There is going to be a bright spotlight on the Wake Forest secondary in 2025. After consecutive years of struggling to compete at a high level, changes are going to be necessary. Significant improvements in the secondary are going to be a requirement for Wake Forest this season.
The Wake Forest secondary
It’s not that there was talent in the secondary the last couple of years. There was NFL-level talent there. But there was a lack of cohesive play, individuals maintaining their assignments, and execution week after week. In 2024, the Demon Deacons were 126th in the country out of 133 teams in passing yards given up at 277 per game. They were 78th in 2023, giving up 232 passing yards per game.
It’s not the entire collapse of the passing game that was on their collective backs. A lack of consistent pass rush tends to wear down a secondary. Wake was tied for 92nd in the country last year in sacks. So the secondary had to put in more work.
Then
It’s not that former head coach Dave Clawson didn’t try to make changes. In 2023, the defensive backs were getting beat deep with receivers getting past them. The defense was allowing opposing quarterbacks to throw at a 62% completion rate. Opponents put up 24 passing touchdowns against the Deacs.
So, in 2024, Clawson made adjustments. The secondary, in an effort to keep everything in front of them, started giving more cushion to the receivers. The result was getting beat less frequently, but opposing offenses were moving downfield in a dink and dunk fashion against Wake. Yard per completion given up by the defense dropped by five yards per reception. But Wake still gave up 23 passing touchdowns. They were just coming in a more methodical fashion.
The media consistently asked Clawson about the performance of the secondary to the point of wearing him down. He eventually came to say that he tried to get more talent from the portal in the off-season, but was hamstrung by a lack of competitive cash available from the collective.
And Now
Enter new head coach Jake Dickert. As is the case with most new head coaches, they get a little bit of leeway from their new school that their predecessor did not have. The level of activity for the school was unprecedented in the portal era. Wake has brought in 21 new players since Dickert came aboard in mid-December. That included six new faces in the secondary, with five of them being cornerbacks.
Dickert spent the Spring camp promising a more aggressive defense. That would show itself at all three levels (defensive line, linebacker, and secondary). But the secondary is going to get the spotlight because of the last two seasons.
Even with the new additions, after the Spring Showcase, the coach’s attention was on the returnees. “Davaughn Patterson is a flat-out pro in the way he approaches everything he does,” Dickert told the media after the scrimmage. Rushaun (Tongue) has been really consistent. I think he is taking that next step in his development.”
Nick Anderson
Regardless of changes/additions in personnel or in scheme, the centerpiece of the secondary is clearly going to be Nick Anderson. Dickert expects the sixth-year senior to be the leader of the group.
“It starts with Nick Anderson,” Dickert said after the scrimmage. “It’s about what he’s done through the course of these 15 practices. For a guy that’s been here this long to be that focused and that aggressive and to attack the daily process, it’s awesome to see.”
Anderson said his years in the program have led to the ability to lead the secondary. He said with regard to his knowledge of the game, “That just comes with experience. “You don’t even have to think about stuff. You can just feel it,” he told the media after the scrimmage.
Talking the Talk
He said there is going to need to be interchangeability in the secondary. “For all the secondary guys, it helps when you know what the guy next to you is doing,” he said. “You know where the help is going to be.” He said improved communication in the defensive backfield should keep receivers from getting so open.
New defensive backs coach Freddie Banks told us at the end of camp that Anderson may be one of the smartest players he has coached. “He’s going to help communicate with everybody. It’s going to help everybody.” Banks said he could see the improvement in the secondary from the start of camp to the end, but cautioned, “We still have a long way to go.”
Dickert said he counts on depth and versatility as determining factors. Both are things Wake did not have the last two seasons.
Main Image; Tony Siracusa
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