NC State's ACC opener is finally here, starting things off with a road game at Wake Forest on Thursday night. Here are several names to watch for the Demon Deacons under new head coach Jake Dickert.
NAMES TO WATCH: Wake Forest
#1 HB Demond Claiborne - 5’10’’ 195 lbs - Senior
Demond Claiborne is an explosive and important part of Wake Forest’s offense. Having missed game 1 due to injury, he played his first full game for the Demon Deacons last week against Western Carolina. Having a big game with 10 carries for 193 rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns. Being a 1,000 yard rusher in 2024, he’s coming off a career best season and is looking to improve upon it. NC State’s run defense took a step back against UVA this past week, and now they have a chance to fix those issues against another talented backfield this week.
#10 WR Chris Barnes - 5’7” 168 lbs - Redshirt Freshman
Chris Barnes is a shifty slot receiver who Coach Dickert brought over from Washington State with him via the transfer portal. After redshirting his freshman season, Barnes will be Wake Forest’s number 1 target for their passing game. He has had a productive first two games especially against Western Carolina, tallying 6 catches for 149 receiving yards. It’ll be interesting to see a Wake Forest offense that won’t be running the slow mesh scheme that NC State fans have been used to for the past few years.
#24 LB Dylan Hazen - 6’1” 239 lbs - Redshirt Senior
LB Dylan Hazen is a 5th year player for Wake Forest in his 3rd season as a starter. Hazen’s strengths to his game mostly come in run defense. In 2024, he had 84 total tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 1 interception. Hazen brings much needed experience and leadership to this Wake Forest defense.
#10 Gabe Kirschke - 6’5” 249 lbs - Redshirt Junior
Gabe Kirschke is another defense player that Coach Doeren said stood out to him defensively. Similarly to Virginia’s EDGE Fisher Camac. Kirschke was a transfer portal addition from Colorado State who had a strong 2024 season having 42 total tackles, 6.5 sacks, 10 tackles for loss, and even an interception. Having only 1 sack in two games, Kirschke might be due for a big game this week.
#45 S Nick Andersen - 5’11” 197 lbs - Redshirt Senior
Safety Nick Andersen was Wake Forest’s leading tackler on defense in 2024. Andersen has been a player to lean on for Wake Forest since his freshman season in 2020. He had a career best year in 2024 with 122 total tackles, 1 pass break-up, and 2 interceptions. Andersen is a complete player and will give Wake Forest some coverage insurance on the back-end. However, his smaller frame could make him a mismatch for TE Justin Joly and NC State’s receivers on contested catches.
Honorable Mentions:
*All were players who Coach Doeren had pointed out in his press conference on Monday.
#2 QB Robby Ashford - 6’2” 220 lbs - Redshirt Senior
Coach Doeren mainly spoke of Ashford’s physicality as a runner, and about his athleticism. NC State could have some QB spys with LB Sean Brown in case Wake Forest runs read options and designed QB runs.
#11 EDGE Langston Hardy - 6’4” 240 lbs - Redshirt Senior
Langston Hardy is another former teammate of NC State TE Justin Joly, going back to the 2023 season. Hardy was a solid transfer portal addition for Wake Forest who was a first time starter for UConn in 2024. He’s had a strong 2025 season in 2 games for the Demon Deacons so far with 8 total tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks already.
#6 S Rushaun Tongue - 6’1” 193 lbs - Redshirt Sophomore
Safety Rushaun Tongue was the third player who Coach Doeren spoke of during his Monday press conference previewing Wake Forest. Two weeks into his second season as a starter, Tongue is off to a slow start stat wise with just 4 total tackles and 1 pass break up for the 2025 season. Tongue also had 35 total tackles, 1 forced fumble, and 1 interception in 2024 as a first time starter. So this could be a sleeper player for NC State fans to keep an eye on.
