In the past few seasons, the tight end had essentially become an extra offensive lineman for the Deacs in the slow-mesh, likely due to the fact that the Deacs struggled mightily in pass protection during that time. As a group, the tight ends caught just 26 total passes for 193 yards and 1 touchdown last season. It’s hard to say what we can expect to see from them this season with a new coaching staff and offensive gameplan, however, looking at last season, South Alabama had just 1 tight end catch
more than 1 pass under Ezell (Demarcus Thomas, 22 catches for 191 yards and 3 TDs) and Washington State had just 1 tight end catch more than 5 passes under Dickert (Cooper Mathers, 13 catches, 196 yards, 6 TDs). Based on that, I would doubt that we will see a massive increase in pass catching at the tight end position this season.
At a glance
Key Returns: Harry Lodge*,
Key Additions: Eni Falayi (Utah Tech), Kamrean Johnson (Vandy)
Key Losses: Cameron Hite, Michael Frogge
Harry Lodge
I’m not really sure whether to list him as a transfer or a returning player, as Lodge transferred to Georgia Tech at the end of the 2024 season, only to transfer back in April—let’s just put it down as a semester abroad in Atlanta. Regardless, Lodge has the most experience at the FBS level of any of the tight ends on the roster to go along with his impressive 6-6, 240lbs frame. In 2024, he caught 12 passes for 110 yards in 10 games for Wake Forest. I expect that he will be the starter on opening night.r
Kamrean Johnson
Johnson is a 6-5 junior who transferred to Wake after 2 seasons at Vanderbilt. He was mostly used as a blocker last season, catching just 1 pass for a 6-yard touchdown in Vandy’s upset win over Alabama. Outside of that, he played almost 200 snaps on special teams for the Commodores. He may not be a flashy addition, but he’s got 2 seasons of experience playing in the SEC, and that is definitely worth something.
Eni Falayi
Falayi is a 6-4 senior who spent 3 seasons at UMass before transferring to Utah Tech (FCS) last season. In 2024, he caught 24 passes for 302 yards and 4 touchdowns for a Trailblazers team that only managed to win a single game over Central Arkansas. Falayi has 4 years of experience, but I just don’t know that his 1 season as a starter on a bad FCS team will transfer into the ACC.
Those are the only tight ends on the roster with any significant game experience. The Deacs also have a couple of guys who played around 10 snaps last season in Dominic Deluca and Matthew Lusardi and a few true freshmen, but I would be shocked if Wake played more than 3 deep at tight end over the course of the season. As it is the first year under a new coach, I really have no idea how the staff will use the position this season. Based on the pickups in the portal in the offseason, it seems like Dickert and co. were prioritizing size and experience over pass catching ability—to me, that would suggest the Deacs will likely be using the tight ends mainly as blockers as they lean on the run game this season.
More from bloggersodear.com:
- Wake Forest vs. Kansas State: Staff Predictions
- Wake Forest vs. Kansas State: TV Channel, Time, Online Streaming & Odds
- NCAA Tournament: No. 11 Kansas State vs. No. 11 Wake Forest
- Three Things Wake Forest Must Do To Win Tonight
- Wake Forest is Back in the NCAA Tournament - This is What We’ve Been Waiting For
- 3 Things Kansas State Must Do To Beat Wake Forest
- Wake Forest vs. Kansas State: Game Day Central
