Andersen, Claiborne, Kylany & Patterson Set to Represent Wake Forest at 2025 ACC Kickoff
7/10/2025 9:54:00 AM | Football
The Demon Deacons are scheduled to make their appearance at the annual event on Wednesday, July 23 in Charlotte, N.C.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Wake Forest defensive back Nick Andersen, running back Demond Claiborne, offensive lineman Devin Kylany and defensive back Davaughn Patterson are set to represent the Demon Deacons at the 2025 ACC Kickoff on Wednesday, July 23 in Charlotte, N.C.
First-year head coach Jake Dickert and Wake Forest's student-athletes are scheduled to be live at the podium followed by multiple appearances on the ACC Network set. The entire three-day event can be seen live on ACC Network as well as on the ESPN App.
Stay tuned to GoDeacs.com and Wake Forest's social media platforms for information about live interviews and exclusive content from this exciting event.
More on the ACC Kickoff attendees:
Nick Andersen | DB | R-Sr.
1. Shaun Dolac Buffalo 12.9
2. Red Murdock Buffalo 12.0
3. Travion Barnes FIU 11.7
4. Isaac Smith Miss. State 11.5
5. Carson Schwesinger UCLA 11.3
6. Stone Blanton Miss. State 10.4
7. Nick Andersen Wake Forest 10.2
T8. Marques Watson-Trent Ga. Southern 10.0
T8. Bryan McCoy Akron 10.0
10. Collin Ramos Navy 9.9
Demond Claiborne | RB | SR
Devin Kylany | OL | R-Sr.
Davaughn Patterson | DB | R-So.
Wake Forest Football Overview
The Demon Deacons will look to build on previous success and that starts by "Protecting The Forest" and winning at home inside Allegacy Stadium. Since the start of the 2019 season, Wake Forest's 24 home victories ranks tied for seventh in the ACC during that span.
That standard will look to be upheld and more under Coach Dickert as he leads the program behind the core value, Deliver Your B.E.S.T.
Coach Dickert was a stabilizing force for the Washington State program in 2021 and turned it into one of the best programs on the west coast during his time in Pullman. He spent the final five games of the 2021 season as acting head coach, leading Washington State to a 3-2 record, earning a trip to the Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl. The Apple Cup win in 2021 snapped a seven-game skid to Washington and was the Cougar's largest margin of victory in series history. Additionally, he helped the program navigate PAC-12 turmoil in 2024, helping guide the team to 8-4 season.
Coach Dickert has had a winning record and gone to a bowl three times during his time as a head coach. His teams started the 2024 season with a record of 8-1 and the 2023 season 4-0 while also beating three ranked teams in 2022 and 2023 and beat rival Washington multiple times.
During his time on the Palouse, he trained 2024 Heisman Finalist and First Overall Pick Cam Ward and 2024 Manning Finalist John Mateer. He also has had nine players drafted to the NFL in the last four years alone. With Dickert and Mateer this season, Washington State had the No. 11 scoring offense in the country in 2024, scoring nearly 37 points per game.
That identification of talent continued into his first offseason as the Wake Forest head coach, signing a top-30 transfer class in the country. Redshirt senior offensive lineman Fa'alili Fa'amoe, redshirt senior offensive lineman Devin Kylany, redshirt sophomore defensive back Sascha Garcia, redshirt junior defensive lineman Gabe Kirschke and junior wide receiver Carlos Hernandez bolster an impact class.
In total, Wake Forest added 17,703 career snaps across 30 incoming midyear transfers who integrated into the team for winter workouts and spring practice. Additionally, the Deacs added 16 more transfers in the summer window.
Those additions will play alongside a key group of high level talent that returns from the 2024 team, highlighted by All-American running back Demond Claiborne. The senior is the ACC's second leading returner rusher in the ACC with 1,049 yards and also the ACC's second leading returner in all-purpose yards with 1,579 yards. Last season, he ranked 11th nationally with 131.7 all-purpose yards per game.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Deacs return multi-year starters and rising stars in redshirt senior defensive back Nick Andersen, redshirt senior linebacker Dylan Hazen and redshirt sophomore defensive back Davaughn Patterson.
Andersen is one of 10 returning players in FBS to have 120 or more tackles in 2024. He led the ACC with 122 total tackles in 2024 which was also the most by a Wake Forest player since Marquis Hopkins in 2001 (125 tackles).
Hazen and Patterson both started all 12 games in the front seven for Wake Forest last season and both recorded over 74 tackles for the Demon Deacons in 2024.
