As Wake Forest opens the 2024 football season seeking redemption after a 4-8 year in 2023, it faces a North Carolina A&T team looking for any sign of any upside. So as Wake prepares for NC A&T Thursday night, it can focus more on its own potential for the season, and worry less about what the Aggies do, or don’t do. It’s just not as easy to convince Wake head coach Dave Clawson of that.
Meet the Aggies
The Aggies have 16 starters returning this season. Whether that is a good thing or not depends on one’s perspective. A&T was 1-10 last year and 0-8 in the Coastal Athletic Association. They ranked 100th in the FCS in offense and 90th in defense.
The Aggies had the worst passing offense in the nation, averaging only 104.9 yards per game. Kevin White is the only quarterback left from last year and he did not play much. He has been competing with transfers Justin Fomby, (Houston Christian) and freshman Braxton Thomas. Fomby started 10 games for the Huskies. Head coach Vincent Brown will not name a starter in advance of Thursday night’s game. He said he wants to keep Wake Forest in the dark. “We feel really good about that room,” he said this week.
Because of the uneven play at quarterback last season, A&T did not have a receiver surpass 300 yards for the entire season. Leading receiver Amonte Jones is back for the Aggies as is Geri-Cari Caldwell, who has played in 20 games over the last two seasons for the A&T.
Foundation For Upgrades
Brown, entering his second season at NC A&T, is not sitting still on the poor performance. He has brought in David Marsh as the new offensive coordinator and quarterback coach. Marsh previously had stints on the staff at Texas Southern, Campbell, Texas A&M, and UCLA.
If there is an upside to build from, it is the pass defense. The Aggies ranked second in the CAA in passing defense, holding opponents to only 178.4 yards per game. And hey, with Wake going into the game without a defined starting quarterback for the season, maybe it is something for A&T to hang its hat on Thursday night. Defensive back Karon Prunty returns after back-to-back All-Conference third-team seasons after playing as a true freshman at Kansas.
Doing what all good coaches do, Clawson is not about to let anyone, especially the cynical media folks, overlook North Carolina A&T. “Any time you play a team that gives scholarships, they’re going to have good players,” Clawson said Monday at his weekly press conference.
He was duly impressed with A&T’s All-Conference defensive back. “Their cornerback, Prunty, he’s an NFL prospect. He’s a higher-ranked prospect than anyone we have at corner. He’s a good player.” Clawson went on to mention that Caldwell was a receiver at South Carolina. “They have guys that were recruited to SEC, ACC, and Big 12 schools. And for one reason or another here they are.”
Clawson added that like many FCS teams, A&T, “Has players that would play for us and probably play for most teams in the ACC.”
Holes To Fill
While Prunty looks like a potential star, the challenges with the rest of the defense are a big work in progress for Brown. He hit the transfer portal for defensive linemen DeAndre Dingle-Pringle, (Appalachian State) and Josh Hardy, (Boston College), as well as defensive back Cam Maddox, (Dartmouth).
But as the portal gives, it also takes away. He lost two starting linebackers to the portal during the off-season. BJ Turner and Avarion Cole are gone. That leaves Redshirt sophomore Mack David II and sophomore Kade Moledor to fill the sizeable shoes. David was originally brought to A&T as a fullback but had 49 tackles last year after the move to linebacker. David had 26 tackles while appearing in 11 games.
Brown says he is aware of the hill to climb on Thursday. “Anytime you go on the road against an ACC opponent, in that environment, it’s going to be challenging,” he said this week. “But as we have shared with our kids a multitude of times, we’re not going to back down to anyone.” He added that there is a level of confidence in the players that is showing up in how they worked through camp and into game prep practice.
