ACC Kickoff: Wake Forest head coach Jake Dickert, Langston Hardy, Gio Lopez and Davaughn Patterson (VIDEO)

Wake Forest Demon Deacons key players

Defensive back Devaughn Patterson: Patterson tallied 78 tackles and nine pass breakups last season.

Defensive lineman Langston Hardy: Hardy was named an All-ACC honorable mention after appearing in all 13 games for the Demon Deacons last season. Hardy was fifth in the country with 17 tackles for loss and seven sacks.

Quarterback Gio Lopez: Lopez transfers into Wake Forest after starting 11 games for North Carolina last season as a sophomore. Lopez completed 65.1% of his passes for 1,747 yards and ten touchdowns in 2025.

2026 Demon Deacons schedule

Sept. 3 Akron 7 p.m. ET (ACCN)
Sept. 12 at Purdue Noon ET (FS1)
Sept. 18 Miami * 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Sept. 26 at Louisville *
Oct. 3 Stanford *
Oct. 10 at NC State *
Oct. 17 at California *
Oct. 24 OPEN
Oct. 31 Virginia *
Nov. 7 Merrimack
Nov. 14 at SMU *
Nov. 21 at Georgia Tech *
Nov. 28 Duke *

Wake Forest’s Jake Dickert, Gio Lopez, Langston Hardy and Devaughn Patterson