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 Draft Scout College Football Player News: Wake Forest
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  WEEK 9 FCS NATIONAL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Vincent Firenze, Dayton, S, R-Soph., 6-4, 221,...Firenze fueled Dayton's defensive effort in the Pioneer Football League squad's 35-19 upset of previously unbeaten Presbyterian. He racked up a career-high 14 tackles, including seven solos, and returned his third interception of the season 20 yards for a touchdown. The Flyers kept PC, which was 19th-ranked, both 22 points and 102 yards below their pregame averages. Honorable Mention: Sean Allison, LB, Drake; Taylen Blaylock, S, Furman; James Conway, LB, Fordham; Brycen Edwards, LB, Lehigh; David Hoage, DE, West Georgia; Malik McKinzie, DL, Charleston Southern; Tye Niekamp, LB, Illinois State; Kevin Washington Jr., LB, Western Illinois; Johnny Williamson, S, Cornell; Peyton Wing, LB, Montana. - Stats Perform FCS Football

(DS#12 ILB) rJr/2028 ILB Vincent Firenze, Wake Forest
News Source: Stats Perform FCS Football
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  11/15/25 - Carlos Hernandez, Sr/2027, Wake Forest, 6-0, 190 (DS#11 WR) + More +

  Wake Forest's Carlos Hernandez scored two touchdowns, including one by returning a teammate's fumble, on plays that caught North Carolina off guard and the Demon Deacons didn't allow a touchdown in a 28-12 victory Saturday. Hernandez racked up 100 receiving yards on six catches and Robby Ashford threw for a touchdown and ran for another for Wake Forest (7-3, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference). Demond Claiborne ran for 98 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown. It marked the first victory for first-year coach Jake Dickert against an in-state conference rival.

North Carolina's Rece Verhoff kicked four field goals, including a record-setting boot, but he had two other attempts blocked. The Tar Heels (4-6, 2-4) had a two-game winning streak snapped. They'll have to win their final two games against in-state rivals to reach bowl eligibility in coach Bill Belichick's first season as a college head coach. Ashford was 15-for-25 passing for 191 yards and also picked up 50 yards on the ground, with his 2-yard, fourth-down TD run coming with 22 seconds left. Gio Lopez went 21 for 36 for 201 yards for the Tar Heels, who had 56 rushing yards compared to Wake Forest's 223. - Wake Forest/AP College Football

(DS#11 WR) Sr/2027 WR Carlos Hernandez, Wake Forest
News Source: Wake Forest/AP College Football
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  11/08/25 - Carlos Hernandez, Sr/2027, Wake Forest, 6-0, 190 (DS#11 WR) + More +

  Carlos Hernandez returned a bouncing punt 88 yards in the third quarter for the game's only touchdown, and Wake Forest handed No. 12 Virginia its first Atlantic Coast Conference loss of the season, 16-9 on Saturday night. Playing most of the night without quarterback Chandler Morris, who was injured when he took a hit to the head and neck area on a second-quarter run, Virginia (8-2, 5-1, No. 14 CFP) became the last ACC team to lose a league game this year, disappointing a crowd of 55,568 at Scott Stadium that had been energized by the Cavaliers' best start in 35 years. "We got them to do something they normally don't do and turn the ball over," Wake Forest coach Jake Dickert said. "Really proud of our guys. No one thought we could go to a bowl game. These guys fought with resiliency, they kept punching and found a way to win." Connor Calvert kicked three field goals for the Demon Deacons (6-3, 3-3), including from 50 and 49 yards in the second half, helping Wake Forest notch its first win over a top-15 opponent since 1979.

