Wake Forest Athletics
Toughness Helped Ashford Punctuate His College Journey with a Memorable 2025 Season
2/3/2026 7:47:00 AM | Football
“Every time we needed him to make a big play, he went out there and did it.” - Coach Jake Dickert
After being placed on the National Quarterback of the Year Watch List as a senior for Hoover High School (Alabama), Robby Ashford bounced around in the first five years of his collegiate career, spending time initially at Oregon, before transferring to Auburn and then South Carolina.
He joined Wake Forest and first-year head coach Jake Dickert and came out on top in a tough quarterback competition through both spring and fall camps.
In the midst of the competition, Ashford also suffered the loss of his father just a day before one of the spring camp scrimmages.
It wasn't smooth sailing in Winston-Salem either. But Ashford did win over the hearts of the locker room and the fan base with his toughness, grittiness and determination.
All that culminated with his first five-touchdown performance in a Wake Forest in a 43-29 victory over Mississippi State in the 2026 Duke's Mayo Bowl in Charlotte. He finished his career with a huge smile after claiming the victory and the Most Valuable Player award for the game. For Wake Forest, it notched their fourth nine-win season in program history.
Dickert saw Ashford's growth daily.
"I told him that in the locker room — I'm proud of him," Dickert said. "Even to the last two minutes of the game, every once in a while he frustrates the hell out of me. But this guy competes. He's ready for the moments. Every moment's not too big for him. As our season went on, you saw a player who felt that we believed in him, and he started to flourish.
"So whether it was mistakes, whether it was great plays or physical runs, every time we needed him to make a big play, he went out there and did it. And he's got a lot of respect in that locker room."
Ashford's season never fit neatly into a box score narrative. He wasn't a volume thrower in Wake Forest's system, but he was the engine. He finished the season with 2,169 passing yards, seven passing touchdowns, 504 rushing yards — third-most among ACC quarterbacks — and seven rushing scores, fourth-most in the league. He set career highs in completions, completion percentage, total touchdowns and total yards while starting 12 games.
And when Wake Forest needed him most, he delivered.
Over the final three games of his career, Ashford threw for 937 yards and five touchdowns, added multiple rushing scores, and authored the defining stretch of his college career. The crescendo came in Charlotte.
Against Mississippi State in the Duke's Mayo Bowl, Ashford completed 20 of 33 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns, while adding two rushing scores in Wake Forest's 43–29 victory. It marked the first five-touchdown game of his career.
"Nah, I mean, nah," Ashford said when asked if he could have scripted a better ending. "I wasn't even thinking about it. You don't even think about it — you're just kind of in that flow state. You're just playing. But that's credit to my teammates. That's not without Kamrean Johnson making plays, Jack Foley getting his first college touchdown, Ty Clark III — boom — 55 yards. The O-line, hats off to them. They dominated the line of scrimmage."
Ashford's pride never centered on individual recognition.
"I get the MVP and all this, but at the end of the day, it's a team win, man," he said. "These guys are the reason why we're able to do that. I'm just a little piece of the puzzle."
For Ashford, the moment carried weight far beyond football.
"It's just been a wild journey," he said. "Losing my father is one of the hardest things I probably ever had to deal with. Hoping he's looking down at me, smiling, because at the end of the day, I do it all for him. I kind of feel like I was able to make my dad proud."
That journey shaped the leader Wake Forest came to know.
"During camp, I gave my 'why' to the team," Ashford said. "When you know somebody's why, you go harder for them. You know what the man to your right and left is playing for. I'm a closed-off person. I stay out of the way, just play ball. They kind of got me out of that shell."
The turning point, he said, came during the Georgia Tech game — a loss that reshaped the team's belief.
"I was coming off a partially torn PCL," Ashford said. "There was no way I wasn't going to play. Whatever it took to be out there for those guys, I was going to do it. They backed me 100 percent. As a quarterback and as a leader, that's all you can ask for."
Ashford's toughness became his signature. It became his legacy.
"I just want folks to look at me as a quarterback who left it out there every single day," he said. "No matter what the situation was, I was never going to give up on this team. This community was going to get everything I had. I'm from Brundidge, Alabama. You've got to do whatever it takes, no matter how hard it is."
That mindset carried Wake Forest through a season few outside the program believed in.
"Everybody had us picked 16th out of 17 teams," Ashford said. "We're a 9–4 football team. Nobody expected that, but we expected it. We never lost faith."
Even after setbacks, the Deacs never folded.
"We could have backed down," Ashford said. "But I saw our team flip the switch. We knew we had one more opportunity to come back and end this as champs — and we did."
For Ashford, the ending wasn't about stats, records or trophies.
"A lot of my good games came in losses," he said. "Yeah, it looks cool, but it doesn't matter unless you win. To end it like this with these guys — that means everything."
When Ashford walked off the field in Charlotte, MVP trophy in hand, he did so with the peace of a player who had emptied the tank.
"I hope these folks look at me as a quarterback who was just tough," he said. "That's it. That's how I tried to play. Because I know everybody feeds off me."
