Wake Forest Athletics
An Opportunity of a Lifetime
1/14/2025 9:46:00 AM | Football
Newly named head football coach Jake Dickert has already lived up to his promise of hitting the ground running as the Demon Deacons ramp up for the much anticipated 2025 season.
As fans, alumni, players and other stakeholders gathered inside Bridger Field House, the anticipation was palpable for the official introduction of Jake Dickert as the new Wake Forest Football head coach.
When Vice President and Director of Athletics John Currie called Dickert about 36 hours prior to officially offering him the job, the response was both short and sweet.
"Let's go," Dickert told Currie.
"This is an opportunity of a lifetime," Dickert said in his introductory press conference. "This is a prestigious brand known for outstanding academics and athletics. I'm so fired up to be the 33rd head football coach at the prestigious Wake Forest University. This is an honor of a lifetime."
Dickert begins his tenure at Wake Forest with 17 years of coaching experience, most recently as head coach of Washington State, where he amassed a 23-20 overall record, leading the Cougars to bowl appearances in three of his four seasons at the helm. Washington State finished 8-4 this season and found itself ranked in the top-20 nationally after beginning the season 8-1.
After speeches from both Currie and Wake Forest President Susan R. Wente to begin the introductory press conference, Dickert was effusive in his praise of their leadership once he had his turn at the podium.
"I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Athletics Director John Currie," he said. "This has been an amazing process. The biggest thing I was looking for was a partnership, and I look forward to our collaboration to build on the foundation of what Wake Forest is. Thank you for sharing the tremendous vision—not only of your plan but of every person here at Wake Forest and how invested everyone is in the future. That means a lot to me.
"To President Wente, thank you for your unwavering support and commitment to the amazing student-athletes here at Wake Forest. In every conversation we had, your clear vision of what this place means to you was evident. Your leadership has positioned Wake Forest in a unique way where academics and athletics can come together in a truly special manner, and that will set us apart in recruiting."
It became abundantly clear that the immediate goals for Dickert would be to retain the players he inherited on the roster and add to their ranks, while also assembling a top-flight coaching staff. Just three weeks later, it's hard to call either of those objectives anything but a rousing success.
"I made two promises to these guys — number one, my top priority is to retain this football team," Dickert said. "In order to do that, you have to build real relationships. Normally, we have 365 days a year to meet with families, give tours, and sit in my office. This will be my number one priority right after this press conference—to connect with these guys through FaceTime, Zoom or however necessary to build these strong relationships because I need to earn their trust throughout this recruiting process.
"Our players trusted Wake Forest University and our football program, and I want to tap into that again, as I believe that is very important to our core values."
There were few players who decided to enter the portal following Dickert's introduction. Meanwhile, Dickert and his newly assembled staff hosted scores of transfer prospects the first weekend in January, securing commitments from more than a dozen Demon Deacons who will be both in the classroom and on the football field for the spring semester.
Surrounding two slam-dunk coordinator hires with a bevy of terrific new position coaches, Dickert has assembled a staff that can take the Demon Deacons to the next level. New offensive coordinator Rob Ezell spent five seasons on Nick Saban's staff at Alabama, and was offensive coordinator for a South Alabama squad this season that led Conference USA scoring 34.4 points a game while gaining 441.8 yards on average.
Leading the defense will be Scottie Hazelton, who comes to Winston-Salem with 29 years coaching experience, including defensive coordinator stints at both Michigan State and Kansas State. He served as special assistant to the head coach for the Texas Longhorns, a squad that has made it to the semifinals of the College Football Playoffs.
"I told them that I will put the best staff in the country in front of these young men—a team of men and women highly equipped to help them in life and mentor them in every opportunity they want to pursue, both on and off the field," Dickert said. "I emphasized that we have to stay aggressively patient through this process. We will be aggressive in the approach but patient with the results, and at the end of the day, we will achieve this quickly."
Now is the perfect time to grab 2025 season tickets to see the new-look Demon Deacons at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium. The seven-game home slate includes Big Four matchups against both North Carolina and NC State, as well as ACC clashes against a consistently improving Georgia Tech and SMU — a team who faced Clemson in the ACC Championship and earned a spot in the College Football Playoffs.
