As Spring camp comes to a close this week at Wake Forest, the personnel realignment period gets wide open. Wednesday is the first day of the Spring transfer portal window. For 10 days Wake Forest will reassess its roster, what it has, and what it still needs. Unlike past years, this will likely be an active portal window for Wake Forest.
Time To Reassess the Wake Forest Roster
Who’s Leaving
The departure from Winston-Salem has already begun. Players who are entering the portal, regardless of what school they are leaving, tend to announce early. Even though undergrads cannot turn in the paperwork and enter until Wednesday, they want to get the word out to potential suitors that they are about to become available.
The Wake quarterback room was pretty crowded throughout the Spring. New head coach Jake Dickert told us back in January that he was a believer in the working theory that if you don’t have one quarterback, go get 10. With no returning incumbent starter, camp has had a mix of returning Demon Deacons and transfers.
There was always zero chance that all seven would sit tight and fight for their spot in the rotation. Tyler Mizzell and Jeremy Hecklinski will be seeking their playing time elsewhere. Hecklinski is notable. He was the prize recruit of Dave Clawson’s 2024 class. With a veteran quarterback room last season, he took a handful of snaps at the end of the regular season and took his redshirt year.
With no definitive depth chart for Spring camp, observation had the redshirt freshman with what would fairly be described as the third quarterback spot behind experienced transfers Robby Ashford and Deshawn Purdie. Having told On3 that he would enter the transfer portal, he was absent from practice on Tuesday and will get his paperwork done and be in the system on Wednesday with four years of eligibility left.The primary snaps are now going to Ashford and Purdie. Dickert’s hope is that more snaps for them will result in more consistency from both than what has been the case to this point in camp.
Linebacker Andrew Hines and receiver Trishtin Gaines have also gone public with their intent to transfer. It creates an interesting dynamic for the receiver position. The current roster is unlike any other compared to recent years. There is yet to be a defined go-to receiver. There is no A.T. Perry or Donavon Greene who is the inherent primary receiver. There is a good size at the position as a whole. And there is a smattering of talent having decent enough days at camp now that they are getting the snaps.
Needs To Fill
Micah Mays was on the receiving end of one of the best-executed plays of the entire camp on Tuesday. Purdie stood tall in the pocket and threw a 25-yard pass on a line between two defenders. The pass hit Mays perfectly in stride. The receiver took it the last 15 yards for the score.
Sterling Berkhalter and Sawyer Racanelli have been among a group that has shown up well over the past three weeks. However, there remains a lack of high-end depth at the position, and certainly, there is a void for the guy who is going to put any fear in the opposing defensive coordinator’s mind.
Depth on the defensive line is something else Dickert and staff are going to be keeping an eye on over the next 10 days. Peter Kaligis, the assistant coach for defensive tackles, told the media on Tuesday about how pleased he was with the progress of the guys who are there. He was complimentary of the production from the likes of Zach Lohavichan, Wyatt Crespi, and Mateen Ibirogba. Kaligis said, “Mateen now believes in what he can do. I can see the confidence in him. I can see the smile. And I can see the glow in his eyes. That’s what it is with Mateen. It’s always been sitting there, right? And now he sees that.”
But in college football’s modern world, depth on both lines is more critical than just about anything else on a roster. As the portal opens, there is a handful of defensive and offensive linemen already available. None of them are anything that would be considered elite level, game changers. But pulling in a couple more players on both sides of the line is going to have to be a priority over the next 10 days. Both are positions that need to anticipate significant attrition during the season.
This is a new world for Wake Forest football. The Deacs don’t have the resources that others in the ACC do, but the program does have more allowances, financial and other, than it has had at any time in the portal era. Being able to enhance the roster in the Spring in time to get the new players on campus by Summer will be an all-hands-on effort by the new staff.
Staying On Logistics
As part of a new federal government mandate, the visas of international students are facing new scrutiny. Over the last two weeks, more than two dozen international students have had their visas revoked in letters that do not provide explanations as to the cause of the decision. The state of North Carolina has yet to lose any international student-athletes. However, the new process is causing each of the state’s universities to be extra vigilant as to the potential. The top-ranked Wake Forest men’s tennis team has nine international players on the roster. As for football, it is pretty simple. Punter Rohan Macneill is expected to move from his home in Australia this Summer. Both the school and the kicker are keeping an eye on international student visa trends.
Wake Forest responded to our request for a statement on the issue with the following: “According to multiple news reports and university statements, more than 200 international students, former students, and faculty members across the United States — including some in North Carolina — have had their U.S. visas revoked. At this time, we are not aware of any Wake Forest students whose visa status has been revoked or cancelled. We are closely monitoring the situation and advising our international students — as well as other non-immigrants planning international travel — about potential disruptions at U.S. ports of entry.”
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