Wake Forest football finished the 2022 season with a solid 8-5 record. The Demon Deacons only lost to Clemson, Louisville, NC State, North Carolina, and Duke. Interestingly, all of those games except for Louisville came down to single digits. As for wins, the highlight of Wake Forest’s season was a 31-21 win over Florida State at the beginning of October. In this post, specifically, we’ll be making our 2023 Wake Forest football predictions in our season preview.
DraftKings Sportsbook the Wake Forest win total at 6.5 with the under juiced to -120. Wake Forest also sits at +8000 to win the ACC, which ranks just ahead of Boston College, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, and Virginia. With that said, let’s dive into Wake Forest’s season preview.
2023 Wake Forest Football Predictions & Season Preview
2023 Wake Forest Football Season Preview: Coaching Staff
In place since 2014, Dave Clawson will return for another season as Wake Forest’s head coach. Clawson has a 59-53 record with Wake Forest, but he has now brought the team to seven straight bowl games after going 3-9 in his first two seasons. Traditionally a difficult place to win, Clawson has done an excellent job with this program.
On offense, he retains long time offensive coordinator Warren Ruggiero, who also took over in 2014. These two go back all the way to the Bowling Green days. On defense, Clawson hired Brad Lambert ahead of 2022, making this his second season on the job. Overall, this coaching staff has solid continuity heading into 2023.
2023 Wake Forest Football Season Preview: Offense
Quarterback
At quarterback, Wake Forest lost Sam Hartman to Notre Dame this offseason, leaving Mitch Griffis and Michael Kern as the two quarterbacks with any sort of experience on the roster. Griffis now has 56 career pass attempts, 404 yards, five touchdowns, and one interception in his career. Griffis initially joined Wake Forest as a three-star dual threat recruit and the 605th ranked player in the 2020 recruiting class. So far in college, he has 17 rush attempts and 12 rushing yards. It appears he may have a little more mobility than what he has displayed so far.
Behind him, Kern has 42 career pass attempts, for 376 yards, and one score. Kern initially came to Wake Forest as a three-star recruit in 2019, but he fell behind Griffis on the depth chart last season. The favorite for third string duties looks like Santino Marucci, who initially joined the program as a three-star recruit in 2021. Ultimately, this quarterback room lost one of the top quarterbacks in the country with Hartman’s departure. It would be almost impossible for this unit to live up to the results from the Hartman era.
Running Back
At running back, Wake Forest uses a notorious ‘running back by committee’ approach in their slow mesh concept. They lost their second and third leading rushers Christian Turner and Quinton Cooley, but they return their top back in Justice Ellison.
Last season, Ellison rushed 170 times for 699 yards and six scores, while catching six passes for another 62 yards. Wake Forest notoriously does not throw to their running backs with much frequency. Ellison stands 5-10, 208 pounds and averaged 3.05 yards after contact and forced a missed tackle on 22.4% of his attempts.
With Turner and Cooley out of the picture, Demond Claiborne and Will Towns should take on a larger role. Claiborne rushed 14 times for 57 yards last year, while Towns checked in for 12 carries and 71 yards. Claiborne initially came to Wake Forest as a four-star recruit from 2022. He was the 149th ranked prospect in the country. Towns came to Wake Forest as a three-star recruit in 2021. Ultimately, Turner and Cooley weren’t difference makers in last year’s offense, which could set up this backfield for a similar season in 2023.
Wide Receiver
Wake Forest lost their top receiver in AT Perry, who vacates 81 catches, 1,096 yards, and 11 scores. After Perry, the Demon Deacons do return their next four receivers.
Donavon Green ranked second on the team in receiving with 37 catches for 642 yards and six scores. Green stands 6-2, 210 pounds and played out wide 89% of the time. His 1.89 yards per route ranked 18th in the ACC. Now another year removed from his torn ACL, Greene should only enhance his elite field stretching ability.
Jahmal Banks finished third on the team in receiving with 42 catches for 636 yards and nine scores. Banks stands 6-4, 208 pounds and played out wide 85.6% of the time. His 2.29 yards per route ranked ninth in the ACC last year. Taylor Morin ranked third on the team in receiving with 47 catches for 575 yards and nine scores in 2022. Morin stands 5-10, 176 pounds and played in the slot 72.9% of the time. His 1.94 yards per route ranked 17th in the ACC last year.
Then there’s Ke’Shawn Williams; who ranked fifth on the team in receiving with 39 catches for 553 yards and one score. At 5-10, 190 pounds, he played in the slot 79.6% of the time and his 2.15 yards per route ranked 13th in the ACC last year. Wake Forest also added Tennessee transfer Walker Merrill, who initially entered college as a four-star prospect and the 342nd ranked player in the 2021 class. They also have incoming four-star freshman Micah Mays entering the program as well. Overall, this remains a strong receiver room, which may be able to prop up the inexperienced quarterback play for 2023.
