Wake Forest Athletics
Demon Deacon Rushers Making Mark under Hunter's Guidance
5/26/2020 6:20:00 PM | Football
Cade Carney and Matt Colburn II finish careers in the top-10 on Wake's rushing list
Since 2009, running backs coach John Hunter has been coaching alongside head coach Dave Clawson.
Their relationship dates back to when Clawson took over the Bowling Green program. Like many coaches on the Demon Deacon staff, Hunter also has head coaching experience, coming at the high school level from 2000-05.
Since arriving in Winston-Salem, the Wake Forest rushing attack has been tough to stop. The Demon Deacons have put together three straight seasons of rushing for over 2,000 yards, the first time that has happened since 1996. During this stretch, Hunter helped produce two of the best rushers in program history.
Cade Carney and Matt Colburn II were both key pieces in the Demon Deacons last four bowl appearances, combining to nearly 5,000 yards and score 36 touchdowns. Both players finished their careers all over the Wake Forest record book.
Carney, who spent his entire career under Hunter's direction, finished as the No. 7 rusher in school history with 2,446 yards. With 1,005 yards in 2018, Carney became Wake Forest's first 1,000-yard rusher since 2005. A large chunk of that came in the regular season finale against Duke when Carney compiled 223 yards, helping Wake secure its sixth victory of the season. The performance ranks 11th in program history.
Earlier that season, Colburn turned in a 243-yard performance to go along with three scores in a 56-35 win over Louisville. This included a 56-yard fourth quarter burst to help clinch the victory. The 243 yards tied him for fifth in Wake history and the most since 2005.
He is one of two Demon Deacon running backs to have two top-10 rushing performances. During his junior campaign he went off for 237 yards against Syracuse. This included a 76-yard score to cap off the 64-43 road win. The rush ranks 16th in program history. He finished his career at the No. 6 rusher in school history with 2,528 yards.
Continuing in the wake of Carney and Colburn II, the longest rush in program history is owned by Kenneth Walker III. In just the second game of his Wake Forest career, the rising sophomore broke off the 96-yard scamper at Rice. It was just the beginning for him, finishing the season with 579 yards on the season. He ended the yard as the No. 3 freshman rusher in the ACC.
Walker III set a school record for the most yards per carry by a true freshman, averaging 5.9 yards per carry.
Hunter has a long history of creating young stars at the running back position. While at Bowling Green, a pair of Falcon running backs earned Freshman All-America honors. In 2006, Chris Bullock ran for 769 yards and four scores.
Five years later in Hunter's third season working with Clawson, Anthon Samuel went for 844 yards and five scores in his rookie campaign en route to earning MAC Freshman of the Year honors and Freshman All-America honors.
For more on Coach Hunter:
Wake Forest (2014-Present)
Postseason History
Personal Information
Their relationship dates back to when Clawson took over the Bowling Green program. Like many coaches on the Demon Deacon staff, Hunter also has head coaching experience, coming at the high school level from 2000-05.
Since arriving in Winston-Salem, the Wake Forest rushing attack has been tough to stop. The Demon Deacons have put together three straight seasons of rushing for over 2,000 yards, the first time that has happened since 1996. During this stretch, Hunter helped produce two of the best rushers in program history.
Cade Carney and Matt Colburn II were both key pieces in the Demon Deacons last four bowl appearances, combining to nearly 5,000 yards and score 36 touchdowns. Both players finished their careers all over the Wake Forest record book.
Carney, who spent his entire career under Hunter's direction, finished as the No. 7 rusher in school history with 2,446 yards. With 1,005 yards in 2018, Carney became Wake Forest's first 1,000-yard rusher since 2005. A large chunk of that came in the regular season finale against Duke when Carney compiled 223 yards, helping Wake secure its sixth victory of the season. The performance ranks 11th in program history.
Earlier that season, Colburn turned in a 243-yard performance to go along with three scores in a 56-35 win over Louisville. This included a 56-yard fourth quarter burst to help clinch the victory. The 243 yards tied him for fifth in Wake history and the most since 2005.
He is one of two Demon Deacon running backs to have two top-10 rushing performances. During his junior campaign he went off for 237 yards against Syracuse. This included a 76-yard score to cap off the 64-43 road win. The rush ranks 16th in program history. He finished his career at the No. 6 rusher in school history with 2,528 yards.
Continuing in the wake of Carney and Colburn II, the longest rush in program history is owned by Kenneth Walker III. In just the second game of his Wake Forest career, the rising sophomore broke off the 96-yard scamper at Rice. It was just the beginning for him, finishing the season with 579 yards on the season. He ended the yard as the No. 3 freshman rusher in the ACC.
Walker III set a school record for the most yards per carry by a true freshman, averaging 5.9 yards per carry.
Hunter has a long history of creating young stars at the running back position. While at Bowling Green, a pair of Falcon running backs earned Freshman All-America honors. In 2006, Chris Bullock ran for 769 yards and four scores.
Five years later in Hunter's third season working with Clawson, Anthon Samuel went for 844 yards and five scores in his rookie campaign en route to earning MAC Freshman of the Year honors and Freshman All-America honors.
For more on Coach Hunter:
Wake Forest (2014-Present)
- The improvement in Wake Forest's rushing attack under Hunter's leadership has been astounding, as the Demon Deacons have put together three straight seasons of rushing for over 2,000 yards, the first time that has happened since 1996.