First-year head coach Jake Dickert and Wake Forest's student-athletes are scheduled to be live at the podium followed by multiple appearances on the ACC Network set. The entire three-day event can be seen live on ACC Network as well as on the ESPN App.
Stay tuned to GoDeacs.com and Wake Forest's social media platforms for information about live interviews and exclusive content from this exciting event.
More on the ACC Kickoff attendees:
Nick Andersen | DB | R-Sr.
- Nick Andersen has earned multiple preseason All-ACC selections heading into 2025.
- Andersen was one of the best tacklers in the country and leads the Demon Deacons with 122 total tackles (10.2) which is 28 more than the next closest player on the team.
- Andersen became the first Demon Deacon with 100 tackles in a season with Ryan Smenda Jr. in 2022.
- His 122 tackles are most in the last decade:
- 1. Nick Andersen (2024) - 122
- 2. Ryan Smenda Jr. (2022) - 117
- 3. Ryan Janvion (2014) - 115
- 4. Brandon Chubb (2015) - 107
- T5. Marquel Lee (2016) - 105
- T5. Justin Strnad (2019) - 105
- In addition to leading the team in this category, Andersen was also the ACC leader with the next closest player totaling 117 tackles this season. Andersen's 122 total tackles also ranks 13th nationally and his tackles per game ranked seventh:
1. Shaun Dolac Buffalo 12.9
2. Red Murdock Buffalo 12.0
3. Travion Barnes FIU 11.7
4. Isaac Smith Miss. State 11.5
5. Carson Schwesinger UCLA 11.3
6. Stone Blanton Miss. State 10.4
7. Nick Andersen Wake Forest 10.2
T8. Marques Watson-Trent Ga. Southern 10.0
T8. Bryan McCoy Akron 10.0
10. Collin Ramos Navy 9.9
- Andersen recorded eight interceptions during his career, including a pair during the 2024 season. He sits just outside the top 10 in program history and has the most in the last decade.
| Rank | Name | Career Interceptions |
| 1. | Nick Andersen (2020-Present) | 8 |
| T2. | Amari Henderson (2016-19) | 7 |
| T2. | Jessie Bates III (2015-17) | 6 |
| T2. | Ja'Sir Taylor (2017-21) | 6 |
| 5. | Essang Bassey (2016-19) | 5 |
Demond Claiborne | RB | SR
- Named a 2024 Phil Steele All-American, 2025 Preseason Phil Steele All-American and consensus 2025 preseason All-ACC selection.
- Earned multiple All-ACC honors including to the official All-ACC team as voted on by media and coaches in 2024.
- Capped off a historic season in 2024 with 228 carries for 1,049 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns.
- Additionally, he caught 23 passes for 254 yards and a pair of receiving touchdowns. Finally, he returned 11 kickoffs for 277 yards (25.1 average) and had a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown at Miami in Week 13.
- Became the second Demon Deacon to ever log 1,000 rushing yards and 250 receiving yards in a season.
- Was the first Wake Forest running back to total 1,000 yards on the ground since Cade Carney accomplished this feat in 2018.
- Tallied 11 scoring runs which was tied with quarterback Sam Hartman's tally (11) which ranks second in program history.
- Claiborne's 100-yard return against Miami is tied for the longest play in program history, matching Alphonso Smith's 100-yard interception return for a touchdown against Maryland in 2007.
- The kickoff return for a touchdown marked the second of his career and he became the second Demon Deacon in program history to record multiple in his career (John Stone, 3 kickoff return touchdowns).
- Claiborne's 1,579 all-purpose yards this season ranks seventh in program history and his all-purpose yards per game of 131.6 ranked 11th nationally:
| Rank | Rush | Rec | PR | KR | Total APR |
| 1. Kenneth Moore (2007) | 316 | 1,011 | 355 | 172 | 1,854 |
| 2. Greg Dortch (2018) | 20 | 1,078 | 276 | 376 | 1,750 |
| 3. Fabien Davis (2002) | 446 | 575 | 363 | 363 | 1,747 |
| 4. John Zeglinski (1975) | 591 | 354 | 243 | 542 | 1,730 |
| 5. John Leach (1993) | 1,089 | 340 | 0 | 253 | 1,691 |
| 6. Anthony Williams (1990) | 866 | 0 | 0 | 740 | 1,606 |
| 7. Demond Claiborne (2024) | 1,048 | 254 | 0 | 277 | 1,530 |
| 8. Chris Barclay (2005) | 1,127 | 159 | 0 | 222 | 1,508 |
| 9. Bill Barnes (1956) | 1,010 | 41 | 0 | 440 | 1,491 |
| 10. Mark Young (1988) | 711 | 245 | 0 | 488 | 1,444 |
Devin Kylany | OL | R-Sr.
