Wake Forest Defense Preview 2025: Dead Last Demon Deacons Will Bounce Back

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2025 Wake Forest Preview
Wake Forest Offense Breakdown 
Season Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season 

- The pass rush needs the parts. The Demon Deacons only managed 20 sacks last season, and almost all of the production is gone. This is where the transfer portal helps.

Gabe Kirschke (Colorado State) was a monster last year with 6.5 sacks and ten tackles for loss. Teammate Nuer Gatkuoth (Colorado State) was great in 2023 and limited by injuries last season.

They’ll join veteran BJ Williams on the outside, senior Zach Lohavichan will be a bigger factor on the inside, and joining the fun are 317-pound Jayden Loving (Bethune-Cookman) and 291-pound Dallas Afalava (Idaho) for the rotation.

- The back eight is almost all Demon Deacons from last year, starting with all-star safety Nick Andersen, the team’s leading returning tackler. He made 122 stops, fellow safety Davaughn Patterson made 74, and Zamari Stevenson is a good young producer who’ll do more, likely a the nickel.

Jaxon Mull is a former Purdue transfer who got his feet wet in the Demon Deacon corner rotation, and transfer Karon Prunty (North Carolina A&T) and Sascha Garcia (William & Mary) will push for gigs in fall camp.

- The linebacking corps should be relatively settled. Dylan Hazen is a reliable tackler in the middle - he was third on the team with 84 tackles - and Quincy Bryant is a fifth-year veteran who knows what he’s doing on the outside. 

Season Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season 
2025 Wake Forest Preview
Wake Forest Offense Breakdown