Like the rest of the defense, the linebackers were very good for Wake Forest last season. Unfortunately, the Deacs will have to replace 2 extremely talented redshirt seniors from that squad in Dylan Hazen and Quincy Bryant, who combined for 105 games, 438 tackles, 35.5 TFL, 3 sacks, and 4 interceptions over their illustrious Wake Forest careers. While replacing them is no small task, the Deacs do return about half of their tackles at the linebacker position from last season, and they have added some
decent depth in the transfer portal.
At a Glance
- Key Returners
- Aiden Hall: 73 tackles, 8 TFL, 3 PD, 1 FF
- Frank Cusano: 45 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 0.5 sack
- Key Additions
- Tylan McNichols (UAB): 39 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 2 PD, 1 FF
- Buom Jock (Cal): 2 tackles in 4 games, redshirted
- Vincent Firenze (Dayton): 85 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 1 sack, 3 int, 10 PD
- Key losses
- Dylan Hazen: 73 tackles, 9 TFL, 3 PD, 2 FR
- Quincy Bryant: 57 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 FR
Aiden Hall
Aiden Hall, a 6-0 senior, will be the leader of the linebackers this season. The Birmingham native started in all 13 games last season, finishing with 73 tackles, 8 TFL, 3 passes defended, and 1 forced fumble. He ranked as the 4th best linebacker against the run in the ACC last season and the 3rd best run defender on the team according to PFF. He closed out the 2025 season with 9 tackles against UNC, 10 tackles (1 TFL) against Duke, and 7 tackles (1.5 TFL) against Mississippi State in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. Hall has played in 34 total games in his Wake Forest career, and he could be set for a career best season as he returns to his starting role this year.
Frank Cusano
Redshirt sophomore Frank Cusano was one of the players that followed Jake Dickert over to Wake from Washington State. After playing in 5 games as a true freshman for the Cougars, Cusano took a big leap in his second season, playing in 12 of Wake’s 13 games and recording 45 total tackles, 1.5 TFL, and 0.5 sacks while primarily backing up Hall. A redshirt freshman being one of the top tacklers on an elite defense is incredibly impressive—the Deacs shouldn’t really lose much with Cusano replacing Hazen as the starter this season.
Vincent Firenze
The most intriguing addition in the transfer portal is former Dayton safety Vincent Firenze, who finished last season with 85 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 1 sack, 3 interceptions and 10 passes defended in 10 games for the Flyers. It seems the staff has made the decision to move the 6-4, 220 pound redshirt junior to linebacker—the last time I remember that happening, Luke Masterson put up a career best season and played his way right into the NFL. Firenze was one of the top tacklers in all of FCS last season with 8.5 tackles per game and was awarded First Team All-PFL and First Team All-PFL Academic honors. As always, it’s hard to say how he will adapt to moving up from FCS, but moving to linebacker should make it a little easier since he won’t be tasked with covering some of the insanely fast receivers in the ACC (Malachi Toney in week 3 comes to mind). It sounds like he’s been turning heads at fall camp, so I would expect to see him getting a lot of playing time at his new position this season.
Buom Jock
Buom Jock, a 6-5, 235 pound redshirt junior, is also a very interesting prospect for the Deacs this season. After recording 100 tackles and being named 2nd Team All-Mountain West at Colorado State in 2024, Jock transferred to Cal, where he played just 6 snaps on defense over the first 4 games of the season and recorded just 2 tackles. After those 4 games, Jock made the decision to redshirt and enter the transfer portal. Cal had 2 starting linebackers combine for 191 total tackles last season, which was likely a major reason why Jock was not getting the playing time he wanted. The Deacs have had pretty good success with transfers from that 2024 Colorado State team (Gatkuoth, Kirschke), and Jock certainly has the size to do good things for the Deacs next season.
Tylan McNichols
The final portal addition to the 2026 squad at linebacker is UAB’s Tylan McNichols. As a sophomore, McNichols played in 10 games with 7 starts and finished the season with 39 tackles and 1.5 TFL. At 6-0, 220 pounds, McNichols may be slightly undersized for a linebacker in the ACC, but he’s already played 22 games of FBS football through his first two seasons as a college athlete. I expect him to mainly be a depth piece this season.
The Rest
Redshirt sophomore Whittman Whaley played 70 snaps for the Deacs last season and recorded 2 tackles. He could see some increased playing time this season. Everyone else on the roster has yet to play a down for the Deacs, including redshirt freshman Joel Lowenberg and true freshmen Isaac Nelson, Monroe Partin, and Deuce Dyce. With the amount of experience returning, I don’t see any of them getting significant playing time this season unless something disastrous happens.
The Deacs lost 2 of their best linebackers off of one of the best defenses in the nation last season, but there is no cause for concern. With Cusano and Hall returning and the portal additions of Firenze, Buom, and McNichols, the linebacker position should be well under control for Wake Forest this season.