- In 2019, Hunter worked with senior Cade Carney who spent his entire career under Hunter's direction and finished as the No. 7 rusher in school history with 2,446 yards. Freshman Kenneth Walker III set a school record for the most yards per carry by a true freshman, averaging 5.9 yards per carry.
- The 2018 season showed more dominance by the Wake Forest rushing attack. The Deacons were the only ACC Atlantic Division team to have two different rushers each post a 200-yard game as Carney torched Duke for 223 yards after Matt Colburn, II had piled up 243 yards in a victory at Louisville. Carney became Wake Forest's first 1,000-yard rusher since 2005, as the Deacons rushed for 200 or more yards six times. In 2018, Wake Forest posted three consecutive 250-yard rushing games for the first time since 1971 and Colburn finished as the sixth-leading rusher in school history.
- The Demon Deacons have rushed for 61 touchdowns over the last three years, the most-productive three-year stretch since 2003.
- Wake Forest's team success has translated into individual accolades as Colburn earned a free agent contract with the Los Angeles Rams prior to the 2019 NFL season.
- In 2017, Hunter's charges helped lead a resurgence in the Deacons' offensive fortunes. Wake Forest set school records for total offense yards and points scored in a season as well as a 4.57 yards-per-carry average. Wake Forest posted its fourth-best rushing season in history with 2,456 yards. Matt Colburn, II collected four 100-yard rushing games, including a career-best 237 in a win over Syracuse and a school bowl record 150 yards in the Belk Bowl victory over Texas A&M.
- In 2016, three Demon Deacons rushed for over 500 yards marking the first time since 1971 that three different rushers cracked that mark. Cade Carney became the first freshman to score three touchdowns in a game since 2002 while Colburn posted a pair of 100-yard rushing games.
- Wake Forest's rushing attack was the most improved in the nation in 2015, increasing its production by more than 150 percent.
- Hunter spent eight years on the Bowling Green coaching staff working with the running backs. Retained on the staff when Clawson took over the Bowling Green program in 2009, Hunter took on additional responsibilities as recruiting coordinator. The Falcons' rushing offense ranked 39th in the nation in 2013 with 193.4 yards per game. During his time at BGSU, Hunter coached three different running backs to All-America, All-MAC and MAC Freshman of the Year honors.
- Under Hunter's guidance, a number of Bowling Green running backs found success. Chris Bullock was named a Freshman All-American in 2006, while Anthon Samuel earned Freshman All-America honors in 2011.
- The 2012 season marked one of Hunter's best coaching jobs of his career, helping the Falcons transform from a passing team to a strong rushing attack. That rushing attack finished with the most rushing yards since 2006 and had four games of over 200 yards rushing. Samuel had 998 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns, finishing two yards shy of becoming just the 10th Falcon to rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season.
- In 2011, Samuel ran for 844 yards and five touchdowns, earning MAC Freshman of the Year honors. Samuel was the first running back in school history to win the award and was third in the country among freshmen running backs, averaging 93.8 yards per game.
- Hunter molded Willie Geter into a third-team All-MAC performer as a senior in 2010, and helped him finish his career with 2,156 rushing yards, eighth-most in school history.
- In his six seasons, Pershing posted a 40-28 record, made four appearances in the state playoffs and earned a pair of district titles.
- Served as the defensive backs coach for a team which won the state championship in 1989 and was defensive coordinator from 1994-99, also winning state titles in 1995 and 1996.
- A four-year starter for Bowling Green at defensive end, Hunter earned All-MAC honors in 1986 and 1987 and helped the Falcons to the 1985 MAC title and a berth in the California Bowl. As a redshirt freshman, Hunter had nine tackles and three sacks in a win over archrival Toledo. He led the 1985 BGSU team with eight sacks. Hunter finished his career with 336 tackles and 44 tackles for loss. He signed as a free agent with the San Francisco 49ers following his senior season.
- In high school at St. Martin DePorres, he also played on state title teams in 1981 and 1982.
- A native of Detroit, he and his wife, Amara, have a son, John, who plays football at Appalachian State, and a daughter, Justiss.
| Seasons | School/Team | Title/Position Coached |
| 2014-Present | Wake Forest | Running Backs |
| 2009-13 | BGSU | Recruiting Coordinator/Running Backs |
| 2006-08 | BGSU | Running Backs |
| 2000-05 | Pershing HS | Head Coach |
| 1994-99 | St. Martin DePorres HS | Defensive Coordinator |
| 1994-99 | St. Martin DePorres HS | Defensive Backs |
Postseason History
| Season | Bowl Game | Opponent | Result |
| 2019 | Pinstripe Bowl (Wake Forest) | Michigan State | L, 27-21 |
| 2018 | Birmingham Bowl (Wake Forest) | Memphis | W, 31-34 |
| 2017 | Belk Bowl (Wake Forest) | Texas A&M | W, 51-52 |
| 2016 | Military Bowl (Wake Forest) | Temple | W, 34-26 |
| 2013 | Little Caesars Bowl (BGSU) | Pittsburgh | L, 30-27 |
| 2012 | Military Bowl (BGSU) | San Jose State | L, 29-20 |
| 2009 | Humanitarian Bowl (BGSU) | Idaho | L, 43-42 |
| 2007 | GMAC Bowl (BGSU) | Tulsa | L, 63-7 |
Personal Information
- Birthday: July. 18, 1965
- Hometown: Detroit, Mich.
- Education: 1988 – Bachelor's from BGSU
- Wife: Amara
- Children: John, Justiss
Players Mentioned
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