For the first time in a handful of years, Wake Forest football has no starting quarterback going into the Fall. It is both by choice and by circumstance that the Demon Deacons completed Spring camp with no heir apparent at the position. The Wake Forest quarterback question marks will make the Fall a lot more entertaining to watch.
Wake Forest Quarterback Questions
The Past
From 2020-2022, the job was Sam Hartman’s and for obvious reasons. He was also the starter when the season began in 2018. In 2023, then-head coach Dave Clawson took a huge gamble and named Mitch Griffis the starter for the season before Spring camp had even gotten anywhere.
Last year, the Deacs had a theoretical quarterback battle in camp. Michael Kern had been with the program for five years and deserved a look. But the reality was that Hank Bachmeier had infinitely more game experience and did not take Wake’s collective money (albeit at a comparatively bargain rate) to be anyone’s backup. He was the obvious starter.
The Present
There is nothing obvious about the position in 2025. Returning backup Jeremy Hecklinski competed in Spring camp for a couple of weeks before hitting the transfer portal and eventually landing at Iowa.
That leaves the real competition down to two transfers. Robby Ashford is at his fourth school in five years. He began his journey in Oregon (two seasons, including a redshirt) and spent one year at Auburn and South Carolina before landing at Wake Forest.
Deshawn Purdie played one season at Charlotte, starting in six games. In early January of this year, he entered the transfer portal and committed to Florida before changing his mind and opting for Wake Forest.
The Candidates
Their journeys to get to Wake Forest are different. So are their games. It is not by accident that new head coach Jake Dickert has not decided on a starter yet. While no coach is ever going to outright acknowledge this, making that decision in the Spring means someone is likely to wake up the next day and enter the transfer portal. Both Purdie and Ashford will be here for the Fall camp and the 2025 season.
Another element of the process this off-season is that neither ran away with the job in camp. Both had a sufficient mix of plays that Wake fans would be more than happy with, along with extended bouts of inconsistency.
It is for those reasons, among others, that Dickert said Saturday after the Spring scrimmage, “Don’t be surprised if we go into the season if we start with two guys.”
Dickert was clear that narrowing the field to two competing quarterbacks was significant. He said he needed to see both Purdie and Ashford get more snaps.
Their thoughts on the process will remain behind closed doors for the time being. Dickert and the program did not make either quarterback available to the media at any point during the Spring.
The Transfer from Charlotte
Purdie is an eye-catching physical presence at quarterback. He is listed at 6-4 and 228 pounds. He has a big arm but often drops it when passing well below a three-quarters level. It has, at times, negated the advantage of being so tall in the pocket. Oddly enough, watch tape of him and you see some of the periods of consistency come when he is rolling out or otherwise throwing on the run. It’s not something you generally see from a quarterback his size.
He completed 50% of his passes last season at Charlotte for 1,802 yards and 10 touchdowns.
The Transfer from South Carolina
Ashford has a sufficient arm. He only threw 32 passes last year in a reserve role for the Gamecocks. He completed 72% of them for 324 yards and two touchdowns. What he brings is the ability to run, not as a bailout, but in designed plays, and pick up significant yardage.
“You can see a very distinct and different skill set,” Dickert said of the two after the scrimmage last weekend. “I think that’s the biggest thing as we work through the Summer and Fall camp. Really formulating the offense into what fits their strengths.”
What’s Next
Dickert broke down where he sees each of them as Spring ends. “Deshawn, you see the big arm. I thought he made some great throws today [Saturday]. Every once in a while, decision making and processing…we’ve got to get him to that elite level in this offense.”
And as for Ashford, “When Robby takes off, who’s catching him?”
So then, where does the competition stand in this time and space? “There’s just consistency on both sides from both of those guys that we need to continue to improve. Whoever can take care of the ball and lead this team will be the first one out there.”
The first one out there may not be the last one out there. With the first game at home at Kennesaw State, the odds are high that Wake fans will see both quarterbacks on opening night.
Main Image: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images
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