Each year the transfer portal giveth, and it taketh away. But you will excuse Wake Forest fans if they get a little impatient waiting for the giveth part.<\/p>\n
The Wake Forest transfer portal world has taken a beating during the transition in head coaches from Dave Clawson<\/a>, who stepped down early last week, to Jake Dickert who was announced as the new head coach<\/a> 48 hours later. There are the \u00a0Wake players who had committed to return but have since changed their minds. There are potential transfers who have also changed their minds. And there is even one who was in the current recruiting class who got a release to go elsewhere.<\/p>\n To clarify, the window for entering the portal closes on December 28th<\/sup>. Unless you go to Wake Forest or any other school that lost their coach after the window opened. Those players get 30 days from the time their coach officially leaves. That gives the current Wake Forest roster until January 17th<\/sup> to enter if they wish to go elsewhere. Leaving the portal for a new destination is open-ended.<\/p>\n A week ago, Wake had six players exiting and a couple committed to coming in. Now there are 11 players on the way out and none coming in. The official portal database says it is 12 players but that is because they are counting Mitch Griffis rejoining the college football world and going to Texas Tech. Since he didn\u2019t play anywhere last year, we are not counting him in the tally.<\/p>\n In the original six, wide receiver Horatio Fields has committed to Auburn. Tight end Harry Lodge is moving on to Georgia Tech. Offensive lineman is going to South Carolina. Walker Merrill, Antonio Robinson, Jr., and Busbee Phillips have yet to find a new home.\u00a0Editor’s Note: After this article was published, Wake receiver Donavon Greene announced on social media that he is entering the portal.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n But beyond that, there have been more pivots and swivels. Center Luke Petitbon had announced on social media on December 7th<\/sup> that he was returning to Wake. On December 18th<\/sup>, he announced he was leaving. As of this publishing, he has yet to choose a new school.<\/p>\n Offensive linemen Keagan Trost, Matt Gulbin, and receiver Deuce Alexander had also indicated they would return. All are now leaving. Alexander has committed to Ole Miss. Trost will go to Missouri. Gulbin is headed to Michigan State. Defensive back Jamare Glasker is also on his way out, going to Maryland.<\/p>\n The common link among all of those? They made the announcements of their departures somewhere from December 17th<\/sup> to December 19th<\/sup>. That would be from the time Clawson\u2019s resignation was official to Dickert\u2019s official arrival.<\/p>\n If you have a place to go, making the move before the new coach has even met you is moderately understandable. If you are doing it with no defined destination and another 28 days on the calendar, it is reasonable for fans to ask why you couldn\u2019t at least get the lay of the land with the new guy.<\/p>\n Defensive lineman CJ Mims is leaving East Carolina after three years. He committed to Wake Forest on December 15th<\/sup>. On December 19th<\/sup>, after the coaching change, he changed his mind and will be going to North Carolina.<\/p>\n Ethan Hampton is a quarterback leaving Northern Illinois. He committed on 12\/14 and decommitted on the 16th<\/sup> when Clawson\u2019s resignation went public. The Demon Deacons currently do not have a quarterback on the roster with any appreciable game experience. The theory going into another Clawson season was a handing of the reigns to Jeremy Hecklinski who will be a redshirt freshman in 2025.<\/p>\n Defensive lineman Terry Nwabuisi-Ezeala signed with Wake Forest in the December early signing period as part of the 2025 high school recruiting class. But with the coaching change, he gets an automatic release from the commitment if he asks for it, which he did. Over the weekend, he committed to North Carolina, despite having never visited the school during the recruiting process. He even called UNC his dream school. Welcome to tracking the whims of 18-year-old student-athletes.<\/p>\n Defensive lineman Nuer Gatkuoth has spent the last two seasons at Colorado State. He has been promoting that since early December the portal transfer offers he has been getting. He has one from San Diego State, Wake Forest, and Washington State, whose coach at the time of the offer now resides in Winston-Salem.<\/p>\nThe Wake Forest Transfer Portal Window is Smudged<\/h2>\n
Pivoting<\/h3>\n
Never Even Getting There<\/h3>\n
The Future<\/h3>\n