With the ever expanding emphasis on the passing game in football, the ability to stop the pass has grown just as much. Though not much is expected of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, a skilled and very experienced secondary could lead to a surprise season with new head coach Dave Clawson.
Wake Forest returns three starters from a secondary that finished fifth in total defense in the ACC last season. They will be led by possibly the best cornerback tandem in the conference in Kevin Johnson and Merrill Noel. A consensus freshman All-American his freshman season, Merrill set a first year record for passes defended with 21. Johnson has put together back-to-back 3-interception seasons as well as being an honorable mention for the All-ACC team in both years.
Between the two they have combined for 60 starts, nearly 300 tackles, 11 interceptions and 57 pass breakups. They will be joined in the secondary with a player coming off of a strong freshman season that earned him an honorable mention on the All-ACC team last year, Ryan Janvion. Janvion led the team in solo tackles with 61, as well as making 95 total stops altogether. The 129th ranked athlete in the 2013 recruiting class according to ESPN stepped right in from day one and started all 12 games, intercepting one pass on the season.
Returning to line up next to Janvion at the safety position will be Anthony Wooding Jr., a senior who started four games last year after transferring from the Air Force Academy. He brings with him a total of 19 starts of experience, including 2 interceptions in that span.
Throw in Hunter Williams and Steve Donatell, who will be the primary players in the team’s ‘rover’ position in their new 4-2-5 scheme, and it will be hard pressed to find a more experienced secondary in the ACC.
All combined, the six players combine for 101 total starts in their career, with 14 interceptions and over 500 tackles. This will be key while the Demon Deacons are breaking in a new quarterback after four-year starter Tanner Price graduated, along with Michael Campanaro, the school’s all-time leading receiver. They also lost the entire starting defensive line from a year ago, so having a secondary as experienced as Wake Forest will help them sort out their rotation up front.
The secondary isn’t top heavy either, with reserves that have totaled 75 games worth of action. If somebody needs to step up, they won’t have to put a player in who is completely new to the collegiate level.
The Demon Deacons also added four newcomers to the secondary through recruiting, so the future appears bright even after Noel and Johnson move on. DaiQuan Lawrence was the 44th ranked cornerback in this past class, and Cameron Glenn was the 29th ranked safety. They are the two most likely to fight for playing time, but if Janvion could make the leap early, so could Thomas Dilon (71st CB) and Demetrius Kemp (103rd ATH).
With four teams in the top 50 in passing last season on the schedule (Utah State, 52, would have been five if Chuckie Keaton was not lost for the season), Wake Forest will be tested often through the air, but they have the secondary that can not only keep them in games, but could steal a game or two.
Consensus picks have Wake Forest finishing last in their division this season, but if defense can still win championships, this defense can help them play over their heads in a year where not much is expected of them. New head coach Clawson has turned programs around wherever he has stopped, but this secondary gives him a leg up that he didn’t have at his other programs.
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