Post-spring breakdown of Wake Forest, FSU's Week 5 opponent in 2022

With spring football wrapping up on campuses across the country, the Warchant staff will take time the next couple of weeks to check in on Florida State’s upcoming 2022 opponents and see how they fared during spring.

We'll look at each team's question marks, key departures, new arrivals and more.

In this edition, we break down Wake Forest, the fifth game on FSU's 2022 schedule. The Seminoles will take on the Demon Deacons on Oct. 1 inside Doak Campbell Stadium.

In case you missed them, here are our earlier post-spring check-ins: Boston College Eagles (Sept. 24) | Louisville Cardinals (Sept. 16) | LSU Tigers (Sept. 4).

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Wake Forest won 11 games last season in spite of its defense. The Demon Deacons ranked 91st nationally in total defense and 88th in scoring defense, and they gave up 58, 48 and 45 points in their three losses.

Wake also surrendered 34 points or more in four other contests, but its high-scoring offense was productive enough to get the wins.

With nine of 11 returning starters back on offense, the Deacs are projected by many to be ranked in the Top 25 to start this season, but they do have some question marks. On offense, they'll have to replace fourth-round draft pick Zach Tom at left tackle and 1,000-yard wide receiver Jaquarii Roberson.

On defense, they lose leading tackler Luke Masterson and a few other key pieces from a unit that was one of the worst in the conference -- and one that was especially porous against the run.

When head coach Dave Clawson spoke with the media following Wake Forest’s spring game on April 16, he did express confidence that there will be improvement on that side of the ball.

“I think we’ve made a lot of progress on defense; we have a lot of good players back,” Clawson said.

Clawson, who has produced a 51-48 record in eight seasons at Wake Forest, continues to enjoy great continuity on his offensive staff. Several Wake Forest coaches have been in the fold for more than five years, if not for Clawson's entire tenure.

The story is different on defense. Brad Lambert comes in as the Deacons' new defensive coordinator, and it will actually be his second stint leading the Wake defense -- he held the same position more than a decade ago under former head coach Jim Grobe.

Lambert most recently was co-defensive coordinator at Purdue, defensive coordinator at Marshall and head coach at Charlotte.

Lambert also is bringing two new coaches with him to Winston-Salem.

Glenn Spencer, who was the defensive coordinator at USF and has held that title at several schools, including Oklahoma State, will coach linebackers. And the Demon Deacons also bring in James Adams to coach safeties; Adams has been a Lambert assistant at multiple stops and played at Wake Forest as well.

Wake Forest ranked No. 4 in the nation in scoring offense last season at 41.0 points per game, and the Deacs bring back star quarterback Sam Hartman and plenty of offensive playmakers around him, including star wide receiver A.T. Perry.

One of the breakout performers in the country last year, Perry racked up 15 touchdowns on 71 catches and improved his yardage total from the year before by more than 1,000 yards. Perry turned in seven 100-yard outings and caught at least three passes in all but one game -- he had seven catches for 155 against Florida State.

A key slot receiver, Taylor Morin, finished third on the team in receiving with 621 yards and five touchdowns on 43 catches. And Donavon Greene, who averaged over 20 yards per catch in 2020, should be back after missing last fall with an injury.

Wake also returns four starters on the offensive line, which should help with the departure of the All-America performer Tom.

Last year’s right tackle, DeVonte Gordon, was forced into action due to injury and proved to be a solid replacement. Everyone on the interior of the line is back and has multiple years of experience. Center Michael Jurgens will be a preseason Rimington Award watch list member for the third straight season.

On the other side of the ball, linebacker Ryan Smenda Jr. was second on the team in tackles last year. He has extensive experience going back to the 2018 season.

The secondary is thin, but the defensive line brings back some key names.

Defensive tackle Rondell Bothroyd had eight sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss last year. Defensive end Jasheen Davis started as a freshman, and senior Dion Bergan Jr. also returns.

Richmond transfer defensive tackle Kobie Turner could be an intriguing addition; he earned first-team all-conference honors last year in the CAA.

* Replacing Tom at left tackle could be the biggest challenge on offense.

* WR Jaquarii Roberson declared for the NFL Draft but was surprisingly not picked. Roberson had a fantastic two seasons as the Deacs' top wideout outside, having back-to-back seasons of over 900 yards. The return of Donavon Greene should definitely help here.

* Leading rusher Christian Beal-Smith has transferred to South Carolina, so Wake lost one of its three-headed RB attack from last season. But Justice Ellison and Christian Turner each had over 500 yards and five touchdowns in 2021. Plus, the running ability of Hartman softens the blow of losing Beal.

* CB Ja’Sir Taylor was picked by the Chargers in the sixth round of the NFL Draft and will leave a void in the secondary and in the return game this fall.

* Along with leading tackler Masterson, the Deacs also must replace linebacker DJ Taylor, who transferred to Bowling Green.

With Sam Hartman returning at quarterback, the Deacs should be poised for another impressive season.

While technically in his fourth season last year, Hartman had one of the best statistical sophomore seasons in ACC history, passing for over 4,200 yards and 39 touchdowns, plus 11 more rushing scores.

Hartman played a major role in helping Wake win the ACC's Atlantic Division, and he sports a 2-1 career record against FSU. He fits Clawson’s unique offensive style perfectly and should be in line for another big year in 2022.

Several Wake Forest media outlets were researched to contribute to this report: GoDeacs.com (official team site) JournalNow.com (Winston-Salem Journal), and DeaconsIllustrated (Rivals).

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