And when his career closed, it closed the only way it ever could — with gratitude.
"It couldn't have been scripted any better," Ashford said. "Just to finish it with these guys, man — I couldn't have asked for a better way."
He joined Wake Forest and first-year head coach Jake Dickert and came out on top in a tough quarterback competition through both spring and fall camps.
In the midst of the competition, Ashford also suffered the loss of his father just a day before one of the spring camp scrimmages.
It wasn't smooth sailing in Winston-Salem either. But Ashford did win over the hearts of the locker room and the fan base with his toughness, grittiness and determination.
All that culminated with his first five-touchdown performance in a Wake Forest in a 43-29 victory over Mississippi State in the 2026 Duke's Mayo Bowl in Charlotte. He finished his career with a huge smile after claiming the victory and the Most Valuable Player award for the game. For Wake Forest, it notched their fourth nine-win season in program history.
Dickert saw Ashford's growth daily.
"I told him that in the locker room — I'm proud of him," Dickert said. "Even to the last two minutes of the game, every once in a while he frustrates the hell out of me. But this guy competes. He's ready for the moments. Every moment's not too big for him. As our season went on, you saw a player who felt that we believed in him, and he started to flourish.
"So whether it was mistakes, whether it was great plays or physical runs, every time we needed him to make a big play, he went out there and did it. And he's got a lot of respect in that locker room."
Ashford's season never fit neatly into a box score narrative. He wasn't a volume thrower in Wake Forest's system, but he was the engine. He finished the season with 2,169 passing yards, seven passing touchdowns, 504 rushing yards — third-most among ACC quarterbacks — and seven rushing scores, fourth-most in the league. He set career highs in completions, completion percentage, total touchdowns and total yards while starting 12 games.
And when Wake Forest needed him most, he delivered.
Over the final three games of his career, Ashford threw for 937 yards and five touchdowns, added multiple rushing scores, and authored the defining stretch of his college career. The crescendo came in Charlotte.
Against Mississippi State in the Duke's Mayo Bowl, Ashford completed 20 of 33 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns, while adding two rushing scores in Wake Forest's 43–29 victory. It marked the first five-touchdown game of his career.
"Nah, I mean, nah," Ashford said when asked if he could have scripted a better ending. "I wasn't even thinking about it. You don't even think about it — you're just kind of in that flow state. You're just playing. But that's credit to my teammates. That's not without Kamrean Johnson making plays, Jack Foley getting his first college touchdown, Ty Clark III — boom — 55 yards. The O-line, hats off to them. They dominated the line of scrimmage."
Ashford's pride never centered on individual recognition.
"I get the MVP and all this, but at the end of the day, it's a team win, man," he said. "These guys are the reason why we're able to do that. I'm just a little piece of the puzzle."
For Ashford, the moment carried weight far beyond football.
"It's just been a wild journey," he said. "Losing my father is one of the hardest things I probably ever had to deal with. Hoping he's looking down at me, smiling, because at the end of the day, I do it all for him. I kind of feel like I was able to make my dad proud."
That journey shaped the leader Wake Forest came to know.
"During camp, I gave my 'why' to the team," Ashford said. "When you know somebody's why, you go harder for them. You know what the man to your right and left is playing for. I'm a closed-off person. I stay out of the way, just play ball. They kind of got me out of that shell."
The turning point, he said, came during the Georgia Tech game — a loss that reshaped the team's belief.
"I was coming off a partially torn PCL," Ashford said. "There was no way I wasn't going to play. Whatever it took to be out there for those guys, I was going to do it. They backed me 100 percent. As a quarterback and as a leader, that's all you can ask for."
Ashford's toughness became his signature. It became his legacy.
"I just want folks to look at me as a quarterback who left it out there every single day," he said. "No matter what the situation was, I was never going to give up on this team. This community was going to get everything I had. I'm from Brundidge, Alabama. You've got to do whatever it takes, no matter how hard it is."
That mindset carried Wake Forest through a season few outside the program believed in.
"Everybody had us picked 16th out of 17 teams," Ashford said. "We're a 9–4 football team. Nobody expected that, but we expected it. We never lost faith."
Even after setbacks, the Deacs never folded.
"We could have backed down," Ashford said. "But I saw our team flip the switch. We knew we had one more opportunity to come back and end this as champs — and we did."
For Ashford, the ending wasn't about stats, records or trophies.
"A lot of my good games came in losses," he said. "Yeah, it looks cool, but it doesn't matter unless you win. To end it like this with these guys — that means everything."
When Ashford walked off the field in Charlotte, MVP trophy in hand, he did so with the peace of a player who had emptied the tank.
"I hope these folks look at me as a quarterback who was just tough," he said. "That's it. That's how I tried to play. Because I know everybody feeds off me."
And when his career closed, it closed the only way it ever could — with gratitude.
"It couldn't have been scripted any better," Ashford said. "Just to finish it with these guys, man — I couldn't have asked for a better way."
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