Wake Forest’s Portal Fortunes

With the transfer portal window opening Monday, every school in the country is keeping its eyes on every player on the roster. The need to know who you are officially losing and the position holes you need to fill becomes the top priority for the next few weeks. Wake Forest’s portal fortunes are still to be determined. But the early going is not as bad as it could have been for a team that went 4-8 in back-to-back seasons.

The Demon Deacons had six players enter the portal on day one, and there were no real surprises. Most had already made their announcements public, and in the case of grad transfers, the window is always open, so some were in already.

Deacs Out

Cornerback Antonio Robinson, Jr., tight end Harry Lodge, receiver Horatio Fields, offensive lineman Nick Sharpe, receiver Walker Merrill, and defensive back Busbee Phillips are all officially in the portal. They could come back to Wake depending on their other options, but frankly, that is incredibly unlikely. Once they have decided to leave, the coaching staff needs to move on to plugging holes in the lineup, so the reality is that the ties are cut at that point.

Lodge was an occasional starter and contributor at tight end in 2024, seeing snaps in 10 games, (six in 2023). He had 12 catches for 100 yards, mostly playing behind Cam Hite.

Pass Catcher and the Line

Fields showed real flashes of his potential game in 2024. As a sophomore in 2023, he saw action in 11 games but had only five catches on the season. In 2024, he had 39 catches 463 yards, and four touchdowns, which was the best among all receivers. Dave Clawson’s receiver room is historically flush, even with yearly injuries, so there will still be talent and some level of depth returning, (Deuce Alexander has already said he is returning).

Merrill transferred from Tennessee before the 2023 season but barely saw the field in games. He was beset by injuries and concussions over his two seasons in Winston-Salem. He appeared in a total of 10 games over the two seasons with nine catches and 77 yards.

Sharpe leaves after his redshirt junior season. He has been part of an offensive line that has touted years of experience and a high number of games played. But that same line has struggled with penalties and discipline in key moments. Wake has plenty of bodies returning for the line including Matt Gulbin, Luke Petitbon, and George Sell. They are also anticipating a visit from highly regarded offensive lineman Brady Norton from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. There will be a shifting around of current personnel on the line, as well as devoted portal shopping from Clawson to secure depth.

Announcements That They Are Staying

One of the newer elements of the portal system this year is players taking to social media to announce they are returning to their school. Jamare Glasker, Micah Mays, Jr., and Devaughn Patterson join Alexander, Gulbin, and Petitbon among those who posted that they will be back.

Nationwide, it is estimated that a little more than 900 players entered the portal on Monday. The first few days are always the busiest. The earlier a player gets in on the 30-day window the more options they potentially have from various suitors. According to the database totals at CBS Sports that would be nearly double the number who entered on day one of the 2023 Winter portal.

Portal Impact on the ACC

ACC schools accounted for 113 portal entries on the first day, with certainly more to come once the paperwork is cleared.

Among the notable pieces from the ACC on day one, Virginia Tech lost 16 players to the portal. Florida State lost 15 players and Louisville lost 14. The database lists Duke with one player entering, but we now know that starting quarterback Maalik Murphy will also transfer for a second time, (he was originally at Texas). Stanford lost 13 players including starting quarterback Ashton Daniels. North Carolina State has lost star receiver K.C. Concepcion. North Carolina had nine players enter while they await the naming of a new head coach.

The Calendar

Per our NCAA compliance sources, it generally takes 24 hours for a player’s name to be cleared for the database. Once the paperwork is done, the player’s academic standing and eligibility years are confirmed. At that point, the name is officially entered into the database. There are other big names to come. But historically the outbound activity tends to slow down after the first week, and then we start to see the destination decisions made later in December.

The portal window closes on January 3^rd, 2025. However, players who are still in post-season play at that point have another five days after their season ends to enter the portal.