Neither offense found the end zone. "They did their part to kind of keep us within striking range," Virginia coach Tony Elliott said of his defense. "Unfortunately, we didn't play complementary football." Virginia, which had won seven straight, had played a string of tight games, going 4-1 in one-score contests before Saturday. "We played with fire," Elliott said. "And we got burned." Virginia totaled 327 yards of offense to just 203 for Wake Forest, but the Cavaliers were held without a touchdown for the first time since a 14-12, four-overtime loss at Miami in 2022. - Wake Forest/AP College Football

(DS#11 WR) Sr/2027 WR Carlos Hernandez, Wake Forest
News Source: Wake Forest/AP College Football
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  11/08/25 - Gio Lopez, rJr/2028, Wake Forest, 6-0, 220 (DS#27 QB) + More +

  Gio Lopez threw for two second-half touchdowns and North Carolina's defense relentlessly pressured Elijah Brown as the Tar Heels beat Stanford 20-15 Saturday for their second straight victory in Atlantic Coast Conference play. Jordan Shipp led the Tar Heels (4-5, 2/3 ACC) with 83 yards receiving on five catches. His 55-yard touchdown grab extended the lead to 20-3 early in the fourth quarter. Lopez, who was 18 of 25 for 203 yards passing, also connected with Davion Gause for a 20-yard score. "Good win," coach Bill Belichick said. "Good to win at home. Always good to win at home. Proud of our team." Brown, a redshirt freshman making his first start this season and the second of his career, threw for 268 yards with one touchdown and one interception but was also sacked nine times.

Two late touchdowns, including a 24-yard catch by CJ Williams, made it a one-score game with 1:48 to play, but it was too little, too late for Stanford (3-7, 2-5 ACC), which dropped its third straight. Williams finished with six catches for 61 yards, while Caden High added 10 receptions for 102 yards. "I'm really happy with how Elijah fought back," coach Frank Reich said. "Obviously, some of the protection stuff, he was just trying to hold on. He didn't flinch, it didn't faze him." The first half featured just 147 total yards and as many punts (six) as points. Fittingly, North Carolina's defense set up the first score when Andrew Simpson stripped Brown, allowing Smith Vilbert to recover at the Stanford 7. That led to a Rece Verhoff 27-yard field goal. The Tar Heels' 3-0 lead after the first quarter was their first since a Sept. 13 win over Richmond. Ethan Kenney converted a 38-yard field goal on the half's final play, making up for an earlier miss. - North Carolina/AP College Football

(DS#27 QB) rJr/2028 QB Gio Lopez, Wake Forest
News Source: North Carolina/AP College Football
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  10/31/25 - Gio Lopez, rJr/2028, Wake Forest, 6-0, 220 (DS#27 QB) + More +

  Demon June accounted for two touchdowns and nearly 200 yards on offense, Gio Lopez threw for two scores, and Bill Belichick won his first Atlantic Coast Conference game when North Carolina came from behind to defeat Syracuse 27-10 Friday night. "Feels good. Feels great," Belichick said. "We had a couple of opportunities the last couple of weeks that we couldn't capitalize on. It was good to get this one. So we look forward to all the rest of the games in the ACC. "Things didn't go great great at the beginning of the game but then they just kept on battling and we had a really good second half defensively," he added of a defense that shut out the Orange after intermission. "We all know in football it's not who you play it's when you play them. We were probably fortunate to get them (now) as opposed to the week they played Clemson." The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Tar Heels (3-5, 1-3 ACC), while the Orange (3-6, 1-5) lost for the fifth consecutive time. North Carolina lost its previous two games by a combined four points.

The Tar Heels had not scored more than 20 points against an FBS team and trailed 10-6 when Lopez hit June for a short gain of 9 yards on the team's first play of the second half. June then broke a tackle and scampered 63 yards down the right sideline for a 72-yard scoring play to give the Tar Heels a 13-10 lead they would never surrender. On the team's next series, June ran it in from 5 yards out for a 20-10 margin. A 21-yard scoring strike from Lopez to Jordan Shipp gave the Tar Heels a 17-point lead and 21 unanswered points. Lopez was 15-of-19 passing for 216 yards and two touchdowns. June had 101 yards on the ground and 81 yards on two receptions. Shipp had six catches for 64 yards. - North Carolina/AP College Football

