Wake Forest Athletics
Leading By Example: RuShaun Tongue Ready For 2026 Season
6/25/2026 8:14:00 AM | Football
RuShaun Tongue will tell you the shoulder wasn't the hard part.
The physical recovery from the injury that the Wake Forest redshirt sophomore defensive back suffered in the second game of the 2025 season — a shoulder injury that put him in a sling for six weeks and kept him off the field for the rest of the year — was something he could work through, measure and manage.
The mental side was another matter entirely.
"People don't emphasize how bad the mental aspect of getting injured is," Tongue said during spring camp. "They always focus on the physical part. Yeah, I messed up my shoulder, but mentally — I've never been hurt before. Being out for the whole year, you still have a long season to go. It took a toll on me mentally."
What pulled him through, he said, was the program pulling toward him. Wake Forest head coach Jake Dickert kept Tongue traveling with the team. Coaches and teammates made a point of keeping him involved. Tongue participated in film sessions and remained in the daily rhythm of a football program that could have easily moved on without him.
"What I love about this team is they doubled down and poured into me a lot more," Tongue said. "Keeping me active, bringing me along. They poured so much love into me when I got hurt. Just being alongside the team — I feel like some people take that for granted. The emotional connection with the team, I feel like that played a big part in getting me back on the field."
Tongue is back on the field now, and then some. The redshirt sophomore from Pasadena, Md., has been named a team captain, a distinction that carries particular weight given his age and the circumstances of the past year.
The foundation was always there. Tongue arrived at Wake Forest from Chesapeake High School as the No. 19 recruit in the state of Maryland, a two-way standout who racked up 77 tackles and eight interceptions on defense while catching 33 passes for 657 yards and 13 touchdowns on offense. As a redshirt freshman in 2024, he appeared in all 12 games, recorded 35 total tackles, forced a fumble and picked off a pass against Duke. He was building toward something when the 2025 season came off the rails in the second week.
The captaincy that came with his return has pushed Tongue to grow in ways that the injury, oddly enough, helped accelerate.
"It's a higher achievement for younger guys to look up to you in that role," he said. "It comes with doing the right thing every time — not just when people are looking. By getting hurt, I tried to place an emphasis on my leadership. Because I wasn't playing on the field, I doubled down on film, getting guys together for film sessions, doubling down on communication. I was more of a lead-by-example type of guy. I've been trying to place an emphasis on vocal communication, making sure everybody's on the same page. I'm still working on it, but it's getting a lot better."
The injury also gave him an unexpected education in versatility. Sidelined from his normal role, Tongue spent time with coaches working on other spots in the secondary, and he carried that into spring camp.
"I'm playing a little bit at strong safety now too," he said. "Just trying to be more versatile."
That time away also deepened the bond he has with defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton and defensive backs coach Freddie Banks, relationships that Tongue credits as central to his development and his recovery.
"When I got hurt, I was with Coach Banks a lot because I couldn't do the physical on-field stuff," he said. "And having Coach Hazelton — the connection we have, I can count on him off the field. I can talk to Coach Banks off the field. That connection and camaraderie off the field means that when Coach Hazelton gives me something on the field, the guys around us can pick it up relatively quickly. He makes a play call, right or wrong, we're going to run it 100 percent."
The continuity those relationships represent matters even more heading into a second season under the same coaching staff, a relative rarity in an era of constant turnover.
"I love having continuity with coaches," Tongue said. "That same connection just doubles down on the trust that we have."
His fellow captain on the defensive side is linebacker Aiden Hall. Watching Hall continue to lead vocally from the sideline while unable to practice has reinforced something Tongue learned firsthand last year.
"Aiden's in the middle of the huddle making calls, getting us together," Tongue said. "When we're messing up, Aiden's the first one to call us out. Just knowing that he still has that leadership role — making sure that other guys who are injured still have that voice and still have that connection — so that when they get back, they didn't miss a beat. That's the main part of it."
The Deacs finished 2025 at 9-4 while Tongue watched from the sidelines. He was there for Wake Forest's 43-29 Duke's Mayo Bowl victory over Mississippi State at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. He made the trips. He stayed connected. Now he's back practicing, preparing for a spring scrimmage and looking ahead to a season he intends to play in from start to finish.
"I'm excited to go live," he said. "I like contact. I'm excited to see what the offense brings. And I'm just excited to see the defense go out a hundred percent, rely on the keys, rely on the techniques, put trust in your teammates and just go out there and have fun."
