Good morning,
Got back in town late last night after a fun, but exhausting trip to Kentucky, and wanted to share this morning a little bit about what I'm sensing are the priorities for coach Clawson and his staff for what's left on this 2016 recruiting class.
Got back in town late last night after a fun, but exhausting trip to Kentucky, and wanted to share this morning a little bit about what I'm sensing are the priorities for coach Clawson and his staff for what's left on this 2016 recruiting class.
- First up, who four months ago would have predicted there would still even be priorities for the 2016 class? This class has been in the high-teens (now 20) in size for months and it looked to be a completely full class -- potentially even too many considering the scholarship situation.
- I'd say things change quickly, but they really didn't. The staff had a handle on this and knew what they were doing from the start. The attrition has continued, especially in the ranks on redshirt juniors and nearly all scholarship counts have the Deacs right at the 85 mark right now. But that doesn't mean they are done. There are conceivably a couple of greyshirt offers in the mix (either players already committed or those that are being recruited now) and it's still likely the Deacs will lose some along the way, especially with the massive movement in coaching across the country (watch those Virginia recruits, with changes at UVA and Virginia Tech).
- The top specific priority for this class seems to be tight end. Next year the Deacs will Cam Serigne and Devin Pike return for the junior seasons, but where they go behind them right now is anybody's guess. Brendan O'Neil will return as a redshirt junior, but only saw action this season against Elon. Six foot-five, 265-pound Nick Luedeke transitioned from the offensive line to tight end as fall camp began, but it's not really certain how that move is panning out. He played in 40 special teams snaps this season. The Deacs were able to redshirt freshman Jake Frudenthal this season, and it's still not completely certain if Steve Donatell will return for a redshirt senior season at the position. Brandon Chapman, a 3-star tight end from Ohio, is already a part of the 2016 class and will enroll in the spring. Typically that signals a potential for early playing time, but Chapman also missed nearly all of his senior high school season with a back injury (I spoke with Chapman and will have an article up on him later this week).
- I started hearing some rumbling yesterday morning about Thomas Cole, an unrated tight end from West Virginia. His Twitter bio claims he is a Wake Forest commit (that changed at some point in the last 24 hours), but I can't officially verify the commitment. The Deacs are also looking at Aubrey Payne, a Georgia tight end who is committed to East Carolina. He's reportedly coming in for a visit later this month. I don't think this will be the only addition for the Deacs in this class, but I'd certainly be shocked if they don't end up adding another tight end to this class before signing day.
- Beyond tight end, I don't get the sense of any other specific positional priorities. The staff seems to be in "best available" mode on both sides of the ball. Unfortunately, it's also possible that a decommit could change that philosophy as the process continues in the next 30 days. I expect Wake to end up with a class between 21 and 24 players, with an addition on each side of the ball as well as at the tight end position before it's all over with.
- Still checking to verify, but at this point I believe this will be a quiet weekend on campus, with official visits slated for Jan. 15, 22 and 29. National Signing Day is slated for Wednesday, Feb. 3.
- It's going to be a fun and crazy 29 days, and I look forward to bringing you all the action!
