Wake Forest Athletics
Carney Has Always Seen Wake as Special
1/1/2020 12:45:00 PM | Football
"At the core of this program are guys who are resilient and do things the right way. There’s no shortcut to doing things here. There’s a Wake Forest way." - Cade Carney
Cade Carney's room growing up in Advance, North Carolina was painted gold and black, with posters of Wake Forest running back Chris Barclay joining a hat autographed by Chris Paul on the walls.
Fittingly enough, last season Carney became the first Wake Forest running back to break 1,000 yards rushing since Barclay in 2004.
He suited up in the Old Gold & Black the last time when the Deacs took the field on Dec. 27 against Michigan State in the Pinstripe Bowl.
"It's been the most incredible journey ever," Carney said. "I can't believe it's come to an end. It has crept up.
"Everybody says that it flies by and you're going to be at the end of it before you know it. They're exactly right. You start to look back on the time you've had and it's been such an awesome ride."
When Carney signed, the Deacs were coming off a second-straight 3-9 season under new coach Dave Clawson. They're have now been to a bowl game for the fourth straight season.
"Things have moved so far up since the minute I got here, not because of me at all," Carney said. "That's just the way it worked out. This program has grown by leaps and bounds the last four years. Just to be a part of that and experience it, as someone who grew up watching Wake Forest football games, is a dream come true.
"I believed in the coaching staff and believed in what they were selling. All these staffs are doing their best job to sell what's going to happen at their programs, and when I was coming up there were a lot of new coaches in the ACC. Wake told a really good story, but I was able to build a great relationship with the coaches."
Carney has been productive on the field, but he's also become a leader on campus — working with Athletes in Action and serving on the board for Santa's Helper. He won the inaugural Ron and Linda Wellman Life Teammate award earlier this year.
"Coach (Kevin) Higgins was a big part of getting me here," Carney said. "Me and him share the same faith and had some great talks. I felt like God was leading me to make a decision, and I could not be more happy with the decision I made."
Carney carried the ball 565 times for 2,446 yards and 21 touchdowns in his career. He served as a team captain for the Deacs each of his last two seasons.
"You always hear of a team being a family, and that sounds kind of far fetched. But I've really created a bond with guys like Brandon Chapman and Dom Maggio since I've got here," he said. "It's a great camaraderie and trust that we have for one another. All the experiences that we've been through is something I will take with me and remember. Those will be the guys I call on forever. It really is creating a family through my football community.
"Football is the greatest sport in the world. You bring kids from all over the place, from all different backgrounds, and we come together and leave it all at the door. These guys are my best friends, but would have never even known them if not for Wake Forest football. It's been an awesome experience for me to broaden my horizons as a person and grow relationships with other people."
Playing his final high school season at now defunct Davidson Day under coach Chad Grier, Carney chose Wake Forest over multiple ACC and in-state offers. He's found the combination of academic, athletic and social needs both engaging and challenging at Wake Forest.
"It's been hard work," Carney said. "I'm majoring in communication. The highlight of my academic career was my summer management program with the business school. It was a really intense course, that was like 10 courses packed into the first part of the summer. There were a lot of group projects. The whole experience has been a challenge, but fun. I've grown to appreciate the academic side of things, and work just as hard as I do in football in order to keep pace."
Though a lot of credit has been given to this crop of seniors and redshirt seniors for being the impetus that turned the Wake Forest program around, Carney remembers the guys who came before him and stuck it out through the coaching transition.
"I think of guys like Ryan Janvion, Marquel Lee, Jaboree Williams, Mike Weaver and Grant Dawson," he said. "There's so many of those guys who still feel close to me and still feel like they're a part of this program. Those are guys who were coming off a couple of 3-9 seasons and trusted coach Clawson when he got here. They dug in and established what our program is based on.
"Guys like me just have to pass that on to the new kids. There's so much pride and connection with the guys who were here just a few years ago."
He's confident the Wake Forest program is really just getting started, and that even brighter days are on the horizon.
"We have a solid foundation, and that's the only way to do it to make it last," Carney said. "I think coach Clawson is smart enough. You see some programs who have a hot year and then they drop off. You wonder what happened? There are times you have to check yourself, but at the core of this program are guys who are resilient and do things the right way.
"There's no shortcut to doing things here. There's a Wake Forest way. You have to go that extra mile and guys know that."
