As the game of college football evolves, or devolves, standing pat with everything you have done in the past is rarely a recipe for success or job continuity. Adapt or pack is the reality for most college coaches now. As we previously talked about with changes in the Demon Deacon’s Spring camp, perhaps the biggest evidence of the changes comes with the Wake Forest quarterbacks.
For the first time in a few years, we have ourselves an open quarterback competition for Wake Forest. After the Sam Hartman era, Mitch Griffis was the ordained go-to guy. That didn’t go well at all and he is trying to reestablish himself at Marshall.
The QB Competition
As we head into week one of the Spring session for Wake, it is clear that the position is there for the taking. Hank Bachmeier is in his sixth year of college football and his first at Wake. But there should be no sense that he came out of the transfer portal to be a backup at this point in his career. Michael Kern has ridden the traditional Wake Forest train. He has been developed in the system. He bided his time and now expects to be an option for the starting quarterback role. Clearly, he would have been the incumbent coming into camp had he not missed so much of 2023 with a shoulder injury.
Yes, Charlie Gilliam and Jeremy Hecklinski are getting their snaps. Head coach Dave Clawson is making a concerted effort to get everyone more live time. But the reality is, for now, into practice two of 15, Bachmeier and Kern are the leaders in this horse race.
Clawson is purposely running live 11-on-11 drills on both practice fields simultaneously in an effort to get everyone more work. “We’re probably going to have 30 to 35 new players on our roster,” Clawson said Tuesday. His stated goal is to make sure to take advantage of so many being at camp now and wanting them all to get work.
Clawson’s willingness to tweak his own system is a byproduct of seeing that the current college football environment does not always work well for teams that rely heavily on players in their fourth or fifth year with a program. That and going 4-8 last year. Now it is less about how long someone has been there. It’s more about who can contribute, at what positions, and how quickly.
Bachmeier
It apparently didn’t take much convincing to get Bachmeier eager for the challenge. After four years at Boise State and one year at Louisiana Tech, the Murietta, CA native says he is ready for one more team to lead.
“I saw what the previous quarterbacks have been able to do in this offense,” Bachmeier said this week. “And I really thought with it being my last year, and my dreams of pursuing the next level and the system, I just thought it was a really good fit all the way around.”
Bachmeier had two different offensive coordinators in his time at Boise State where he ran primarily a pro style/RPO offense. In his year at Louisiana Tech, it was mostly a wide-open Air Raid. The Wake offense gets pegged as a slow mesh system. But the reality is those specific schemes account for 25% or less of the total plays run. It is with that in mind that Clawson projects Bachmeier will have an easy time adjusting to the Demon Deacons offense. “There’s a learning curve just like there would be with any new offense,” Clawson said. “But how much of that is because of the slow mesh is minimal.”
The Offense
Bachmeier’s take differs a little. “Coach R (offensive coordinator Warren Ruggiero), runs such a unique offense that it’s been really fun to learn, a really fun challenge,” the quarterback said. He playfully referred to Ruggiero as, “ A mad scientist.” Bachmeier explained; “He’s extremely passionate and has been a pleasure to get to know and build a relationship with.” He made sure to include that part of the lure to Wake Forest was its status as, “An elite academic institution.” Bachmeier is working on his Master’s in Financial Technology and Analytics.
The new kid on the block also gives credit to his competition for the position in helping smooth the transition to the new school. “You want to be able to push each other and help each other be better,” he said of his relationship with Kern. The two have been spending a lot of time hanging out together, with teammates, outside of the football facilities as well.
Clawson also gave credit to Kern for helping Bachmeier adapt. “He’s probably helped Hank learn the offense more than anybody,” the coach said. “It tells you the type of young man he is. I’m not sure I would have done that as a player,” Clawson said with a chuckle.
Kern
Kern, who battled injuries last year, put on 10 pounds during the off-season and clearly added some upper-body strength. Clawson said it was 10 pounds of muscle via weight room dedication. Kern said that was not everything. “My mom’s cooking helped. So that was nice being home with her.”
Bachmeier has the starter’s resume, (8,600+ yards passing with 51 touchdowns in his college career). But Kern concedes nothing in the competition. “I just see so much potential in this team and so much potential in these guys. I want us to live up to that potential and I want to do my part.”
And that time off the field with the new teammate? Kern called it, “Doing life together.” There is the film room work, weight room work, and football aspect of it all. And then there is the other stuff. “We had a quarterback pickleball day the other day,” Kern said. “It’s things like that that are fun. It’s a good [quarterback] room, and having him in it has been awesome.” And as for the superior pickleball player among the quarterbacks? “I would say it’s me,” Kern laughed. “That may be selfish, but I can get after it on a pickleball court.”
Spring camp goes through April 20th with the Spring game at Allegacy Stadium.
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