Wake Forest Athletics
Claiborne and Dennis Named ACC Players of the Week
9/11/2023 1:00:00 PM | Football
The Wake Forest duo shined in Saturday’s 36-20 victory over Vanderbilt at Allegacy Stadium.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Sophomore running back Demond Claiborne and redshirt sophomore kicker Matthew Dennis were named the Atlantic Coast Conference Players of the Week after their standout performances on Saturday in the win over Vanderbilt, as announced by the league office on Monday afternoon.
Claiborne was named ACC Running Back of the Week after a breakout performance against the Commodores. In his first-career start, Clairborne led a rushing attack against Vanderbilt where the Deacs totaled 288 yards on Saturday afternoon which is the most since the Deacs recorded 299 yards against Campbell on Sept. 19, 2020.
Overall, Claiborne tallied 165 yards on the ground on 26 carries with an average of 6.3 yards per rush. He has five carries of more than 10 yards during the game. Additionally, his 165 yards is the fourth-highest total in the Dave Clawson era and the most since Cade Carney tallied 223 yards against Duke in 2018.
He and his teammate, redshirt freshman Tate Carney, each rushed for over 100 yards marking the first time Wake Forest had two 100-yard rushers in a game since Kenneth Walker and Christian Beal-Smith accomplished this on Sept. 19, 2020 against Campbell.
Wake Forest finished the game against Vanderbilt going 10-of-15 (.667) on third down which was tied for the third best mark in the Clawson era and the best since going 12-of-18 (.667) against Duke in 2021.
Dennis took home Specialist of the Week honors as he continued his great start to the 2023 season as he hit three field goals on Saturday. He is now six-for-seven on the season as he missed his second attempt on Saturday:
Going into week three of the season, the Charlotte, N.C. native leads the country in field goals made per game while also ranking in the top 50 in additional categories:
FBS RANKS RANK STAT
Claiborne was named ACC Running Back of the Week after a breakout performance against the Commodores. In his first-career start, Clairborne led a rushing attack against Vanderbilt where the Deacs totaled 288 yards on Saturday afternoon which is the most since the Deacs recorded 299 yards against Campbell on Sept. 19, 2020.
Overall, Claiborne tallied 165 yards on the ground on 26 carries with an average of 6.3 yards per rush. He has five carries of more than 10 yards during the game. Additionally, his 165 yards is the fourth-highest total in the Dave Clawson era and the most since Cade Carney tallied 223 yards against Duke in 2018.
He and his teammate, redshirt freshman Tate Carney, each rushed for over 100 yards marking the first time Wake Forest had two 100-yard rushers in a game since Kenneth Walker and Christian Beal-Smith accomplished this on Sept. 19, 2020 against Campbell.
Wake Forest finished the game against Vanderbilt going 10-of-15 (.667) on third down which was tied for the third best mark in the Clawson era and the best since going 12-of-18 (.667) against Duke in 2021.
Dennis took home Specialist of the Week honors as he continued his great start to the 2023 season as he hit three field goals on Saturday. He is now six-for-seven on the season as he missed his second attempt on Saturday:
- 34-Yard FG (Elon, 1st Quarter)
- 29-Yard FG (Elon, 3rd Quarter)
- 29-Yard FG (Elon, 3rd Quarter)
- 25-Yard FG (Vanderbilt, 1st Quarter)
- 44-Yard FG (Vanderbilt, 3rd Quarter)
- 20-Yard FG (Vanderbilt, 4th Quarter)
Going into week three of the season, the Charlotte, N.C. native leads the country in field goals made per game while also ranking in the top 50 in additional categories:
FBS RANKS RANK STAT
- FG/Game 1 3.00
- Scoring/Game 6 12.5
- Total Points 10 25
- FG Percentage 43 .857
- Matthew Dennis - Specialist of the Week (Sept. 11)
- Demond Claiborne - Running Back of the Week (Sept. 11)
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