Wake Forest Athletics
Gold Rush - Catching On
7/22/2019 4:27:00 PM | Football
This feature is from the June issue of Gold Rush...
CATCHING ON
Tight end Jack Freudenthal goes from walk-on to scholarship player to starter and now team captain
By Sam Walker
As early as the age of 5, Jack Freudenthal remembers loving football. His Saturdays were spent first playing the game followed by watching ESPN's College GameDay followed by the televised marquee college football matchups that followed the rest of the day.
Fast forward to today, and Freudenthal has gone from walk-on to scholarship player to the projected starting tight end and has been elected a team captain of the 2019 Wake Forest football team.
Freudenthal graduated this spring, and he will be working on a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies this fall as he completes his final year of eligibility.
He started his college football career with no guarantees other than an invitation to walk on after attending a Wake Forest football camp. His love of the game was his only motivator, and that has proven more than enough to realize his dream of playing college football at the highest level.
"I've loved football from my first practice," Freudenthal said. "I definitely could have attended a smaller school, but I always dreamed of playing Power Five football. I grew up watching USC and Reggie Bush and all those guys. I really didn't think about college football until my sophomore or junior season. I went to camps going into my senior year, took a chance on a Power Five school, went to camp at Wake Forest and talked to Coach (Dave) Clawson, who said they would love to have me, and I thought if football didn't work out that Wake Forest is an incredible school, so I could see where that takes me."
Football has been part of Freudenthal's entire collegiate journey, and he well remembers how tough his first season was at Wake Forest. There was much hard work in all aspects of learning to play college football as well as getting stronger along with lots of studies both in the playbook and his school books. But, in his words, it just all kind of worked out as he earned his spot by working his way through the ranks as first a special teams player and then backup before getting his opportunity to start.
Freudenthal had waited in the wings behind Cam Serigne, who finished his career as the ACC's all-time record holder for tight ends in catches (174), yards (2,075), and touchdowns (21) from 2014 to 2017. Freudenthal stepped up last season to be a leader and helped the team produce another winning season and a third straight bowl victory – a 34-31 win over Memphis in the Birmingham Bowl.
After coming to Wake Forest in 2015 and proving himself on special teams as a redshirt freshman in 2016, Freudenthal caught his first career pass against Clemson, a 26-yard reception from Kendall Hinton as a redshirt sophomore. He earned a scholarship after three and a half semesters at Wake Forest.
"I wasn't going to ask for it (a scholarship), but it happened when Coach Clawson called me into his office after one of our spring evaluation meetings," Freudenthal said. "He sat me down and told me I had done everything they asked, and they were going to put me on scholarship. He didn't want me to take my foot off the gas but keep earning it every day. We called my dad (Kevin Freudenthal), and Coach Clawson told him, and it was so awesome. I get goose bumps still thinking about it, and I'll never forget that moment."
Freudenthal started 13 games in 2018 and played 751 snaps, including roles on special teams where he led the team with five tackles on the punt return team. He has 18 career receptions, and five career touchdown catches, a ratio of one TD catch for every 3.4 receptions – the best catch-to-touchdown ratio in Wake Forest history. His most flashy career moment to date is his 34-yard touchdown catch with 30 seconds remaining that was the go-ahead score in a 27-23 upset victory at 14th-ranked NC State.
"That's probably the greatest play of my career so far," Freudenthal said. "Going into that drive, I was just trying to do my job actually. There were so many plays that kept us in that game. I caught the ball and ran into the end zone, and that was the quietest it had been in that stadium, and that's probably the loudest stadium I've played in."
His leadership on the team led to the team electing him a team captain for the upcoming season along with cornerback Essang Bassey, running back Cade Carney, offensive tackle Justin Herron and linebacker Justin Strnad. It's quite a journey to go from walk-on to scholarship player to team captain.
"It's a tremendous honor," Freudenthal said. "When I came here, I didn't have team captain as a goal. It's just so far beyond where I was as a freshman when it was just me focused on every day, every workout. However, it's a lot of responsibility, and all of us elected captain, we're going to try our best. I've always tried to do everything the right way since I got here. It didn't happen overnight, but all of us voted as captains just stepped up."
Freudenthal's formula for success was simple. He said he kept his head down, worked hard and learned from his coaches and teammates. With no guarantees other than an invitation to walk onto the team, Freudenthal's determination has taken him far beyond what he imagined.
