Wake Forest Athletics
Defensive Backs Improving Daily with Leadership of Banks
5/15/2025 8:07:00 AM | Football
“My job is also to keep the guys grounded and make sure they're improving every single day so we're ready for the fall.” - Freddie Banks
Relationships overlapped and coalesced, providing the perfect opportunity for Freddie Banks to join the Wake Forest staff as assistant coach (safeties) after three seasons as defensive coordinator at Colorado State. While playing for North Dakota State (2007-10) Banks got to know new Wake Forest head coach Jake Dickert and new Wake Forest defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton was on the Bison staff, coaching linebackers while serving as the defensive coordinator.
"Wake Forest came on our radar when Coach Dickert got the job," Banks explained. "He's a dude that I knew — I've known him since I was 19 or 20 years old, playing at North Dakota State. And Scottie, as a defensive coordinator, getting an opportunity to work with those guys — that's a no-brainer for me. Spend time with them, continue to learn and grow.
"People think I'm a lot older than I am, but I'm still a young coach, still learning and growing. So I'm just happy to help out any way I can, help these dudes get better, help Scottie, help Coach Dickert out, and let's go win a bunch of football games."
Having known Dickert for more than 15 years, Banks is amazed yet not surprised at his evolution as a leader.
"He leads those dudes," Banks said. "And you never know what that's going to be like because I'd known him in a different light. Now, I'm working for him. So he's a real leader and he has a plan every single day. I'm not surprised, but it's fun to see that every single day — for me, for my growth. It's a good thing to see."
Banks was fortunate to take over a safeties room that features a trio of talented and productive returning Demon Deacons in Davaughn Patterson, Rushaun Tongue and Nick Andersen.
"Look at Von (Patterson) — he surprises you every day with his ability to play man," Banks said. "I mean, Nick is just super smart. He might be the smartest dude in the secondary. He can help communicate with everybody. He should be able to help the whole defense out.
"And Ru's a dude that can run — he can be red line to red line. He can roll down, he can play man, he can be a good blitzer. So it complements each other. We'll be able to move guys around on third down and match up how we need to match up."
And while that trio consistently made big plays during Spring Camp, they also stepped forward in terms of leadership during the coaching transition.
"Nick Andersen is a leader," Banks said. "Ru's a leader. Davaughn's a leader. Ru and Von kind of lead by example, but they keep everybody in check. Nick's kind of a vocal leader. We've got a really good group, so there are a bunch of leaders in there. We've got some young leaders just growing up too."
In addition to an entirely new defensive scheme to ingest, the secondary also had to fine-tune their technique to better suit what Banks and Hazelton are looking for.
"We want to see them play with great fundamentals," Banks said. "We want to see them play with great technique. We want to see them execute consistently. We're getting there. We're getting better. I would say we're above where I thought we would be, but it's a new defense.
"We tried to do a good job before camp prepping them, getting them ready to go, but you've got to go do it. So you see guys improving every single day. I'm pleased with where the guys are at."
Through most of Spring Camp, the defense seemed a step ahead of the offense, and the secondary was consistently one of the bright spots.
"We're not playing anybody," Banks said, shifting away from early praise. "My job is to always look at how we can improve, and celebrate when they're doing a good job. But my job is also to keep the guys grounded and make sure they're improving every single day so we're ready for the fall.
"Everything is designed to get us ready for the fall and make sure they're going through situations they mess up on, or things that we know are coming down the line based on teams we're going to play in the ACC or on our schedule. So I like where they're at right now, but we've got a long way to go. We've got a lot of improvement to do."
The goal is for the players to perfect the technique, learn the new defense inside and out and then begin playing fast, aggressive and instinctually.
"The guys are playing faster," Banks said. "They're communicating. They're anticipating shifts and motions. We're getting better. You see the guys being who they are now and not thinking about, 'I've got to go here. What am I doing right here? What's the rotation?' You see them being able to line up and see what the offense is doing. So that's progress."
"Wake Forest came on our radar when Coach Dickert got the job," Banks explained. "He's a dude that I knew — I've known him since I was 19 or 20 years old, playing at North Dakota State. And Scottie, as a defensive coordinator, getting an opportunity to work with those guys — that's a no-brainer for me. Spend time with them, continue to learn and grow.
"People think I'm a lot older than I am, but I'm still a young coach, still learning and growing. So I'm just happy to help out any way I can, help these dudes get better, help Scottie, help Coach Dickert out, and let's go win a bunch of football games."
Having known Dickert for more than 15 years, Banks is amazed yet not surprised at his evolution as a leader.
"He leads those dudes," Banks said. "And you never know what that's going to be like because I'd known him in a different light. Now, I'm working for him. So he's a real leader and he has a plan every single day. I'm not surprised, but it's fun to see that every single day — for me, for my growth. It's a good thing to see."
Banks was fortunate to take over a safeties room that features a trio of talented and productive returning Demon Deacons in Davaughn Patterson, Rushaun Tongue and Nick Andersen.
"Look at Von (Patterson) — he surprises you every day with his ability to play man," Banks said. "I mean, Nick is just super smart. He might be the smartest dude in the secondary. He can help communicate with everybody. He should be able to help the whole defense out.
"And Ru's a dude that can run — he can be red line to red line. He can roll down, he can play man, he can be a good blitzer. So it complements each other. We'll be able to move guys around on third down and match up how we need to match up."
And while that trio consistently made big plays during Spring Camp, they also stepped forward in terms of leadership during the coaching transition.
"Nick Andersen is a leader," Banks said. "Ru's a leader. Davaughn's a leader. Ru and Von kind of lead by example, but they keep everybody in check. Nick's kind of a vocal leader. We've got a really good group, so there are a bunch of leaders in there. We've got some young leaders just growing up too."
In addition to an entirely new defensive scheme to ingest, the secondary also had to fine-tune their technique to better suit what Banks and Hazelton are looking for.
"We want to see them play with great fundamentals," Banks said. "We want to see them play with great technique. We want to see them execute consistently. We're getting there. We're getting better. I would say we're above where I thought we would be, but it's a new defense.
"We tried to do a good job before camp prepping them, getting them ready to go, but you've got to go do it. So you see guys improving every single day. I'm pleased with where the guys are at."
Through most of Spring Camp, the defense seemed a step ahead of the offense, and the secondary was consistently one of the bright spots.
"We're not playing anybody," Banks said, shifting away from early praise. "My job is to always look at how we can improve, and celebrate when they're doing a good job. But my job is also to keep the guys grounded and make sure they're improving every single day so we're ready for the fall.
"Everything is designed to get us ready for the fall and make sure they're going through situations they mess up on, or things that we know are coming down the line based on teams we're going to play in the ACC or on our schedule. So I like where they're at right now, but we've got a long way to go. We've got a lot of improvement to do."
The goal is for the players to perfect the technique, learn the new defense inside and out and then begin playing fast, aggressive and instinctually.
"The guys are playing faster," Banks said. "They're communicating. They're anticipating shifts and motions. We're getting better. You see the guys being who they are now and not thinking about, 'I've got to go here. What am I doing right here? What's the rotation?' You see them being able to line up and see what the offense is doing. So that's progress."
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