The physical recovery from the injury that the Wake Forest redshirt sophomore defensive back suffered in the second game of the 2025 season — a shoulder injury that put him in a sling for six weeks and kept him off the field for the rest of the year — was something he could work through, measure and manage.
The mental side was another matter entirely.
"People don't emphasize how bad the mental aspect of getting injured is," Tongue said during spring camp. "They always focus on the physical part. Yeah, I messed up my shoulder, but mentally — I've never been hurt before. Being out for the whole year, you still have a long season to go. It took a toll on me mentally."
What pulled him through, he said, was the program pulling toward him. Wake Forest head coach Jake Dickert kept Tongue traveling with the team. Coaches and teammates made a point of keeping him involved. Tongue participated in film sessions and remained in the daily rhythm of a football program that could have easily moved on without him.
"What I love about this team is they doubled down and poured into me a lot more," Tongue said. "Keeping me active, bringing me along. They poured so much love into me when I got hurt. Just being alongside the team — I feel like some people take that for granted. The emotional connection with the team, I feel like that played a big part in getting me back on the field."
Tongue is back on the field now, and then some. The redshirt sophomore from Pasadena, Md., has been named a team captain, a distinction that carries particular weight given his age and the circumstances of the past year.
The foundation was always there. Tongue arrived at Wake Forest from Chesapeake High School as the No. 19 recruit in the state of Maryland, a two-way standout who racked up 77 tackles and eight interceptions on defense while catching 33 passes for 657 yards and 13 touchdowns on offense. As a redshirt freshman in 2024, he appeared in all 12 games, recorded 35 total tackles, forced a fumble and picked off a pass against Duke. He was building toward something when the 2025 season came off the rails in the second week.
The captaincy that came with his return has pushed Tongue to grow in ways that the injury, oddly enough, helped accelerate.
"It's a higher achievement for younger guys to look up to you in that role," he said. "It comes with doing the right thing every time — not just when people are looking. By getting hurt, I tried to place an emphasis on my leadership. Because I wasn't playing on the field, I doubled down on film, getting guys together for film sessions, doubling down on communication. I was more of a lead-by-example type of guy. I've been trying to place an emphasis on vocal communication, making sure everybody's on the same page. I'm still working on it, but it's getting a lot better."
The injury also gave him an unexpected education in versatility. Sidelined from his normal role, Tongue spent time with coaches working on other spots in the secondary, and he carried that into spring camp.
"I'm playing a little bit at strong safety now too," he said. "Just trying to be more versatile."
That time away also deepened the bond he has with defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton and defensive backs coach Freddie Banks, relationships that Tongue credits as central to his development and his recovery.
"When I got hurt, I was with Coach Banks a lot because I couldn't do the physical on-field stuff," he said. "And having Coach Hazelton — the connection we have, I can count on him off the field. I can talk to Coach Banks off the field. That connection and camaraderie off the field means that when Coach Hazelton gives me something on the field, the guys around us can pick it up relatively quickly. He makes a play call, right or wrong, we're going to run it 100 percent."
The continuity those relationships represent matters even more heading into a second season under the same coaching staff, a relative rarity in an era of constant turnover.
"I love having continuity with coaches," Tongue said. "That same connection just doubles down on the trust that we have."
His fellow captain on the defensive side is linebacker Aiden Hall. Watching Hall continue to lead vocally from the sideline while unable to practice has reinforced something Tongue learned firsthand last year.
"Aiden's in the middle of the huddle making calls, getting us together," Tongue said. "When we're messing up, Aiden's the first one to call us out. Just knowing that he still has that leadership role — making sure that other guys who are injured still have that voice and still have that connection — so that when they get back, they didn't miss a beat. That's the main part of it."
The Deacs finished 2025 at 9-4 while Tongue watched from the sidelines. He was there for Wake Forest's 43-29 Duke's Mayo Bowl victory over Mississippi State at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. He made the trips. He stayed connected. Now he's back practicing, preparing for a spring scrimmage and looking ahead to a season he intends to play in from start to finish.
"I'm excited to go live," he said. "I like contact. I'm excited to see what the offense brings. And I'm just excited to see the defense go out a hundred percent, rely on the keys, rely on the techniques, put trust in your teammates and just go out there and have fun."
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