- Devin Kylany goes into the 2025 season with over 30 career games played including 23 in the last two seasons alone.
- Last year at Washington State, he was named team captain, leading the Cougars to the Holiday Bowl while starting in 11 games at center. Over the course of the season, Kylany allowed only two sacks in 399 pass snaps and was named the Washington State Offensive Player of the Week in the victory at Fresno State.
Davaughn Patterson | DB | R-So.
- Davaughn Patterson had a breakout campaign in 2024 and is poised to become one of the best players in the conference during the upcoming season.
- He started every game during the 2024 season for the Demon Deacons, finishing the season with 74 tackles, with 28 solo tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss, as well as forced fumble, and interception, and three pass deflections.
- Patterson recorded nine tackles with 0.5 tackles-for-loss against Ole Miss and recorded a career-high 12 tackles with five solo tackles, a tackle-for-loss, and a forced fumble against Clemson.
- He added eight tackles with four solo tackles and a pass breakup against California, totaled 11 tackles with five solo tackles against Miami and recorded eight tackles with four solo tackles and a pass deflection against Duke.
- He started every game during the 2024 season for the Demon Deacons, finishing the season with 74 tackles, with 28 solo tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss, as well as forced fumble, and interception, and three pass deflections.
Wake Forest Football Overview
The Demon Deacons will look to build on previous success and that starts by "Protecting The Forest" and winning at home inside Allegacy Stadium. Since the start of the 2019 season, Wake Forest's 24 home victories ranks tied for seventh in the ACC during that span.
That standard will look to be upheld and more under Coach Dickert as he leads the program behind the core value, Deliver Your B.E.S.T.
Coach Dickert was a stabilizing force for the Washington State program in 2021 and turned it into one of the best programs on the west coast during his time in Pullman. He spent the final five games of the 2021 season as acting head coach, leading Washington State to a 3-2 record, earning a trip to the Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl. The Apple Cup win in 2021 snapped a seven-game skid to Washington and was the Cougar's largest margin of victory in series history. Additionally, he helped the program navigate PAC-12 turmoil in 2024, helping guide the team to 8-4 season.
Coach Dickert has had a winning record and gone to a bowl three times during his time as a head coach. His teams started the 2024 season with a record of 8-1 and the 2023 season 4-0 while also beating three ranked teams in 2022 and 2023 and beat rival Washington multiple times.
During his time on the Palouse, he trained 2024 Heisman Finalist and First Overall Pick Cam Ward and 2024 Manning Finalist John Mateer. He also has had nine players drafted to the NFL in the last four years alone. With Dickert and Mateer this season, Washington State had the No. 11 scoring offense in the country in 2024, scoring nearly 37 points per game.
That identification of talent continued into his first offseason as the Wake Forest head coach, signing a top-30 transfer class in the country. Redshirt senior offensive lineman Fa'alili Fa'amoe, redshirt senior offensive lineman Devin Kylany, redshirt sophomore defensive back Sascha Garcia, redshirt junior defensive lineman Gabe Kirschke and junior wide receiver Carlos Hernandez bolster an impact class.
In total, Wake Forest added 17,703 career snaps across 30 incoming midyear transfers who integrated into the team for winter workouts and spring practice. Additionally, the Deacs added 16 more transfers in the summer window.
Those additions will play alongside a key group of high level talent that returns from the 2024 team, highlighted by All-American running back Demond Claiborne. The senior is the ACC's second leading returner rusher in the ACC with 1,049 yards and also the ACC's second leading returner in all-purpose yards with 1,579 yards. Last season, he ranked 11th nationally with 131.7 all-purpose yards per game.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Deacs return multi-year starters and rising stars in redshirt senior defensive back Nick Andersen, redshirt senior linebacker Dylan Hazen and redshirt sophomore defensive back Davaughn Patterson.
Andersen is one of 10 returning players in FBS to have 120 or more tackles in 2024. He led the ACC with 122 total tackles in 2024 which was also the most by a Wake Forest player since Marquis Hopkins in 2001 (125 tackles).
Hazen and Patterson both started all 12 games in the front seven for Wake Forest last season and both recorded over 74 tackles for the Demon Deacons in 2024.
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