Deacs Trying to Build on Each Week and Each Experience
10/17/2025 7:13:00 AM | Football
“We’re motivated to get back out here together and keep working.” - Davaughn Patterson
Wake Forest opened the football season on a Friday at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium against Kennesaw State, then later opened ACC play on a Thursday at home against in-state Big Four rival NC State. Before hosting No. 16 Georgia Tech, the Demon Deacons enjoyed a bye week, meaning three of the first four College Football Saturdays, Wake Forest players were able to track the other action around the country.
"It's definitely kind of odd," Wake Forest hard-hitting safety Davaughn Patterson said. "I'm not used to that. You're always eager to go back out and play. We were watching everybody else play Saturday and Saturday night when we were at home, so it's always kind of difficult for us as a group to sit and watch when we know we could be out there playing. But like I said, just taking that time to recover our bodies and minds is definitely a plus sign as well."
That recovery time was essential for Patterson, who has emerged as one of the most reliable defenders in the Wake Forest secondary. The redshirt sophomore is tied for second on the team with 25 tackles through three games, while also recording a tackle for loss, four pass breakups, and a quarterback hurry. It's a strong follow-up to his 2024 redshirt freshman campaign, when he started every game and posted 74 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble, an interception, and three pass deflections — production that helped earn him a spot on the 2025 Athlon Preseason All-ACC team.
Patterson sees communication as the lifeblood of Wake Forest's defense.
"Our communication could always improve, but communication is always our biggest emphasis," he said. "Starting to play pre-snap and post-snap, there are always things that you can communicate. Through the first games, we've been pretty good, but we just need to keep improving over time. We had a few small misses, but like I said, just keep improving and working on it to get it to the standard."
The bye week gave Patterson and his teammates time to reset both physically and mentally.
"During the bye week, we took time to, number one, recover our bodies and rest, refocus mentally, and then come back out this week and get right back to the grind," Patterson said. "During the bye week, it was more of a mental focus — mentally preparing for Georgia Tech and things of that nature. Then just coming back this week, being more physical, ready to be aggressive, and go attack."
The loss before the open week gave the Demon Deacons extra fuel.
"I'd definitely say it's more motivating," Patterson said. "We came out strong, we came out 2-0, and then to lose going into a bye week, having to sit through those 16-ish days, it definitely motivated us more to want to get back to practice, get ready to work, and continue our grind. Like I said, you can only keep improving, so we're motivated to get back out here together and keep working."
Facing a ranked Georgia Tech squad only sharpened that focus, though Patterson framed it less about rankings and more about physicality.
"I wouldn't say the ranked aspect, but just knowing that they're a physical offense and that they're going to be aggressive is definitely a motivator for us on defense," he said. "We want to be the more physical team, more dominant up front, and more physical at the point of attack."
He also stressed that Wake Forest doesn't define itself by comparison to others, despite the Demon Deacons battling the No. 16 Yellow Jackets to a tough 30-29 overtime loss.
"I would say Georgia Tech is Georgia Tech and Wake Forest is Wake Forest," Patterson said. "But I know our defense, and our whole team, already has the mentality to go out and be the aggressor. So it's not like we aspire to be like them or anything. We already have our own identity, and we know what we're capable of.
"We've been doing well. One thing we've been working on more is trying to get turnovers — get the offense back on the field and keep them on the field. Just being more aggressive, going for the ball, punching it out, raking at it. That's one aspect we can keep improving on: trying to flip the turnover margin."
"It's definitely kind of odd," Wake Forest hard-hitting safety Davaughn Patterson said. "I'm not used to that. You're always eager to go back out and play. We were watching everybody else play Saturday and Saturday night when we were at home, so it's always kind of difficult for us as a group to sit and watch when we know we could be out there playing. But like I said, just taking that time to recover our bodies and minds is definitely a plus sign as well."
That recovery time was essential for Patterson, who has emerged as one of the most reliable defenders in the Wake Forest secondary. The redshirt sophomore is tied for second on the team with 25 tackles through three games, while also recording a tackle for loss, four pass breakups, and a quarterback hurry. It's a strong follow-up to his 2024 redshirt freshman campaign, when he started every game and posted 74 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble, an interception, and three pass deflections — production that helped earn him a spot on the 2025 Athlon Preseason All-ACC team.
Patterson sees communication as the lifeblood of Wake Forest's defense.
"Our communication could always improve, but communication is always our biggest emphasis," he said. "Starting to play pre-snap and post-snap, there are always things that you can communicate. Through the first games, we've been pretty good, but we just need to keep improving over time. We had a few small misses, but like I said, just keep improving and working on it to get it to the standard."
The bye week gave Patterson and his teammates time to reset both physically and mentally.
"During the bye week, we took time to, number one, recover our bodies and rest, refocus mentally, and then come back out this week and get right back to the grind," Patterson said. "During the bye week, it was more of a mental focus — mentally preparing for Georgia Tech and things of that nature. Then just coming back this week, being more physical, ready to be aggressive, and go attack."
The loss before the open week gave the Demon Deacons extra fuel.
"I'd definitely say it's more motivating," Patterson said. "We came out strong, we came out 2-0, and then to lose going into a bye week, having to sit through those 16-ish days, it definitely motivated us more to want to get back to practice, get ready to work, and continue our grind. Like I said, you can only keep improving, so we're motivated to get back out here together and keep working."
Facing a ranked Georgia Tech squad only sharpened that focus, though Patterson framed it less about rankings and more about physicality.
"I wouldn't say the ranked aspect, but just knowing that they're a physical offense and that they're going to be aggressive is definitely a motivator for us on defense," he said. "We want to be the more physical team, more dominant up front, and more physical at the point of attack."
He also stressed that Wake Forest doesn't define itself by comparison to others, despite the Demon Deacons battling the No. 16 Yellow Jackets to a tough 30-29 overtime loss.
"I would say Georgia Tech is Georgia Tech and Wake Forest is Wake Forest," Patterson said. "But I know our defense, and our whole team, already has the mentality to go out and be the aggressor. So it's not like we aspire to be like them or anything. We already have our own identity, and we know what we're capable of.
"We've been doing well. One thing we've been working on more is trying to get turnovers — get the offense back on the field and keep them on the field. Just being more aggressive, going for the ball, punching it out, raking at it. That's one aspect we can keep improving on: trying to flip the turnover margin."
Players Mentioned
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