Athlon Recognize Deacs with Preseason All-ACC Honors

7/15/2025 11:32:00 AM | Football

Five Demon Deacons were named to the preseason All-ACC team by the publication.

By: Andrew Kovar

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Five Wake Forest football players were honored by Athlon Sports this week on the preseason All-ACC teams.

This comes after junior running back Demond Claiborne was named a preseason All-American by Phil Steele earlier this summer while also four Deacs were placed on the Phil Steele Preseason All-ACC teams.

More on the preseason honorees:

Demond Claiborne | RB | SR

Named a 2024 Phil Steele All-American.
Earned multiple All-ACC honors including to the official All-ACC team as voted on by media and coaches.
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:

Wake Forest Single-Season All-Purpose Yards

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

Nick Andersen | DB | R-Sr.

Nick 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 Clawson era:
  - 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:

Rank                                       School              Tackles Per Game
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.

Career Interceptions since 2015

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

Dylan Hazen | LB | R-Sr.

One of the most veteran defenders in the ACC, Hazen has played in over 40 games in his career entering his final collegiate season.
- Last season, he started in every game, finishing third on the team with 84 tackles and 36 solo tackles, while also adding seven tackles-for-loss, a sack, three quarterback hurries, an interception and a fumble recovery.
  - He recorded five or more tackles in 11 games and totaled nine tackles in a game four separate times.
  - He tallied an interception while also adding nine tackles with three solo tackles against Ole Miss and added nine tackles with three solo tackles and 0.5 tackles-for-loss in the win over NC State.
  - Hazen posted his first sack of the season against North Carolina, where he finished the game with nine tackles with a season-high six solo tackles and two tackles for loss.
- As a sophomore, he saw action in every game and started 11 times, leading the team in tackles with 86 total tackles and 44 solo tackles while recording 8.5 tackles-for-loss, 1.0 sack and three quarterback hurries.
  - Ranked 10th in the ACC in total tackles.
  - He set a new single game career-high in tackles (14) against NC State along with a season-high 2.0 tackles-for-loss.
  - Hazen recorded 10 or more tackles in three games this season and Recorded five or more tackles in 10 games.

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.

Fa'lalili Fa'amoe | OL | R-Sr.

Fa'lalili Fa'amoe goes into the season as one of the top offensive tackles in the country after starting 26 games at both left and right tackle during his time at Washington State.
- During his time in Pullman he was named to preseason watchlists for the Lombardi Award, the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year, the Outland Trophy and Reese's Senior Bowl. Additionally, he was named to multiple preseason All-PAC 12 teams.
- Ranked as the No. 2 transfer offensive lineman in the 2025 class and a top 100 transfer for the cycle.
- Graded out as a potential first round draft pick in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft according to multiple outlets.