Wake Forest Athletics
Football
- Title:
- Baker Family Assistant Head Coach
Justin Kramer was officially named to the Wake Forest football staff on Jan. 21, 2025 as Assistant Head Coach for Jake Dickert after three seasons at Washington State. In 2023 and 2024, Kramer served as special assistant to the head coach and assistant offensive line coach, while in 2022, he was the program’s director of scouting.
In November, Kramer was named the Baker Family Assistant Head Coach thanks to a landmark commitment from Prentiss ('65) and Joan Baker, one of the University's most generous and longstanding families, in support of Demon Deacon Football.
Kramer helped guide the Demon Deacons to just the fourth nine-win season in school history, punctuated by an emphatic 43–29 victory over Mississippi State to capture the Duke’s Mayo Bowl at Bank of America Stadium. Wake Forest finished the 2025 season 9-4, marking the fifth time in the last nine years the program reached eight or more wins – one of only five ACC programs to accomplish that feat during the span.
Offensively, the season was highlighted by one of the program’s most productive campaigns in recent years.
The Demon Deacons scored 30 or more points six times and averaged more than 28 points per game, with both marks representing the program’s highest outputs since the 2022 season.
Wake Forest also generated 27 plays of 30 yards or more—its most explosive-play total since 2022.
Under the direction of Kramer, the offensive line made one of the nation’s most significant year-over-year improvements, allowing just 17 sacks after surrendering 42 the previous season, a leap from 125th nationally to a top-20 ranking in the FBS.
Individually up front, OT Fa’alili Fa’amoe, OG George Sell and C Devin Kylany were each named Honorable Mention All-ACC.
Washington State achieved significant success during Kramer’s tenure, including a historic 8-1 start in 2024, climbing into the top 20 of the AP Poll for the first time since 2018. The Cougars had back-to-back seasons with multiple non-conference wins over Power 4 teams and fielded one of the nation’s top offenses, ranking No. 11 in scoring in 2024 (36.8 points per game). Kramer also contributed to a defense that led the nation with five defensive touchdowns in 2023.
Before Washington State, Kramer spent two seasons at Southeast Missouri State as assistant head coach and tight ends coach. Previously, he served five years (2015-19) at Missouri State as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, where his special teams units were among the most consistent in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
Kramer’s coaching career also includes roles at Missouri, where he worked with the SEC’s top defensive units as a defensive analyst and assistant director of recruiting, and at SEMO, where he coached four First-Team All-OVC offensive linemen and helped the program lead the nation in rushing and fewest sacks allowed in 2010.
A Liberty, Missouri native, Kramer was a four-year letterman at Southern Illinois (2002-05), contributing to three Missouri Valley Football Conference titles and NCAA Playoff appearances. He and his wife, Killian, have a daughter, Leyna, and a son, Vince.
