Wake Forest Demon Deacons Roster 2019 Deacons Roster

Head Coach: Dave Clawson        2017 Salary: $1,827,370        Offensive Coordinator: Warren Ruggiero       Defensive Coordinator: Jay Sawvel         

Stadium: BB&T Field       Surface: Turf        City: Winston-Salem        State: North Carolina

Heading into the season, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons are considered a middle of the pack team in the ACC. Still, they have the expectations to match or exceed last season's record. As of right now, the big question to start the season is at quarterback. Senior John Wolford is now gone. The heir apparent, Kendall Hinton, will be on a suspension, at least for the start of the season. However, there will be some great weapons on the offense for whoever is running the plays. In addition, there's some young talent with experience that steps in on defense for the departed seniors.

The loss of Wolford will be felt but may not be a major issue. Wake ranked No. 11 in the nation in passing yards per game last season. Luckily, Hinton gained experience back in 2016 when he filled in for Wolford early on. In his three seasons, Hinton has tallied 1,502 years with eight touchdowns along with 705 rushing yards and 10 TDs on the ground. There are also backups Jamie Newman and Sam Hartman available while Hinton serves a three-game suspension.

The Demon Deacons also lost two of their top receivers from last season. Tabari Hines transferred to Oregon while tight end Cam Sergine has graduated. However, wide receiver Greg Dortch is amongst the bright spots on the offensive side this year. He was named to the ACC's All-Preseason team and is considered the most efficient receiver in the conference. In addition to Dortch, Hinton (or whoever is at QB) will have 6-foot-5 junior Scotty Washington as a target. Tight end Thomas Cole will also be on a three-game suspension.

At the running back spot, Matt Colburn II started to come on strong during the latter part of last season and should once again be effective for the offense. In 2017, he racked up 904 yards and seven touchdowns on 166 attempts. He should continue on that strong pace in 2018 with a shot at a 1,000-yard season. Helping the offense even more is the fact that all five offensive linemen are back.

Just like Wake lost talent at quarterback, they also lost some talent when it comes to their front seven on their defense. Five of last season's starters are gone. Defensive back Arkeem Byrd will be unavailable for the season due to a torn ACL during practice this past spring. Defensive back Jessie Bates III and defensive Duke Ejiofor are among the stars who were drafted to the NFL.

The team basically lost key players responsible for havoc plays such as tackles for losses, forced fumbles, or passes defended. Still, cornerbacks Essang Bassey and Amari Henderson add great talent in the secondary. It's believed they could make up for those losses on the front line. Wake is hoping for the younger players to step up and begin to emerge in place of those defensive stars who left.

Wake will have early tests against ranked opponents Notre Dame and Clemson, but it's believed this squad coached by the talented Dave Clawson can be solid. Clawson will enter his fifth year for the first time ever with a school. He's coached each of the college squads he's been at to a new level of success in the fourth year before moving on.

The expectations are that at the very least this Wake Forest team should match their win total from last season. That gives them a good shot at going 8-5 for the upcoming season, with anything above that a definite improvement.