(DS#27 QB) rJr/2028 QB Gio Lopez, Wake Forest
News Source: North Carolina/AP College Football
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  10/25/25 - Connor Calvert, rSo/2029, Wake Forest, 6-2, 215 (DS#13 K) + More +

  Connor Calvert barely made a 50-yard field goal on the final play to give Wake Forest a 13-12 win over SMU on Saturday, sending the Mustangs to their first loss in Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season play. The Mustangs had won 20 straight regular-season conference games, the longest then-active such streak in the nation. SMU won its last nine in the American Athletic Conference and its first 11 after joining the Atlantic Coast Conference last season. SMU players and coaches stayed on the field, demanding a review of the ruling of a successful field goal. After an SMU punt, Wake Forest used a 25-yard pass from Deshawn Purdie to Kamrean Johnson to move into Mustangs' territory and then spiked the ball before the final snap. Purdie threw for 183 yards. Demond Claiborne rushed for 73 yards as the Demon Deacons (5-2, 2-2 ACC). Kevin Jennings threw for 171 yards on 21-for-39 passing for SMU (5-3, 3-1). There were eight turnovers, two missed field goals, a blocked extra-point kick and 17 punts.

Wake Forest's fourth-down gamble at its own 41 in the third quarter resulted in an incomplete pass. Six plays later, SMU's Shaadie Clayton-Johnson scored the team's only touchdown on a 6-yard run for a 12-10 lead before the extra-point kick was blocked. Wake Forest took another risk but converted on fourth down from its own 45 with about nine minutes remaining. Through three possessions, Wake Forest had minus-4 yards of total offense and a 3-0 lead. Connor Calvert's 25-yard field goal came following a 9-yard SMU punt. The Demon Deacons took over in the second quarter at the SMU following Gabe Kirschke's sack that resulted in Jennings' fumble. Two players later, Ashford threw 12 yards to Eni Falayi for a touchdown. The teams combined for a punt and four turnovers in the final minute of the first half, none resulting in points. Wake Forest led 10-6 at the break. - Wake Forest/AP College Football

(DS#13 K) rSo/2029 K Connor Calvert, Wake Forest
News Source: Wake Forest/AP College Football
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  10/18/25 - Sawyer Seidl, rJr/2028, Wake Forest, 5-09, 175 (DS#78 RB) + More +

  Sawyer Seidl ran for three touchdowns and caught a pass for another in North Dakota's 38-19 win over Southern Illinois on Saturday. Seidl's first three touchdowns came from rushing 26, 18, and 21 yards out. Quarterback Jerry Kaminski added another rushing touchdown to go up 28-0 at the half. With just under three minutes in the third quarter, Seidl caught an 11-yard reception and ran up the sideline and into the endzone to go up 35-7. The sophomore running back rushed for 108 yards on 14 carries.

Southern Illinois (4-2, 1-1 in MVFC) scored twice in the fourth quarter, one on a quarterback keeper from DJ Williams and the other on a pass to Tae Marrero Jr. Williams completed 29 passes on 46 attempts for 258 total yards and one touchdown. Chandler Chapman scored one rushing touchdown for Southern Illinois and had 68 yards on 15 attempts. North Dakota (5-2, 3-0 in MVFC) is on a four-game win streak. The Fighting Hawks won last week against Youngstown State. - AP College Football

(DS#78 RB) rJr/2028 RB Sawyer Seidl, Wake Forest
News Source: AP College Football
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  10/13/25 - Demond Claiborne, Sr/2026, Wake Forest, 5-10, 188 (DS#9 RB) + More +

