If there was any confusion as to how new Wake Forest head coach Jake Dickert wants to tackle his beginning in Winston-Salem, the message has been made clear to the team. “We’re going to start from start.”
That is what Dickert said he told his team after meeting with them Sunday. Dickert explained to the media on Monday that his intent is a focus on, “The basics and a start from the ground up.” He added that he understands that there is always excitement with a new staff and new players. The key, he said, is to maintain that level of excitement over an extended period of time.
Dickert Putting a Roster Together
There is a mix of big news over Dickert’s first month on the job. Which portion of the news is the biggest is subject to interpretation. The Demon Deacons were hit early and often in the transfer portal in the days leading up to the resignation of Dave Clawson, and the immediate few days after the coaching transition. They lost 15 players in all, (we’re still not counting Mitch Griffis). But they have not had any players leave the program in the last two weeks. And the deadline specific to Wake Forest players to enter the portal is January 16th.
The bigger news on that front is the one who did not leave. Starting running back Demond Claiborne has made it clear that he will return to Wake for the 2025 season. Dickert met with Claiborne the same day as his introductory press conference as the new head coach. Dickert said he did not have to do a sales job on Claiborne to get him to stay. “I didn’t sell him on anything. I got a chance to know him,” Dickert told the media. “Who are you? Where are you from? What drives you? What motivates you? How can I help you? That’s not a sales pitch. That’s getting to know a person so you can help the player.”
Dickert said Claiborne’s energy since he has been back in the building has been, “Phenomenal.”
Busy Portal Shopping
That takes us to the other piece of the news. Wake Forest has gotten 20 players via the transfer portal. “We had to go out there and supplement our roster,” Dickert said. He called the strategy with the portal, “Targeted.” He pointed out that of the 20 players coming from the portal, 10 of them are multi-year starters at their previous school(s).
Of high priority was getting a quarterback with significant game experience. Enter senior Robby Ashford, now on his fourth college. He is transferring from South Carolina and is automatically the most experienced quarterback on the roster. He wanted to be clear that the addition of Ashford means there is a quarterback competition for the starting spot. No one is going to inherit it.
The portal also provided an opportunity to, as he called it, “Facelift the front.” Wake has added 10 new players on the offensive and defensive lines combined. That equals the numbers lost on both sides of the line between eligibility expiration and the transfer portal. Dickert said the other goal was to build up the skill position players. He believes the five wide receivers joining the roster from the portal do that.
Dickert said part of the pitch to those staying and the new players coming in was that no assumptions have been made on talent, starting positions, or playing time. He said it was about players showing what they have to make a case for themselves.
The Numbers Are High
What cannot be hidden is that Wake has 20 players from the portal. That is more than they had the last three years combined under Clawson. The former head coach used to openly discuss how difficult it was to get anything other than grad transfers or first-year players. Wake Forest has had a mandate that someone must have 50% of their credits come from the school in order to graduate with a degree from the school. By Clawson’s measure, most players who had two or three years of football eligibility left were not going to sacrifice half their college credits to transfer to Wake.
How then did Dickert get a portal class with at least seven players, beyond their freshman year, with multiple years of eligibility left? What is different now from then? That was the question that prompted the detailed answer about the targeted portal attack. It is not unheard of for new head coaches to get a little leniency in certain areas from the university. Did that happen here? There will never be an admission from any school that they made temporary allowances for any athlete.
But we had off-the-record conversations with some former Wake Forest staffers who were in attendance at the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) meetings in Charlotte this week. The assumptions were just that; speculation. Some said that if Clawson had the kind of allowances they may be giving now at Wake, he could have done more with the portal. Others said they did not think Clawson would have ever gotten aggressive with the portal.
Certainly, the money that will be coming to pay players through the revenue-sharing model starting this Summer would have changed things regardless of who the coach is.
What’s Next?
Dickert said his staff was going to still have a primary goal of high recruiting and player development over the long term. The high number of portal signees had more to do with having to fill immediate needs created by graduation and portal departures from Wake players.
While the deadline for Wake players to enter the portal is January 16th, there is no deadline for players already in the database to exit once they find a new school. It is entirely possible there will be some late additions to the new Wake Forest roster. With the new semester having already started this week, any new player would likely have to wait until Summer to join the program.
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