CATCHING ON
Tight end Jack Freudenthal goes from walk-on to scholarship player to starter and now team captain
By Sam Walker
As early as the age of 5, Jack Freudenthal remembers loving football. His Saturdays were spent first playing the game followed by watching ESPN's College GameDay followed by the televised marquee college football matchups that followed the rest of the day.
Fast forward to today, and Freudenthal has gone from walk-on to scholarship player to the projected starting tight end and has been elected a team captain of the 2019 Wake Forest football team.
Freudenthal graduated this spring, and he will be working on a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies this fall as he completes his final year of eligibility.
He started his college football career with no guarantees other than an invitation to walk on after attending a Wake Forest football camp. His love of the game was his only motivator, and that has proven more than enough to realize his dream of playing college football at the highest level.
"I've loved football from my first practice," Freudenthal said. "I definitely could have attended a smaller school, but I always dreamed of playing Power Five football. I grew up watching USC and Reggie Bush and all those guys. I really didn't think about college football until my sophomore or junior season. I went to camps going into my senior year, took a chance on a Power Five school, went to camp at Wake Forest and talked to Coach (Dave) Clawson, who said they would love to have me, and I thought if football didn't work out that Wake Forest is an incredible school, so I could see where that takes me."
Football has been part of Freudenthal's entire collegiate journey, and he well remembers how tough his first season was at Wake Forest. There was much hard work in all aspects of learning to play college football as well as getting stronger along with lots of studies both in the playbook and his school books. But, in his words, it just all kind of worked out as he earned his spot by working his way through the ranks as first a special teams player and then backup before getting his opportunity to start.
Freudenthal had waited in the wings behind Cam Serigne, who finished his career as the ACC's all-time record holder for tight ends in catches (174), yards (2,075), and touchdowns (21) from 2014 to 2017. Freudenthal stepped up last season to be a leader and helped the team produce another winning season and a third straight bowl victory – a 34-31 win over Memphis in the Birmingham Bowl.
After coming to Wake Forest in 2015 and proving himself on special teams as a redshirt freshman in 2016, Freudenthal caught his first career pass against Clemson, a 26-yard reception from Kendall Hinton as a redshirt sophomore. He earned a scholarship after three and a half semesters at Wake Forest.
"I wasn't going to ask for it (a scholarship), but it happened when Coach Clawson called me into his office after one of our spring evaluation meetings," Freudenthal said. "He sat me down and told me I had done everything they asked, and they were going to put me on scholarship. He didn't want me to take my foot off the gas but keep earning it every day. We called my dad (Kevin Freudenthal), and Coach Clawson told him, and it was so awesome. I get goose bumps still thinking about it, and I'll never forget that moment."
Freudenthal started 13 games in 2018 and played 751 snaps, including roles on special teams where he led the team with five tackles on the punt return team. He has 18 career receptions, and five career touchdown catches, a ratio of one TD catch for every 3.4 receptions – the best catch-to-touchdown ratio in Wake Forest history. His most flashy career moment to date is his 34-yard touchdown catch with 30 seconds remaining that was the go-ahead score in a 27-23 upset victory at 14th-ranked NC State.
"That's probably the greatest play of my career so far," Freudenthal said. "Going into that drive, I was just trying to do my job actually. There were so many plays that kept us in that game. I caught the ball and ran into the end zone, and that was the quietest it had been in that stadium, and that's probably the loudest stadium I've played in."
His leadership on the team led to the team electing him a team captain for the upcoming season along with cornerback Essang Bassey, running back Cade Carney, offensive tackle Justin Herron and linebacker Justin Strnad. It's quite a journey to go from walk-on to scholarship player to team captain.
"It's a tremendous honor," Freudenthal said. "When I came here, I didn't have team captain as a goal. It's just so far beyond where I was as a freshman when it was just me focused on every day, every workout. However, it's a lot of responsibility, and all of us elected captain, we're going to try our best. I've always tried to do everything the right way since I got here. It didn't happen overnight, but all of us voted as captains just stepped up."
Freudenthal's formula for success was simple. He said he kept his head down, worked hard and learned from his coaches and teammates. With no guarantees other than an invitation to walk onto the team, Freudenthal's determination has taken him far beyond what he imagined.
Players Mentioned
DB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
TE
/ Football
OL
/ Football
QB
/ Football
TE
/ Football
LB
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