Wake Forest Demon Deacons: CFN College Football Preview 2021
College Football News Preview 2021: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Wake Forest football season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Wake Forest Football Schedule Analysis
– Wake Forest Demon Deacons Previews
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2020 Record: 4-5 overall, 3-4 in ACC
Head Coach: Dave Clawson, 8th year, 40-45 (130-124 overall)
2020 CFN Final Ranking: 40
2020 CFN Preview Ranking: 39
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 53
Wake Forest Demon Deacons College Football Preview 2021: Offense
– Oh was this fun at times. The Wake Forest offense couldn’t move the chains and did absolutely nothing to control the clock, but when the O worked, it was fantastic.
It was second in the ACC in yards per completion, it dominated when it got into the red zone, and it was No. 1 in the conference in giveaways – even after falling apart in the bowl loss to Wisconsin.
A few good parts are gone, but all 11 starters from the Duke’s Mayo Bowl are expected to be back.
– Sam Hartman turned into a star now that the quarterback job really was his. He needs to be more accurate, and he doesn’t add a whole lot to the rushing mix, but he knows how to run the attack. When he’s on – and he gets time to work – the Demon Deacons are unstoppable. Michael Kern and Mitch Griffis each got in a little work last year.
The receiving corps has a rising star in Jaquarri Roberson – a 6-1, 182-pounder who led the team with 62 catches and eight touchdowns – but he’s not alone.
6-2 second-year freshman Donavon Greene averaged over 20 yards per grab, shifty Taylor Morin scored there touchdowns, and 6-5, 212-pound sophomore AT Perry is a part of the mix. All of the main tight ends are back, too.
– All five starters return to an O line that had a very, very hard time in pass protection and struggled at keeping defenses out of the backfield. It’s not a bulky bunch, but it’s about versatility and getting a certain type of 6-3ish, 300ish pound blockers.
13-touchdown back Kenneth Walker took off for Michigan State, but Christian Beal-Smith is a nice junior who led the team with 732 yards and five scores and brings a bit of a burst.
He had three 100-yard games and can be a workhorse, but he needs help in the rotation with Walker gone. 5-10, 203-pound Justice Ellison was third on the team with 113 yards and a score.
– What You Need To Know: Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Wake Forest Football Schedule Analysis
NEXT: Wake Forest Demon Deacons College Football Preview 2021: Defense
Wake Forest Demon Deacons College Football Preview 2021: Defense
– The defense struggled. There wasn’t enough of a pass rush, the pass defense was spotty – to be kind – and it struggled on third downs. It allowed 436 yards and 33 points per game, getting destroyed over the last three games – turnovers were a problem in the loss to Wisconsin, to be fair – giving up 146 points. Enough starters are back to be better, starting with …
– The defensive line has a few nice parts. There might not be a ton of bulk, but everyone can move.
Top pass rusher Carlos (Boogie) Basham is gone, but tackle Miles Fox was the best on the team at coming up with tackles for loss and Jacorey Johns is a nice end who should shine after stepping into a bigger role.
– Losing Basham is the biggest deal up front, and not having around leading tackler Ja’Cquez Williams in the linebacking corps is a big deal. He led the team with 73 stops in an all-star season, but 6-2, 235-pound Ryan Smenda is back after finishing third with 52 tackles and safety Traveon Redd functions like an outside linebacker – he was fourth with 46 stops.
The secondary was able to come up with a slew of picks, but it also got roasted way too often. All the starters are expected to be back around 63-tackle safety Nick Anderson and senior corner Ja’Sir Taylor – a nice tackler who broke up six passes and came up with two picks.
– What You Need To Know: Offense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Wake Forest Football Schedule Analysis
NEXT: Wake Forest Demon Deacons College Football Preview 2021: Top Players
Wake Forest Demon Deacons College Football Preview 2021: Top Players
Best Wake Forest Demon Deacons Offensive Player
WR Jaquarii Roberson, Jr.
He caught 13 passes in his first two seasons and showed a few glimpses of something great, and then everything kicked in as a junior. The team’s top receiver caught 62 passes for 926 yards and eight scores in an all-star season, averaging close to 15 yards per catch.
Unstoppable late in the year, he hit the 100-yard mark in his last four games including a 131-yard, three-score day against Wisconsin. Here comes an even bigger season of big-time production.
2. RB Christian Beal-Smith, Jr.
3. QB Sam Hartman, Soph.
4. PK Nick Sciba, Jr.
5. OT Zach Tom, Jr.
Related
2021 Wake Forest Football Schedule: Analysis, Best and Worst Case Scenarios
Best Wake Forest Demon Deacons Defensive Player
DT Miles Fox, Sr.
An all-star at Old Dominion, he came up with 140 tackles with 11.5 sacks and 27 tackles for loss before coming to Wake Forest. Just as he was about to be a big part of the fun, he suffered a torn Achilles heel and was gone.
Still coming back to get back to form, he made 24 tackles last season with 3.5 sacks and a team-high 11 tackles for loss. With Carlos Basham gone, now Fox is the main man of the show up front.
