Jake Dickert - Head Coach - Staff Directory - Wake Forest University Athletics

Staff Directory

Jake Dickert

Title:
Head Coach

Jake Dickert was named the 33rd head coach of the Wake Forest football program on Dec. 18, 2024.

A college football coach for 18 seasons, Dickert has climbed the profession by gaining experience at every level of the collegiate game—from Division III and Division II to the FCS, Group of Five and Power Four. Alongside Baylor head coach Dave Aranda, he is one of only two current Power Four head coaches to have coached at every level, a journey that has shaped his leadership style, adaptability and approach to player development.

Throughout his career, Dickert has earned a reputation as both a winner and a consistent developer of NFL-caliber talent.

That reputation was on full display in his first season at Wake Forest. In the greatest debut campaign by a head coach in program history, Dickert, his staff and his players guided 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.

With that, the nine victories in 2025 was tied for the most among all FBS and Power 4 programs in the Carolinas.

Dickert surpassed Billy Dooley who won seven games during his first season in Winston-Salem in 1987 and the 2025 campaign was highlighted by marquee College Football Playoff Top-25 wins over SMU and No. 12 Virginia – the Cavaliers’ only home loss of the year – as well as a Big Four victory over North Carolina inside a sold-out Allegacy Stadium.

Defensively, the Demon Deacons were among the ACC’s elite in 2025, ranking seventh in the league and 44th nationally in scoring defense while finishing top-six in the conference in both total defense and passing defense. Wake Forest did not allow a touchdown against either No. 12 Virginia or North Carolina during the season.

Individual success followed team success, as 12 Demon Deacons earned All-ACC honors in 2025. The selections marked the ninth consecutive season Wake Forest placed six or more players on the All-Conference teams, and since 2019, the program’s 74 All-ACC honorees rank fifth most in the ACC. Additionally, three Demon Deacons garnered All-America honors as senior tailback Demond Claiborne and redshirt senior safety Nick Andersen were named honorable mention by Phil Steele and rookie kicker Connor Calvert was named a FWAA Freshman All-American.

Prior to Wake Forest, Dickert spent four seasons as head coach at Washington State, where he compiled a winning record and led the Cougars to three bowl appearances. His teams were ranked inside the Top 20 in each of his final two seasons, climbing as high as No. 13 in 2023. Over his final three years in Pullman, Dickert’s teams earned two Apple Cup victories over archrival Washington, recorded ranked wins over No. 19 Wisconsin in both 2022 and 2023, and defeated No. 14 Oregon State in 2023. His program also posted an impressive 14–6 record in non-conference play.

Dickert’s success extended to player development, as seven of his players were selected over the last three NFL Draft cycles. The three selections in the 2024 NFL Draft marked Washington State’s highest total since 2005.

Since arriving at the FBS level in 2017, Dickert’s defenses have forced 166 turnovers, a total that would rank tied for 10th nationally over that seven-year span. Among ACC programs during that period, only Clemson has produced more.

Excellence under Dickert has extended beyond the field as well. During his first three seasons as head coach at Washington State, 45 players earned Pac-12 Fall Academic Honor Roll recognition with a GPA of 3.3 or higher. His program also produced multiple AFCA Good Works Team honorees, Allstate Wuerffel Trophy semifinalists for community service, and semifinalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy, awarded to college football’s premier scholar-athlete.

Dickert played college football at Wisconsin–Stevens Point from 2002–06, earning All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) honors as a wide receiver during his senior season in 2006. He was named his team’s Wide Receiver of the Year in both his junior and senior seasons. Dickert earned his bachelor’s degree in secondary math education from UW–Stevens Point in 2007 and completed his master’s degree in general education in 2009.

He and his wife, Candice, have three children: daughter Rylee and sons Jett and Jace.