  WEEK 7 ACC RUNNING BACK OF THE WEEK: Demond Claiborne, Sr., RB, Wake Forest (Aylett, Virginia),...Led Wake Forest's offensive attack in the road win at Oregon State last week with 144 rushing yards and one touchdown on 16 carries, averaging 9.0 yards per attempt...Registered a rushing touchdown for the fifth straight game, the longest scoring streak of his career...Also caught two passes for 26 yards in the non-conference road win...Accounted for five explosive plays of over 10 yards in the win over the Beavers, including a 66-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter...Recorded his eighth rushing touchdown of the season with the 66-yard scamper...His second ACC Running Back of the Week honor this season. - ACC Football

(DS#9 RB) Sr/2026 RB Demond Claiborne, Wake Forest
News Source: ACC Football
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  WEEK 2 PFL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Vincent Firenze, Dayton (Sophomore (RS), Safety, Syracuse, New York),...Firenze led a Dayton unit that tossed a shutout in a 38-0 victory against Division II Thomas More on Saturday. He recorded six tackles (two solo) and also had an interception and a pass breakup. Firenze's interception came on the first play of a Thomas More drive and led to Dayton's first touchdown. His pass breakup came on a third-down play, forcing a punt in the third quarter. Dayton held Thomas More to 200 offensive yards, 11 first downs, and a 2-of-11 third-down conversion rate. - Pioneer Football League

(DS#12 ILB) rJr/2028 ILB Vincent Firenze, Wake Forest
News Source: Pioneer Football League
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  09/22/25 - Wondame Davis Jr., rSo/2029, Wake Forest, 5-11, 185 (DS#57 WR) + More +

  WEEK 4 CONFERENCE USA FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK: Wondame Davis Jr., UTEP - R-Fr. - WR - Ennis, Texas,...Davis Jr. produced breakout numbers against ULM with career bests in receptions (six), receiving yards (119) and long reception (44). He scored his first collegiate touchdown - a 44-yard reception - during the fourth quarter. He added another - a 20-yard catch - with six minutes left in the final frame. His efforts helped the Miners rally from a 31-10 deficit as his second TD helped UTEP get within six points with six minutes remaining. - Conference USA Football

(DS#57 WR) rSo/2029 WR Wondame Davis Jr., Wake Forest
News Source: Conference USA Football
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  09/13/25 - Gio Lopez, rJr/2028, Wake Forest, 6-0, 220 (DS#27 QB) + More +

  Gio Lopez threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, freshman Demon June had 148 rushing yards and a touchdown, and North Carolina beat Richmond 41-6 on Saturday for its first home win of the Bill Belichick era. Both passing touchdowns went to Jordan Shipp, who caught four passes for 52 yards. Lopez went 10 of 18 for 119 yards and also threw an interception. North Carolina's defense was no match for the Spiders (1-2), who gained just 199 total yards. The Spiders also committed three turnovers, including a fumble that Makai Gbayor returned for a 62-yard touchdown.

The Tar Heels scored on their first four possessions and outgained Richmond 193-58 in the opening half to grab a 20-3 lead. Hoping to regain momentum, Richmond recovered a surprise onside kick to begin the second half. The Spiders took their subsequent drive all the way down to the 1, where Kyle Wickersham was stuffed on a fourth down run. Wickersham was 6 of 8 through the air for 47 yards. - North Carolina/AP College Football

(DS#27 QB) rJr/2028 QB Gio Lopez, Wake Forest
News Source: North Carolina/AP College Football
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  09/08/25 - Demond Claiborne, Sr/2026, Wake Forest, 5-10, 188 (DS#9 RB) + More +

  WEEK 2 ACC RUNNING BACK OF THE WEEK: Demond Claiborne, Sr., RB, Wake Forest (Aylett, Virginia),...Ran for 193 yards and three touchdowns in Wake Forest's 42-10 win over Western Carolina...Became the first FBS player to run for 190-or-more yards and at least three rushing touchdowns in a game this season...Eclipsed 100 all-purpose yards for the 14th time in the last 22 games...Logged an 85-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter - the longest by a Demon Deacon since 2019...Averaged 19.3 yards per carry in the win, ranking third in Wake Forest single-game history. - ACC Football

