North Carolina, Louisville, Florida State, NC State and Duke at home, coming up with three wins in that group will be enough to go bowling.
However, it’s all about the hot start. the dates with the Hokies, Tigers and Orange are all on the road in November. It might come down once again to the date with Duke to go bowling, but Clawson will make it four in a row.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Recruiting Class Analysis | Schedule Analysis
