Wake Forest Athletics
Secondary and Defense Making Huge Strides Under Hazelton’s Leadership
10/10/2025 5:30:00 AM | Football
“It's really exciting to see the effort that they play with no matter what,” - Scottie Hazelton
With play in the secondary being a huge area of opportunity based upon its performance the last couple of years, that position group showed significant improvement in both spring and fall camp; and have continued to put in solid work through the first four games of the season.
But they've now encountered adversity for the first time this season, with the loss of redshirt sophomore safety Rushaun Tongue, who not only was making plays on the field, but also showing signs of becoming a leader. He's now out for the rest of the season with an injury.
"He did an exceptional job communicating back there," Wake Forest defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton said. "With all the reps that he had, he just had a ton of experience and calmness about him in the back end. He could communicate, get things right, and see things almost like a coach.
"Braylon Johnson has done a great job filling in for him. We're excited about that, and he's getting closer to that point. With Nando (Nick Andersen) and Vaughn (Davaughn Patterson) in the game, they're helping him a little bit, but he's getting to the point where he can start doing some of that stuff too. It's been really good to see him grow."
The communication piece Hazelton referenced is massively important at the safety position, which has often been equated to being the quarterback of the defense. Johnson was already seeing the field often as part of the rotation even while Tongue was healthy, so the next question becomes who fills in behind him moving forward?
"Zamari (Stevenson)'s been playing quite a bit," Hazelton said. "As we use him more, we can move some guys around and shuffle things. Really, it's Myles Turpin. He's done a good job coming along. He's got some experience, and he's really been waiting in the wings for his opportunity. When he gets it, he'll be pretty good."
Through the first four games of the season, Wake Forest is fifth in scoring defense, allowing 20.6 points a contest. The Demon Deacons are also top-10 in the country in fewest explosive plays allowed.
"There haven't been many opportunities where teams are hitting big 70-yard plays," Hazelton said. "The back end has done an exceptional job staying on top of routes. Sometimes you'll see a guy get 12 or 15 yards, or you'll see a chunk play go. And really, as coaches, you're still saying, 'That's okay.'
"Because on the same route, they were really looking to hit a 50-yard shot, but instead they had to check it down."
While execution is continuing to improve, the one thing that hasn't lacked at all in the 2025 season has been energy and desire.
"It's really exciting to see the effort that they play with no matter what," Hazelton said. "That's something we've got to keep working on. They're in a place where they really feel like, hey, when we see ourselves do our jobs, and it's not doing anything exceptional, it's just, 'I did my part, and this guy did his part, and this guy did his,' then you're playing really good football.
"There have been stretches of that that have been pretty good. And then there are other times where players do something outside their scheme to make a play. But when that happens, then you usually hunt up someone else and it messes up their fit, then it messes up the next fit. You can give up some plays that way."
But they've now encountered adversity for the first time this season, with the loss of redshirt sophomore safety Rushaun Tongue, who not only was making plays on the field, but also showing signs of becoming a leader. He's now out for the rest of the season with an injury.
"He did an exceptional job communicating back there," Wake Forest defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton said. "With all the reps that he had, he just had a ton of experience and calmness about him in the back end. He could communicate, get things right, and see things almost like a coach.
"Braylon Johnson has done a great job filling in for him. We're excited about that, and he's getting closer to that point. With Nando (Nick Andersen) and Vaughn (Davaughn Patterson) in the game, they're helping him a little bit, but he's getting to the point where he can start doing some of that stuff too. It's been really good to see him grow."
The communication piece Hazelton referenced is massively important at the safety position, which has often been equated to being the quarterback of the defense. Johnson was already seeing the field often as part of the rotation even while Tongue was healthy, so the next question becomes who fills in behind him moving forward?
"Zamari (Stevenson)'s been playing quite a bit," Hazelton said. "As we use him more, we can move some guys around and shuffle things. Really, it's Myles Turpin. He's done a good job coming along. He's got some experience, and he's really been waiting in the wings for his opportunity. When he gets it, he'll be pretty good."
Through the first four games of the season, Wake Forest is fifth in scoring defense, allowing 20.6 points a contest. The Demon Deacons are also top-10 in the country in fewest explosive plays allowed.
"There haven't been many opportunities where teams are hitting big 70-yard plays," Hazelton said. "The back end has done an exceptional job staying on top of routes. Sometimes you'll see a guy get 12 or 15 yards, or you'll see a chunk play go. And really, as coaches, you're still saying, 'That's okay.'
"Because on the same route, they were really looking to hit a 50-yard shot, but instead they had to check it down."
While execution is continuing to improve, the one thing that hasn't lacked at all in the 2025 season has been energy and desire.
"It's really exciting to see the effort that they play with no matter what," Hazelton said. "That's something we've got to keep working on. They're in a place where they really feel like, hey, when we see ourselves do our jobs, and it's not doing anything exceptional, it's just, 'I did my part, and this guy did his part, and this guy did his,' then you're playing really good football.
"There have been stretches of that that have been pretty good. And then there are other times where players do something outside their scheme to make a play. But when that happens, then you usually hunt up someone else and it messes up their fit, then it messes up the next fit. You can give up some plays that way."
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