It is officially the Dave Clawson era in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Former head coach Jim Grobe stepped down as head coach after five consecutive losing seasons at Wake Forest.
Clawson was hired after coaching Bowling Green the past five seasons, posting a record of 32-31.
Now, he takes over a struggling program that once made the Orange Bowl only eight years ago.
Offense
Clawson announced this past week that true freshman John Walford will be the starting quarterback for the Demon Deacons this season. Walford beat out Kevin Sousa and Tyler Cameron to win the keys to the offense from Clawson. That leaves a huge question mark for the team that struggled mightily on offense last season, finishing 118th nationally in total offense. Walford has not played a snap of college football and it will be interesting to see how long it takes for him to adjust. This could be another long year for Wake Forest if Walford does not figure out things quickly.
Unfortunately for Wake Forest fans, their top two leading rushers Josh Harris and Tanner Price, and top two wide receievers Michael Campanaro are gone and the ones expected to step up are young. Dominique Gibson was expected to be the starter at running back but was indefinitely suspended from the team for violation of team rules. However, those who emerge this season will be around for the future which could bode well for Wake Forest down the road. The receiving corps is full of sophomores ready for their chance to shine but the inexperience makes that shine far from guaranteed. Jonathan Williams, Jared Crump, and Tyree Harris all played at some point during their freshman seasons and will be counted on to produce this fall.
The same goes for the offensive line which will be led by mostly juniors and sophomores. There will be only one senior on the roster and sophomores Corey Helms, Josh Harris, and Tyler Hayworth all saw playing time as freshman.
Defense
The only successful part of the 2013 season for Wake Forest was their defense. They ranked 32nd in total defense and 34th in rush defense. The defensive line takes a huge hit now that defensive end Zack Thompson and tackle Nikita Whitlock, who combined for 14 sacks and three forced fumbles, are both gone. At linebacker, leading tackler Brandon Chubb returns but Mike Olsen and Justin Jackson have moved on. Junior Hunter Williams should be a starter on the outside and one of sophomores Teddy Matthews and Marquel Lee will see time in the middle.
The secondary could be the strongest unit on the team. Wake Forest returns seven out of the top eight tacklers (with at least 10 tackles) on the team, including safety Ryan Janvion who led the team with 95 tackles during his redshirt freshman season.
Special Teams
Place kicker Chad Hedlund converted on 8 of 12 kick attempts but was only 1-3 from 40 yards or more. Wake Forest was 18th overall in kickoff efficiency. Leading returner John Armstrong averaged only 19.3 yards per return last season.
Prediction
2-4 wins
A true freshman quarterback, a young offensive line, young skill position players and un unproven defensive line, I think it is safe to say Wake Forest will struggle in year one of the Dave Clawson era.
The schedule does not help either.
The Demon Deacons travel to UL-Monroe in their season opener? Easy win right? Maybe not. Wake Forest lost to Warhawks at home last year, 21-19. Next should be a win versus Gardner-Webb.A week later, Wake travels to Utah State which will be a tough game to win. Army follows the Aggies, then things really get tough.
Road games at Florida State and at Louisville will certainly be David vs. Goliath matchups. Home games against Syracuse, Boston College and Clemson will be no picnic, followed by a trip to Raleigh to face N.C. State
A home game versus Virginia Tech and the finale at Duke rounds out the schedule.
The good news for Wake Forest is that their team is young and head coach Dave Clawson has a proven track record of turning programs around. It will be a long year but the future may be brighter than most believe.