Tight End
Wake Forest lost Blake Whiteheart, who caught 24 balls for 295 passes on 684 snaps. They also lost their second tight end Jaeger Bull, which now puts Cameron Hite into the starting tight end position.
Wake Forest will often play with four wide receivers, which makes this position less important to the offense. However, Hite only has 139 snaps of experience to this point in his career. Overall, he stands 6-3, 243 pounds. The backup tight ends should be Gavin Ellis and Michael Frogge. Neither player has much experience, but both will ascend a depth chart losing most of the main contributors from 2022. This unit likely takes a step back in 2023.
Offensive Line
Along the offensive line, Wake Forest lost left guard Sean Maginn, right guard Loic Ngassam Nya, and left tackle Je’Vionte’ Nash. They return right tackle DeVonte Gordon, who played 965 snaps last year and has started the last two years. There’s a good chance he moves over the left tackle spot this year. They also return center Michael Jurgens, who played 914 snaps last year. He has started for three straight seasons.
The tackle opposite Gordon should be filled by Spencer Clapp, who played 359 snaps in relief last year. He played well on his limited sample, which Wake Forest should be excited by. This leaves just the guard positions open. Nick Sharpe should be a decent candidate at right guard after 62 snaps last year. Believe it or not, he played the third most guard snaps last year. The other guard position is completely unknown.
Matt Gulbin played 53 snaps, but this unit could be in store for a major step back. Another candidate is Luke Petitbon, who redshirted last year. The year prior, Petitbon actually played 130 snaps and started against Clemson. He could play center or guard for Wake Forest here. Ultimately, the interior offensive line has some serious concerns with two new starters coming in. After a strong 2022 season, there is a good chance this unit takes a step back in 2023 because of this.
2023 Wake Forest Football Season Preview: Defense
Wake Forest ranked tenth on defense in 2022. This included the sixth-ranked run defense, 2nd-ranked pass rush and 51st-ranked secondary. However, the defense now loses a ton of production. Six players from the defensive line, one linebacker, and three contributors in the secondary all depart. Wake Forest did bring in four transfers in the front seven, but the defense will have to lean on their depth in 2023.
Defensive Line
Along the edge, Wake Forest lost Rondell Bothroyd and Jacory Johns this offseason. Bothroyd in particular leaves behind eight tackles for loss and six sacks from 2022. With that said, Jasheen Davis does return after playing 611 snaps last year. Overall, Davis led the team with 14 tackles for loss and seven sacks last year. He also contributed 33 tackle sand should lead this pass rush unit. Behind him, Kendron Wayman played 270 snaps with decent pass rush numbers. He finished with 17 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and three sacks, but will now be asked to play a larger role. From there, Jaylen Hudson and BJ Williams will play larger roles. Hudson logged 126 snaps last year and Williams played 19. Of all the positions on defense, the edge group should still be pretty good in 2023.
On the interior, Wake Forest lost Dion Bergan Jr.. Kobie Turner, and Tyler Williams. The three vacate a combined 1,550 snaps from the interior of this defensive line. This leaves Kevon Pointer as the main incumbent after just 266 snaps last year. Pointer did finish with 13 tackles, 2.5 tackles, for loss and one sack in his limited role. Overall, his performance on a limited body of work should provide optimism for this Wake Forest defensive staff.
From there, Wake Forest added a pair of transfers in Bryce Ganious (Villanova) and Nick Helbig (Wesleyan) to fill the void. Ganious played 631 snaps and logged 34 pressures as a hybrid edge/interior player last year. Helbig will make the jump from D3 to the Power Five, which leaves plenty of questions for this unit. Otherwise, four-year veteran Justin Williams will likely be expected to play more. After just 22 snaps last year, Williams only has 142 career snaps. It is hard to envision this group playing to the same level as last year.
Linebacker
At linebacker, Wake Forest lost Ryan Smenda Jr., but they return Chase Jones after playing 775 snaps last year. Jones ranked second on the team with 74 tackles and actually excelled in coverage. He broke up two passes and logged an interceptions. The other starter will likely be North Carolina A&T transfer Jacob Roberts. Roberts has three years of starting experience at a lower level of competition, but earned FCS All-American honors in 2019 and 2021. From there, depth pieces Dylan Hazen and Quincy Bryant will be asked to play more after 221 and 140 snaps over the last two years. While one of the starting positions is settled, losing leading tackler in Smenda will be a massive loss for this defense.
