It’s a formidable challenge to compete at the highest level when the undergraduate enrollment is just 5,102 and you find Clemson and Florida State on your schedule each fall. But Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson spoke with great optimism at the ACC Kickoff in Charlotte about his program’s future which includes a $58 million commitment for facility upgrades. The McReary Field House has already been completed at a cost of $21 million. The indoor facility will benefit all of the Demon Deacon athletic programs, but Clawson is excited about what it means to his program with regard to year-round conditioning and recruiting.
Wake Forest is coming off its third consecutive bowl victory and returns seven offensive starters, including 1,000 yard rusher Cade Carney. Carney’s performance was good enough for 3rd-team honors on the all-conference team and helped the Deacons to 32.8 ppg last season.
The 500 lb. gorilla on Wake’s schedule is, of course, Clemson, but the rest of the slate is manageable. The first four games are Utah State, Rice, Elon and North Carolina (in a non-conference contest). The Deacons open conference play against Boston College at Chesnut Hill, where Wake Forest has won on three of its last four trips. Clawson’s club will enjoy a bye in the first week of October before playing host to Louisville, a team in transition under first-year head coach Scott Satterfield. If the progression of the offense continues under Clawson, there is good indication Wake Forest will be making a fourth consecutive bowl trip at the end of 2019.
DAVE CLAWSON PRESS CONFERENCE:
2018 Wake Forest at a glance
Wake Forest Demon Deacons 7-6 3-5 Won Birmingham Bowl against Memphis
Dave Clawson 6th season 28-35 12-28
| 2018 | ACC Rank | NCAA Rank | |
| Points Per game | 32.8 | 5 | 37 |
| Rushing Yards per game | 216.7 | 4 | 24 |
| Passing yards per game | 235.2 | 8 | 65 |
| Total yards per game | 451.8 | 4 | 28 |
| Defense | |||
| Points allowed per game | 33.3 | 12 | 101 |
| Rushing yards allowed per game | 192.2 | 10 | 92 |
| Passing yards allowed per game | 265.3 | 13 | 117 |
| Total yards allowed per game | 457.5 | 13 | 115 |
The Deacons return 14 starters, 7 on offense, 5 on defense, and the Kicker and Punter.
Statistical Leaders Returning
| QB | Yards | TDS | INT | PCT |
| Sam Hartman | 1984 | 16 | 8 | 55.3 |
| Jamie Newman | 1083 | 9 | 4 | 59.6 |
| RB | Games | Yards | TD | AVG |
| Cade Carney | 13 | 1039 | 8 | 5.4 |
| WR | Games | Yards | TD | REC |
| Sage Surratt | 10 | 581 | 4 | 41 |
| Defense | ||||
| Tackles | TFL | INT | Sacks | |
| Carlos Basham Jr. | 64 | 11.0 | 0 | 4.5 |
| Justin Strnad | 105 | 8.5 | 0 | 1.5 |
| Luke Masterson | 52 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 |
| Essang Bassey | 73 | 2.5 | 1 | 1.0 |
Returning Starters Offense
QB Jamie Newman
QB Sam Hartman
RB Cade Carney
WR Sage Surratt
TE Jack Freudenthal
LT Jake Benzinger
RT Nathan Gilliam
Returning Starters Defense
DE Carlos Basham Jr.
LB Justin Strnad
LB/S Luke Masterson
CB Amari Henderson
CB Essang Bassey
Special Teams
K Nick Sciba
P Dom Maggio
Key Losses
RB Matt Colburn
WR Greg Dortch
WR Alex Bachman
LG Phil Haynes
C Ryan Anderson
RG Patrick Osterhage
DE Chris Calhoun
DT Willie Yarbary
DT Zeek Rodney
S Chuck Wade Jr.
S Cameron Glenn