"To Deacon Nation, get ready to make Allegacy Stadium one of the toughest places to play in the ACC," Dickert said. "I can't wait to roll the quad after our first win—I'm excited for that. I know my boys are ready to throw some toilet paper. I can't wait to compete for a Big Four championship in 2025. Remember, together we can achieve greatness for Mother So Dear."
When Vice President and Director of Athletics John Currie called Dickert about 36 hours prior to officially offering him the job, the response was both short and sweet.
"Let's go," Dickert told Currie.
"This is an opportunity of a lifetime," Dickert said in his introductory press conference. "This is a prestigious brand known for outstanding academics and athletics. I'm so fired up to be the 33rd head football coach at the prestigious Wake Forest University. This is an honor of a lifetime."
Dickert begins his tenure at Wake Forest with 17 years of coaching experience, most recently as head coach of Washington State, where he amassed a 23-20 overall record, leading the Cougars to bowl appearances in three of his four seasons at the helm. Washington State finished 8-4 this season and found itself ranked in the top-20 nationally after beginning the season 8-1.
After speeches from both Currie and Wake Forest President Susan R. Wente to begin the introductory press conference, Dickert was effusive in his praise of their leadership once he had his turn at the podium.
"I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Athletics Director John Currie," he said. "This has been an amazing process. The biggest thing I was looking for was a partnership, and I look forward to our collaboration to build on the foundation of what Wake Forest is. Thank you for sharing the tremendous vision—not only of your plan but of every person here at Wake Forest and how invested everyone is in the future. That means a lot to me.
"To President Wente, thank you for your unwavering support and commitment to the amazing student-athletes here at Wake Forest. In every conversation we had, your clear vision of what this place means to you was evident. Your leadership has positioned Wake Forest in a unique way where academics and athletics can come together in a truly special manner, and that will set us apart in recruiting."
It became abundantly clear that the immediate goals for Dickert would be to retain the players he inherited on the roster and add to their ranks, while also assembling a top-flight coaching staff. Just three weeks later, it's hard to call either of those objectives anything but a rousing success.
"I made two promises to these guys — number one, my top priority is to retain this football team," Dickert said. "In order to do that, you have to build real relationships. Normally, we have 365 days a year to meet with families, give tours, and sit in my office. This will be my number one priority right after this press conference—to connect with these guys through FaceTime, Zoom or however necessary to build these strong relationships because I need to earn their trust throughout this recruiting process.
"Our players trusted Wake Forest University and our football program, and I want to tap into that again, as I believe that is very important to our core values."
There were few players who decided to enter the portal following Dickert's introduction. Meanwhile, Dickert and his newly assembled staff hosted scores of transfer prospects the first weekend in January, securing commitments from more than a dozen Demon Deacons who will be both in the classroom and on the football field for the spring semester.
Surrounding two slam-dunk coordinator hires with a bevy of terrific new position coaches, Dickert has assembled a staff that can take the Demon Deacons to the next level. New offensive coordinator Rob Ezell spent five seasons on Nick Saban's staff at Alabama, and was offensive coordinator for a South Alabama squad this season that led Conference USA scoring 34.4 points a game while gaining 441.8 yards on average.
Leading the defense will be Scottie Hazelton, who comes to Winston-Salem with 29 years coaching experience, including defensive coordinator stints at both Michigan State and Kansas State. He served as special assistant to the head coach for the Texas Longhorns, a squad that has made it to the semifinals of the College Football Playoffs.
"I told them that I will put the best staff in the country in front of these young men—a team of men and women highly equipped to help them in life and mentor them in every opportunity they want to pursue, both on and off the field," Dickert said. "I emphasized that we have to stay aggressively patient through this process. We will be aggressive in the approach but patient with the results, and at the end of the day, we will achieve this quickly."
Now is the perfect time to grab 2025 season tickets to see the new-look Demon Deacons at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium. The seven-game home slate includes Big Four matchups against both North Carolina and NC State, as well as ACC clashes against a consistently improving Georgia Tech and SMU — a team who faced Clemson in the ACC Championship and earned a spot in the College Football Playoffs.
"To Deacon Nation, get ready to make Allegacy Stadium one of the toughest places to play in the ACC," Dickert said. "I can't wait to roll the quad after our first win—I'm excited for that. I know my boys are ready to throw some toilet paper. I can't wait to compete for a Big Four championship in 2025. Remember, together we can achieve greatness for Mother So Dear."
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