The process has begun at Wake Forest with a roster overhaul, this year’s transfer quarterback, and everyone trying to find their place in Spring camp.
Day 1 of Wake Forest Spring Camp
The Demon Deacons started camp on Friday with the workouts in helmets. All eyes were on the quarterback spot. There really is no competition for the starting spot. Gio Lopez, the transfer from North Carolina, is going to be the starter, assuming his health going into the season. Right now, redshirt freshman Steele Pizzella has a firm grip on the backup spot. Freshman Grant Lawless looks the part at 6’-4,” and he had some flashes of running the offense in seven-on-seven drills, but they were flashes.
The Lines
The offensive line is going to see a lot of moving and interchangeable parts. The Deacs lost the experience of regulars Fa’alili Fa’moe, George Sell, Devin Kylany, and Melvin Siani. The bodies are there to have the depth, but finding who fits where is going to be a process throughout camp.
The defensive line will eventually be as expected, with the likes of Zach Lohavichan, Camden Hardy, Gabe Kirschke, Langston Hardy, and Tyler Walton carrying the bulk of the workload. The loss of production from Nuer Gatkuoth is going to be hard to replace.
The Rest of the Defense
The linebacker room has some real holes to fill with Dylan Hazen and Quincy Bryant gone. The group is going to be built around Aiden Hall.
The secondary loses Nick Anderson, but Zamari Stevenson, Rushaun Tongue, and Davaughn Patterson all return, making it a position of experience and strength.
Transitions
This is the college football world we live in now more than ever. Players are transitory, and coaches have to spend 12 months a year assessing where they have holes to fill. And those answers do not come on day one of a 15-practice Spring. But there are glimpses into the potential Wake world. And if you accept they are mere glimpses at this point, you know where to look down the road for trends.
Into that category, a few players can fill some voids. Deuce Blades II has the chance to be an impactful defensive back. The transfer from Florida International was quite adept at jamming receivers at the line. And there were two blitzes where the quarterback would have been blown up had it been full-contact practice with a live quarterback…or an actual game.
Receivers
Watching the receiver position in the early days of camp can create just as many questions as answers. The quarterbacks working out with the receivers in January and February is all well and good. But doing it at full speed during camp is different. Still, it was clear that there was some level of comfort with Lopez and receivers Kam Shanks and Chase Tyler. Shanks is an interesting player to watch. He is listed at 5’-8”, which means he is probably closer to 5’-6” or 5’-7”. But his route running as a slot receiver and his speed created significant separation with the defensive backs.
Dickert’s Assessment
Wake head coach Jake Dickert met with the media after practice, accepting the premise that analysis after day one could be a little dicey. That having been said, there was still a comparison for him to make. “We are so far ahead of where we were a year ago,” he said. “You can see the work we put in the last two weeks to make sure day one was really sharp.”
Any media personnel who covered Spring 2025 and were willing to be open and honest would acknowledge that they walked out of the three weeks of camp with questions about both quarterbacks. Friday was much more definitive. Dickert highlighted Lopez’s decisiveness as something that stood out to him. “The ball jumped today. You could see the energy. You could see the focus.”
Dickert also had thoughts on Shanks, the Arkansas transfer. “Arkansas must be loaded that they couldn’t get him out there on the field. He comes here, chip on his shoulder, and wants to prove himself. He’s been amazing for us.”
The run game will start with Ty Clark III. “Very sharp,” Dickert said Friday. He added that they know the presumed starter can be physical. But he still needs to be explosive in order to be the go-to guy.
QB1
When it comes to the offense, all questions and answers are going to go back to the quarterback position. Dickert talked about how Lopez has gone from South Alabama to UNC and now Wake, and he was asked how that transition from UNC to Wake Forest was going. “He’s at a higher academic institution,” Dickert said with a slight laugh that indicated he thought his line was funny, but he also meant it. “Gio really knows who he is, as a person, as a man, and he really knows what he wants.” Dickert was asked about any adjustments with the quarterback being a southpaw. “The lefty punter that we have is throwing me off more than the lefty quarterback.”
Meeting the New QB
Lopez met with the media for the first time since becoming a Demon Deacon. “Coach Dickert also played a big part in my decision [to go to Wake Forest]. It’s just the culture. The way they run the team, not just the offense, but the team.” Lopez said he felt a difference when he visited Wake. “We’re in a day now where college football feels like a business. But it feels here like it’s back to playing football and being a family.”
He gave credit to Dickert for a program called First in the Forest, where the team, coaches, and staff are broken up into small groups with time getting to know the granular details about each other. “I feel like that’s a big thing that’s helped me grow as a leader and as a teammate, getting to know these guys on the other side of the ball.”
Lopez’s Transition
Listed at 6’-0” (but a little shorter in reality), Lopez still makes a presence. On a left arm that is full of tattoos, there is one that stands out above the others. The words “Keep Moving Forward” are there in bold lettering just above the elbow. It is next to a tattoo of his grandmother. “She always used to say that to me when stuff was not going my way,” he said. “It’s something I live by, and she always texted me that. It keeps me level-headed.
He was also practicing in dark pink cleats. They are not a tribute or a statement of anything, no matter how much they stand out on the field. “I just like the cleats,” he said. “I got a little trash from Coach Dickert, but I like them.”
And what of Dickert’s statement about Lopez now being at a better academic institution? “At the other school, you’re in classes with 120, 130 people. You don’t feel like you’re so bought into the teacher,” he said. “You’re almost like at a TED Talk.” He said the relationship with the educators at Wake is different. “But in a classroom here, you’ve got 15, maybe 20 people. Teachers know you on a first-name basis, and you just feel bought into it.”
And all that UNC gear he had last season? “It just disappeared. I don’t know where it went, but I know I don’t own any anymore.”
Main Image: Tony Siracusa
