Notre Dame Football Opponent Preview: Wake Forest Demon Deacons Defense
By Andrew Hall
The Demon Deacons may not have Defensive Coordinator Mike Elko anymore but his fingerprints are all over this defense. Wake Forest leads the nation in tackles for loss with 9.25 stops behind in the line per contest. After defeating two top fifteen teams, the Notre Dame football looks to avoid a let down against the Demon Deacons. Here is a brief preview of the Wake Forest defense.
Defensive Line
Senior Duke Ejiofor leads the Defensive Line with 14.5 tackles for loss. Ejiofor, a former 3-star recruit, benefited from his time under Elko. The Senior from Houston, Texas has tallied 7 sacks in eight games this season. Although he does not possess the same name recognition as Boston College’s Harold Landry or NC State’s Bradley Chubb, he is among the best Defensive Ends that Notre Dame will face all year.
Aside from Ejiofor, the Demon Deacons start DT Zeek Rodney, DT Willie Yarbary and DE Wendell Dunn along the Defensive Line. These players have tallied a lot of tackles for loss as well. Rodney, Yarbary and Dunn have collected 6.5, 6.0 and 4.5 tackles for loss respectively.
More from Slap the Sign
- PointsBet Promo: Bet $50, Win an Official Jersey at Fanatics!
- Notre Dame vs NC State: How to watch, odds, injuries, series history and more
- Caesars Indiana Sign-Up Promo: Win $250 GUARANTEED Bonus Betting on Notre Dame This Week!
- FanDuel + DraftKings Indiana Promos: Bet $10 on Notre Dame, Win $400 Bonus GUARANTEED!
- New Caesars + DraftKings Indiana Promos: $450 GUARANTEED Bonus Backing Notre Dame vs. Navy!
Linebacker
Former Wake Forest and current Notre Dame Linebacker Coach Clark Lea made an impact on this group of Mike, Buck and Rover Linebackers.
Grant Dawson, a Redshirt Senior, leads all Linebackers with 52 total tackles. Dawson starts at the Middle Linebacker spot.
At the Buck Linebacker position, Jaboree Williams starts for the Demon Deacons. He has notched 40 tackles on the season including 9.5 tackles for loss.
Finally, at the Rover position, Demetrius Kemp has generated 34 tackles.
Secondary
Wake Forest suffered a huge loss earlier this week when they found out leading tackler Jessie Bates would miss this week. Bates is the best playmaker on the Demon Deacon defense. His loss is devastating. On the season, Bates tallied 63 tackles. He also broke up 5 passes while snagging an interception.
Redshirt Freshman Luke Masterson will start in place of Bates. Alongside Masterson is Free Safety Cameron Glenn. Glenn collected 48 tackles, 2 interceptions and 6 passes broken up.
At the Cornerback spots, Wake Forest starts Amari Henderson and Essang Bassey. Henderson offers support in the running game. He has notched 41 tackles this season.
Next: 30 Things All Notre Dame Fans Should Do Before They Die
Bottom Line
The amount of tackles for loss are impressive. However, the Demon Deacons rank 88th in the country in rushing defense. They are allowing 183.75 yards per game. If Notre Dame crushed the Wolfpack rushing the ball, Wake Forest might not have a chance.