(DS#9 RB) Sr/2026 RB Demond Claiborne, Wake Forest
News Source: ACC Football
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  09/06/25 - Gio Lopez, rJr/2028, Wake Forest, 6-0, 220 (DS#27 QB) + More +

  Gio Lopez threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to Chris Culliver on the first possession, Davion Gause ran for a 12-yard score and Bill Belichick got his first win as a college head coach as North Carolina defeated Charlotte 20-3 on a rain-soaked Saturday afternoon. Lopez completed 17 of 25 passes for 155 yards for the Tar Heels (1-1). North Carolina's defense held Charlotte (0-2) to 271 yards and forced two turnovers. Belichick, who won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and is the second-winningest head coach in NFL history, downplayed the significance of his first win at this level after the game.

"It's hard to win," Belichick said. "You gotta do a lot of things right. You gotta do it better than your opponent, so we were fortunate to do that. So it's, it's good to be part of it. I tried to do what I could to help them, but look, I didn't make any blocks, tackles, catches, runs or anything else out there." North Carolina lured Belichick to Chapel Hill with a five-year, $50 million million contract to boost its athletic profile, but his debut in front of a national audience on Monday night was a disaster as the Tar Heels got blown out 48-14 at home by TCU. It was the most points ever allowed by a UNC team in a season opener. It raised some early questions about whether the 73-year-old Belichick was capable of winning at this level, but his Tar Heels responded with a solid overall performance. - AP College Football

(DS#27 QB) rJr/2028 QB Gio Lopez, Wake Forest
News Source: AP College Football
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  08/29/25 - Robby Ashford, rSr/2026, Wake Forest, 6-2, 207 (DS#42 QB) + More +

  Robby Ashford scored Wake Forest's lone touchdown on a first-quarter keeper and the Demon Deacons came up with a clinching late stop to hold off Kennesaw State 10-9 on Friday night and give Jake Dickert a successful sideline debut. Ashford's 5-yard keeper that ended with him flipping through a hit at the goal line was a rare highlight on a bumpy night for the Demon Deacons (1-0), who lost top player Demond Claiborne to injury after just three carries.

Still, Wake Forest hung on after forcing Dexter Williams II to throw incomplete on fourth down with 1:50 left, prompting Dickert to pump his fist in exuberance that might've had some mixed-in relief, too. Wake Forest didn't go ahead for good until Connor Calvert's 22-yard field goal with 3:05 left in the third. Coleman Bennett bounced off a hit and rumbled loose for a 19-yard touchdown in the first quarter for the Owls (0-1), who are in their second year of Bowl Subdivision play after a 2-10 reclassification season in the move up from FCS. - Wake Forest/AP College Football

(DS#42 QB) rSr/2026 QB Robby Ashford, Wake Forest
News Source: Wake Forest/AP College Football
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  08/29/25 - Demond Claiborne, Sr/2026, Wake Forest, 5-10, 188 (DS#9 RB) + More +

  Wake Forest running back Demond Claiborne suffered an apparent injury early in Friday night's opener against Kennesaw State. The exact nature of the injury wasn't immediately clear, but Claiborne was standing on the sideline with an icebag wrapped around his left side near the ribs and no longer holding his helmet midway through the second quarter. It was unclear whether he would return to the game.

The player expected to be the workhorse for coach Jake Dickert's first season came off the field and headed to the locker room after runs of 13 and 2 yards on the game's first two plays. He later came jogging out to the field carrying jersey-wrapped pads and checked in for the first of multiple times into the injury tent. He re-entered the game with 10:24 left in the second. But after a 4-yard carry up the middle on the first snap, he hopped up and immediately came jogging back to the sideline and was spotted doubled over in pain. The 5-foot-10, 195-pound senior ran for 1,049 yards and 11 touchdowns last year. - AP College Football

(DS#9 RB) Sr/2026 RB Demond Claiborne, Wake Forest
News Source: AP College Football
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