WAKE FOREST OFFENSE 

Wake’s offense will almost certainly be better than a season ago, but admittedly there is really nowhere to go but up.

Wake Forest had the 126th “best” offense in the country last season, according to Football Outsiders’ S&P+ ratings. Wake finished ahead of only SMU and Eastern Michigan. The Demon Deacons also had by far the worst rushing attack in the country. 

Why, besides by default, should Wake Forest be better this season?

Sophomore quarterback John Wolford would have redshirted last season in an ideal world, but Coach Clawson had no other option besides starting the true freshman. Wolford struggled some early on, but only had two interceptions over his last five games of the season. He looked considerably more in-command during spring ball, and he should only get more comfortable as time goes on. 

Wake’s offensive line was the worst in the country last season by nearly every objective measure as well as the eye-test. Clawson knew the line was an issue when he inherited the job, and that’s why he made the offensive line a priority during his first two recruiting classes.

As a result, Wake is currently projected to start three redshirt freshmen on the offensive line this season. While Wake’s line will lack experience, they are noticeably more physical and athletic than a year ago. There will be “rookie mistakes,” but there will also be flashes of excellent potential.

At the skill positions, I expect Wake’s running game to improve with the addition of freshman Rocky Reid. He was initially committed to Tennessee, and I believe he will be an impact player from day one.

At wide receiver, Cortez Lewis should be a breakout player, and I’m hopeful that redshirt sophomore Tyree Harris can improve upon the flashes he demonstrated as a true freshman in 2013. Cam Serigne caught 54 receptions at tight end last season, and he was only a redshirt freshman.

 

WAKE FOREST DEFENSE

Wake Forest had the 59th best defense in the country last season, according to the S&P+ defensive ratings. I think the defense will be worse in terms of overall rating, and it will also be a dramatically different defense in terms of scheme. 

Last year’s defense was led by a pair of senior cornerbacks in Kevin Johnson and Bud Noel. Johnson was drafted 16th overall by the Houston Texans, and Bud Noel was quickly signed by the Buffalo Bills as a priority undrafted free agent. The two combined for more than 80 career starts, and allowed the defense to leave them isolated and shut down receivers. Now, the secondary will be inexperienced, and also lack depth due to injury.

Instead, the strength of the defense will shift to the linebackers, which might be the best group of linebackers in the ACC. Brandon Chubb and Marquel Lee are both All-ACC caliber linebackers, while Hunter Williams was sixth on the team in total tackles last season.

Behind them will be Jaboree Williams, who played as a true freshman last season, and Zack Wary, who redshirted last year but was highly regarded coming out of high school.

Wake Forest should now have an improved defensive line, mostly due to better depth. Wake is still somewhat small on the line, though they make up for that lack of ideal size with quickness.

Josh Banks will be the best player on the line, and a number of redshirt freshmen will help provide the depth. Rashawn Shaw will be able to spell Wendell Dunn at defense end, and expect tackle Willie Yarbary to compete for a starting role at defensive tackle. Both Shaw and Yarbary had two sacks in the spring game.

The 2014 recruiting class will continue to pay dividends. Wake’s problem on the line last year was that they wore down as the games progressed. I don’t expect that to be as much of an issue this season.

 

BUYING OR SELLING?

The Deacs went just 3-9 last season, including 1-7 in ACC play. While I certainly think Wake’s actual team will be more entertaining to watch, I’m not sure it will lead lead to many, or any, more wins.

Wake will definitely beat Elon the first week of the season, but then faces two difficult tests for an inexperienced team when they travel to Syracuse and Army. At home they would be favored over Army, but on the road I expect them to be an underdog. 

The ACC schedule will certainly be tough, as Wake faces Florida State, Clemson, and Louisville. In addition to that, they will have a road trip to South Bend to take on Notre Dame. Those are four games, where the expected value of wins is quite low.

Home games against in-state rivals Duke and North Carolina State will be harder now that those programs are in better places than they were several seasons ago.

In general, I’ll continue to be looking at week-to-week improvement from the Demon Deacons, as I believe that Dave Clawson did not exactly inherit an embarrassment of riches from his predecessor. 2016 is when the Deacs will start to win again. Until then, there could be some difficult Saturday afternoons in Winston-Salem.

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Robert Reinhard of Blogger So Dear provided the information for our Wake Forest Football 2015 Spring recap. For more Wake Forest football information, commentary and analysis, you can follow Robert on Twitter @Robert_Reinhard. 

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