2. S Nick Andersen, RFr.
3. CB Ja’Sir Taylor, Sr.
4. S Nasir Greer, Jr.
5. LB Ryan Smenda, Jr.
Top Incoming Wake Forest Demon Deacons Transfer
DT Kevin Pointer, Fr.
There are just enough new guys coming in through the transfer portal to matter, but Pointer might be the sneakiest-good get of the bunch. It might take a year or so for him to grow into a major factor, but the upside is there.
The 6-1, 285-pound defensive tackle from ULM bulked up over his redshirt year and then turned into one of the few positives on a miserable team with 38 tackles and 7.5 tackles for loss. He’s quick, he attacks, and he should fit nicely into the rotation.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Wake Forest Football Schedule Analysis
NEXT: Wake Forest Demon Deacons College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season
Wake Forest Demon Deacons College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season
Wake Forest Demon Deacons Biggest Key: Offense
Get a wee bit more out of the ground attack. It’ll be tempting to keep on winging it around with Sam Hartman throwing to a terrific receiving corps, but when the offense wants to run it has to work.
The Demon Deacons were able to get yards here and there – they ran for over 200 yards against Virginia Tech and Campbell – but they averaged fewer than four yards per carry.
11-1 over the last 12 times the offense ran for 180 yards or more, good things happen for this attack when all the parts are working. But Wake Forest can win when the running yards aren’t quite coming in bulk – just rip off a few more big-littered here and there.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons Biggest Key: Defense
The pass rush has to be cranked up. The 2011 Demon Deacon defense came up with just 11 sacks and less than one per game. The D managed 20 or more in each of the next eight seasons, and last year the pass rush all fizzled.
Even with a terrific end in Boogie Basham and a few good playmakers behind the line – generating tackles for loss weren’t a problem – there just wasn’t enough pressure on passers.
There were a few sacks here and there – the defense steadily came up with about two a game – but the inability generate hits on the quarterback didn’t help a secondary that allowed 252 yards per game and struggled on third downs.
Average well over two per game again, and several other pieces will fall into place. And that’s why …
Wake Forest Demon Deacons Key Player To A Successful Season
DE Jacorey Johns, Soph.
The Demon Deacons don’t have another Basham on the end, but the 6-4, 251-pound Johns has just enough experience and potential to be the team’s top sack guy.
The pass rush will be there in the interior but if Johns can generate pressure on the outside, that takes the pressure off of everyone else. He came up with two sacks last season with 43 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss after generating three sacks as a freshman.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons Key Game To The 2021 Season
Florida State, Sept. 18
Seven in a row. FSU has owned the series overall and won those seven straight after losing a few in a row, Wake Forest got the win in 2019 and the two didn’t play last year, and now it’s the ACC opener for both.
Assuming the Demon Deacons beat Old Dominion and Norfolk State to start the season, a 3-0 start would take a whole lot of pressure off with enough winnable games to follow to expect a sixth straight bowl season.
– Wake Forest Football Schedule Analysis
2020 Wake Forest Demon Deacons Fun Stats
– Opponent 1st Quarter Scoring: 48 – 2nd Quarter Scoring: 103
– Fumbles: Opponents 12 (lost 4) – Wake Forest 7 (lost 2)
– Time of Possession: Opponents 32:08 – Wake Forest 27:52
NEXT: Wake Forest Demon Deacons College Football Preview 2021: What Will Happen, Season Prediction
Wake Forest Demon Deacons College Football Preview 2021: What Will Happen, Season Prediction
Is this the Golden Age of Wake Forest football?
Maybe that’s a wee bit much considering the run of eight winning seasons in nine years from 1944 to 1952, but throw in the new era, the bowl games, the better competition and the added games, and what head coach Dave Clawson is doing has been outstanding.
The Demon Deacons came within a half and a slew of interceptions against Wisconsin in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl – all in a global pandemic – of making it five straight winning seasons, but it’s still been a strong several seasons of slightly-above-averageness.
Wake Forest is one of the smallest schools among the Power Five conferences – around 7,600 students – and it’s not like it’s able to recruit with the Clemsons and Notre Dames of the world for talent. But the offense continues to be a whole lot of fun, the team keeps going to bowl games, and nothing appears to be slowing down with around 20 starters expected back.
Set The Wake Forest Demon Deacons Regular Season Win Total At … 7
Wake Forest doesn’t beat the stars, but it beats the teams it’s supposed to – for the most part – and wins enough 50/50 games to be fine.
Old Dominion, Norfolk State. Those are wins, and there should be enough victories at home against Florida State, Louisville and Duke to bulk up a base.
It’s a good enough team to potentially win both road games against Syracuse and Army, and maybe there’s an upset somewhere along the way, and …
The Demon Deacons had better get bowl eligible before November. They get the weird-awful break of playing North Carolina in a game that doesn’t count in the ACC standings, and then it’s NC State, at Clemson, at Boston College – that’s going to be rough.
However, there’s no North Carolina, and missing Miami, Pitt and Virginia Tech isn’t a bad deal.
The offense will be fun, the defense will be mediocre enough to make the offense need to be fun – but will be okay enough to get by – and it’ll be another bowl season under Clawson.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– Wake Forest Football Schedule Analysis
