The 2025 Spring camp version of Wake Forest football was a team that was being led every day by its defense. There were plenty of days when there was no quarterback play that would lead anyone to believe this was going to be an explosive offense. And that is the way the season played out, with a defense that seldom got beaten in a big way. Fast forward to the 2026 Spring camp. Head coach Jake Dickert is in search of who will be the leaders who will create that same defense this season.
Wake Forest Looking For New Leaders on Defense
The first and most obvious point of this year’s Spring camp is that the defense is missing some guys who are going to be counted on to play vital roles this season. Linebacker Aidan Hall, defensive lineman Langston Hardy, and defensive back Davaughn Patterson are rehabbing from injuries.
According to defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton, that means others are getting training camp snaps in hopes of adding to the depth during the season. “It’s good to see them learning, and messing up, and figuring out what to do.” Hazleton met with the media for the first time this Spring and said he is embracing the learning curve some of the newer players are going through. “Teaching those fundamentals right now is more important.” He said that opens the door for the defense to evolve when they get the injured starters back.
Acceptable Mistakes
In the meantime, he said guys like Hall and Patterson are adding to the equation, almost like extra coaches tutoring the younger and newer players. Hazelton said he has even engaged them in helping call plays during some of the scrimmage time. “They’ve got a good hit rate right now. I make fun of it, but they do a good job.”
Dickert, though, expressed some concern last week that the defense was giving up some of those explosive plays that it did not surrender last season. “To really understand your role, whoever you are, whether you’re a safety or a backer or you got something where you take a corner, you have to get burned and scarred by that,” Hazleton said. “You have to give up a big play to truly learn, ‘oh, that’s why we do it.’” He called those moments teaching tools and said he is pleased with the progress of the unit.
The Dallas Afalava Standup Show
Dickert and Hazelton spoke to the media before any of the players on Tuesday. That meant defensive lineman Dallas Afalava had to wait his turn. And he was convinced it was going to make him late for class. For the record, it was EDU 295 (teaching elementary social studies), with Dr. Casey Holmes. So yes, Dr. Holmes, Afalava really was with the media. And as he put it with a strong laugh, “I had two old white dudes in front of me.”
Afalava said he was tired of the off-season. “When football season started again, you’re running, you’re having fun, you’re playing with your guys. You get to see the team mesh and really create chemistry and become one. So that’s the thing I love to see.”
Even with last year’s success and the return of several key components from last year’s team, Afalava said there is a page to be turned. “We’ve got to create a new identity because it can’t be the same as the old one,” he said. “I think everybody has just started to come along in their own way, getting their roles. I’m trying to find my role because it’s not the same as last year. Everything changes.”
Becoming a Leader
The biggest change for Afalava, he said, is that as a senior, he puts upon himself to be a leader on the defense. “Seeing what the team needs, from an energy standpoint and leadership standpoint in the locker room. Guys need guidance. I’m a senior now, and it’s definitely a bigger role. And I’m highly aware that coaches depend on you a little more.”
Dickert said earlier in the week that he is looking for players to step up and step out as more vocal leaders at various positions. Afalava said Zach Lohavichan is one of them for the defensive line. “He’s been here for like eight years; or 22 years,” Afalava said with a smirk. He said he also sees his new role as being one of the more vocal guys. “If you’re juiceless, you’re useless,” he said, explaining how he helps pull teammates through the workouts when they are feeling tired and beat up.
Used to the Process
One of the new players that Dickert got in the off-season portal is defensive back Brian Blades II, or “Deuce” as he goes by. He is a transfer from Florida International University. Blades was Honorable Mention All-CUSA in 2025 and is at Wake as a Grad Student.
If the last name sounds familiar, there is a good reason. The Blades’ name reaches far into college football lore. His father, Brian, was a college football legend at the University of Miami, playing on two national championship teams with the Hurricanes. Deuce’s uncles are Benny Blades (1987 Miami national championship team) and Al Blades, who was also a star for the Hurricanes.
The Personal Path
The younger Blades said it was not always a given that he would play football. “Actually, my dad didn’t want me to play football,” Deuce told the media on Tuesday. He said his dad was worried about the physical nature of the game and the toll it takes on the body. “I just grew up and wanted to be like him. It was destiny, I feel like.”
Now, at this point in the process, the senior Blades shares football advice with his son. Brian Sr. was at Wake Forest earlier in the week, watching his son practice.
Deuce said he no longer feels the pressure to live up to the legacy of the family name. “Growing up, I was really hard on myself about it. But as I got older, I became more mature about it,” he said. “It’s me. It’s my life. God has a plan for me, and I’m going to go there.” He said his expectations will always be higher than what others may put on him because of the family name.
Wake lists Blades as 5’-11” and 180 pounds. Those are generous college listings.
Sharpening the Game
Wake Forest will have a practice on Thursday morning that will be split, with the latter part of it being a scrimmage.
Main Image: Brian Bishop-Imagn Images