Defensive Back
At corner, Wake Forest lost Isaiah Wingfield, Gavin Holmes, and JJ Roberts. They retain decent production here with Caelen Carson and DaShawn Jones back. Carson played 390 snaps last year and broke up seven passes in his limited work. Jones comes in with five pass breakups himself. The Demon Deacons will just hope that this play can be extended into more snaps for these two. In the slot, Evan Slocum returns 458 snaps, but some woeful coverage numbers. Slocum logged 45 tackles, but he only defended three passes and gave up a 68.6% catch rate in the process. This position does not have a lot of depth, so Wake Forest will rely on another year of experience benefitting these players.
At safety, Wake Forest returns both starters in Chelen Garnes and Malik Mustapha. Together, the pair played 646 and 507 snaps last year. Garnes ranked third on the team with 71 tackles, while breaking up three passes, and recording an interception. Mustapha ranked fourth on the team with 58 tackles, while breaking up three passes himself. Wake Forest actually has some depth at this position with AJ Williams also returning 360 snaps. Williams finished with 47 tackles, but he did not have any pass defense statistics. His coverage numbers still looked solid, according to ProFootballFocus. Overall, the safety unit could end up being the strength of this defense.
2023 Wake Forest Football Win Total Prediction & Schedule
2023 Wake Forest Football Schedule
The Demon Deacons play a non-conference schedule consisting of Elon, Vanderbilt, Old Dominion, and Notre Dame. Vanderbilt likely won’t be as easy as some think, likely putting Wake Forest at 2-2 or 3-1 coming out of non-conference. Within the ACC, Wake Forest draws Clemson, Florida State, Pittsburgh, NC State, and Duke. They also face bottom-feeder teams Georgia Tech, Syracuse, and Virginia Tech.
2023 Wake Forest Football Win Total Prediction
The Demon Deacons over/under 6.5 wins is juiced to -120 towards the under. While they play a reasonable non-conference schedule, they could fall to 2-2 in this portion of the season. From there, this win total likely comes down to the middle of the schedule. Games against Pittsburgh, Duke, and NC State likely decide this schedule. With very little room for error, under 6.5 wins will be the official play.
Best Wake Forest Football Win Total Prediction: Under 6.5 Wins (-120 at DraftKings)
You can read the rest of Matt Gajewski’s 2023 college football season previews and predictions below!
- Alabama Season Preview & Predictions
- Arizona Season Preview & Predictions
- Arizona State Season Preview & Predictions
- Arkansas Season Preview & Predictions
- Auburn Season Preview & Predictions
- Baylor Season Preview & Predictions
- Cal Season Preview & Predictions
- Clemson Season Preview & Predictions
- Florida Season Preview & Predictions
- Florida State Season Preview & Predictions
- Georgia Season Preview & Predictions
- Illinois Season Preview & Predictions
- Indiana Season Preview & Predictions
- Iowa Season Preview & Predictions
- Iowa State Season Preview & Predictions
- Kansas Season Preview & Predictions
- Kansas State Season Preview & Predictions
- Kentucky Season Preview & Predictions
- Louisville Season Preview & Predictions
- LSU Season Preview & Predictions
- Maryland Season Preview & Predictions
- Miami Season Preview & Predictions
- Michigan Season Preview & Predictions
- Michigan State Season Preview & Predictions
- Minnesota Season Preview & Predictions
- Mississippi State Season Preview & Predictions
- Missouri Season Preview & Predictions
- Nebraska Season Preview & Predictions
- North Carolina Season Preview & Predictions
- North Carolina State Season Preview & Predictions
- Notre Dame Season Preview & Predictions
- Ohio State Season Preview & Predictions
- Oklahoma Season Preview & Predictions
- Oklahoma State Season Preview & Predictions
- Ole Miss Season Preview & Predictions
- Oregon Season Preview & Predictions
- Oregon State Season Preview & Predictions
- Penn State Season Preview & Predictions
- Rutgers Season Preview & Predictions
- South Carolina Season Preview & Predictions
- TCU Season Preview & Predictions
- Tennessee Season Preview & Predictions
- Texas Season Preview & Predictions
- Texas A&M Season Preview & Predictions
- Texas Tech Season Preview & Predictions
- UCLA Season Preview & Predictions
- USC Season Preview & Predictions
- Utah Season Preview & Predictions
- Vanderbilt Season Preview & Predictions
- Virginia Tech Season Preview & Predictions
- Washington Season Preview & Predictions
- Washington State Season Preview & Predictions
- West Virginia Season Preview & Predictions
- Wisconsin Season Preview & Predictions
