Mays Bringing Similar Mindset to New Opportunity

5/23/2025 9:32:00 AM | Football

“It’s definitely a different receiver room. I’m just coming in with the same mindset I had last year, trying to earn a starting job.” - Micah Mays Jr.

By: Les Johns

With a brand-new coaching staff and a roster blended with returning players, true freshmen and transfers, positions on the two-deep depth chart are going to be won and lost by performance on the practice field. Every Wake Forest Football player is essentially a freshman for this staff and opportunities abound for those who excel in Spring and Fall Camp.

Despite logically being the heir apparent as the most productive returning receiver, redshirt sophomore Micah Mays Jr. attacked Spring Camp as if he was involved in an intense battle for playing time.

"It's interesting with the whole portal situation and bringing in all the freshmen," Mays said early in Spring Camp. "It's definitely a different receiver room. I'm just coming in with the same mindset I had last year, trying to earn a starting job.

"I remember being humble and coming from nothing, just attacking each day. I see myself as a three or a two, not a one. It's about having that mindset and bringing up the younger guys."

With the graduation and departure of Taylor Morin, who was capable of playing both the slot and wideout positions, there's a void in leadership that for now is being filled by committee.

"I would say me, Jeremiah Melvin, and Sterling (Berkhalter)," Mays said. "A lot of the older guys are stepping up, and some of the younger guys like Ben Grice or EJ (Reid) are vocal too. Right now, we don't have the leaders from last year, so everyone is stepping up and becoming a leader. But it's different guys every day. Those are some of the guys who talk a lot."

The hire of new head coach Jake Dickert has brought a focus on energy, competition and teamwork.

"It's been pretty good," Mays said about the transition. "The coaching staff brings a lot of energy. They teach us about strain, togetherness, energy and belief (when in the proper order builds the acronym B.E.S.T coined by Dickert), and they demonstrate it every day. I love all the coaches right now, so it's pretty good.

"It really brings a lot of energy every single day—people clapping, screaming in the morning. It's really good and helps us set the tone going into every practice."

While that energy is personified as the team jumps and bounces around maniacally at the start of each practice, that's not just a show — it's how the staff and the team now attacks every part of football preparation.

"It's like that all the time," Mays said. "I'd say all the meetings are pretty intense as we try to install everything. With a lot of new coaches, it can be intense right now, but it's filled with energy. They bring some fun into it and try to help us relax. So, yeah, it's pretty good."

Friendly yet intense competition doesn't just take place on the practice field. With a new roster and new staff, Dickert set aside plenty of time for team bonding, including a bowling night.

"Coach Dickert does a great job with team bonding," Mays said. "He organizes a lot of activities like bowling or going out to dinner. Those team bonding activities really bring us together, and that translates on the field. It's going pretty well."

Defensive back Zamari Stevenson was one of the best bowlers, hitting over 150, while Dickert himself bowled 180, according to Mays.

"He preaches competition every single day, both on and off the field," he said. "When we went bowling, we thought we were just having fun, but we made it a competition where we earned points for our different teams to do community service for."

On the field, look for a wildly different approach than Wake Forest fans have been accustomed to seeing over the last few years.

"It's interesting because we now have a new offensive coordinator, receivers coach and a tight ends coach," Mays said. "I know we don't have the same slow pace as before; it's a different offense. But the energy remains high. He teaches fast ball movement and physicality every single day. Ball security, playing fast, tempo, being physical — he (Dickert) preaches those things, and we practice them every day."