Wake Forest (2025-Present):

2025:

In the greatest debut campaign by a head coach in program history, Dickert, his staff and his players guided 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. With that, the nine victories in 2025 was tied for the most among all FBS and Power 4 programs in the Carolinas.
Dickert surpassed Billy Dooley who won seven games during his first season in Winston-Salem in 1987 and the 2025 campaign was highlighted by marquee College Football Playoff Top-25 wins over SMU and No. 12 Virginia – the Cavaliers’ only home loss of the year – as well as a Big Four victory over North Carolina inside a sold-out Allegacy Stadium.
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.
- Individually, RB Demond Claiborne earned Second Team All-ACC recognition, while OT Fa’alili Fa’amoe, OG George Sell, C Devin Kylany and All-Purpose Chris Barnes were each named Honorable Mention All-ACC.
- The passing game featured a wide distribution of playmakers, with 11 different receivers catching at least one touchdown—the most for the program since at least 1975.
- Tight ends played an expanded role in the offense, accounting for 33 receptions on the season.
- Up front, 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.
- Quarterback Robby Ashford delivered the best stretch of play of his career late in the season, throwing for 14 touchdowns over the final four games—the most in any four-game span of his career.
  - His performance peaked in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, where he accounted for a career-high five touchdowns against Mississippi State.
- In the backfield, running back Demond Claiborne continued to etch his name into the Wake Forest record book, moving to fourth all-time in career rushing yards. Claiborne also became the program’s all-time leader among Wake Forest running backs in career rushing touchdowns during the College Football Era and surpassed A.T. Perry for the most overall touchdowns in the CFP Era during the 2025 season.
Defensively, Wake Forest ranked among the ACC’s elite defensive units.
- The Deacs recorded four interceptions and 11 fumble recoveries while showing marked improvement across every major statistical category.
- The Demon Deacons allowed nearly 10.5 fewer points per game than the previous season, surrendered more than 100 fewer yards of total offense per contest compared to 2024, and nearly cut the number of passing touchdowns allowed in half.
- Wake Forest also reduced red-zone touchdowns by nearly 20 percent.
- Wake finished in the conference’s top five in both total defense and pass defense.
- The Demon Deacons allowed the fewest yards per play in the ACC, surrendered the fourth-fewest touchdowns overall, and held opponents to more than 100 fewer yards of total offense than the year prior.
  - That consistency was underscored by holding seven of 13 opponents to 14 points or fewer—the most such performances by a Wake Forest defense since the historic 2006 ACC Championship season.
  - The Deacons’ defensive dominance was evident against top competition, as Wake Forest limited two ranked opponents—No. 19 Virginia and No. 25 SMU—to 14 points or fewer.
  - The Demon Deacons did not allow a touchdown in consecutive ACC games, holding both No. 12 Virginia and North Carolina without a touchdown in back-to-back conference matchups.
- Individually, redshirt senior defensive back Nick Andersen earned First Team All-ACC honors. Defensive back Karon Prunty was named Third Team All-ACC, while linebacker Dylan Hazen, defensive end Langston Hardy, defensive back Davaughn Patterson and defensive tackle Jayden Loving each received Honorable Mention All-ACC recognition.
On special teams, Wake Forest ranked among the nation’s best.
- The Deacs finished fourth nationally with four blocked kicks and standing as one of only six programs to record two kickoff return touchdowns.
- The Demon Deacons also placed fourth in the country with a 27.68-yard kickoff return average, showcasing explosive playmaking and consistent field-position advantages throughout the season.
- Wake Forest was one of just four schools nationally to register both a kickoff return touchdown and a punt return touchdown.
- On the scoring side, redshirt freshman kicker Connor Calvert closed the season in strong fashion, converting his final eight field goal attempts dating back to his walk-off game-winner against SMU. With that, he was named an FWAA Freshman All-American.

Washington State (2020-24):
During his time at the helm of the Washington State football program, Dickert accumulated a record of 23-20 (.535), reaching three bowl games in four seasons while also being nationally ranked each of the past two seasons.

2024:
In 2024, Washington State jumped out to a historic start, winning eight of its first nine games of the season and climbing inside of the top 20 in the AP Poll. It marked the first time since 2018 that the Cougars started a season 8-1 or better and the lone loss during that stretch came to College Football Playoff qualifier Boise State on the road.

For the second-consecutive year, Dickert and Washington State claimed multiple non-conference wins over Power-4 conference teams, defeating Texas Tech and Washington in consecutive weeks.

Washington State's offense has been one of the best in the country over the last two seasons – led by different quarterbacks (Cam Ward, 2023 and John Mateer, 2024). The Cougars have averaged over 31.0 points per game each of the last two seasons including having the No. 11 scoring offense in the country in 2024 with 36.8 points per game.

2023:
The 2023 season began 4-0 under Dickert, including wins over nationally-ranked No. 19 Wisconsin and No. 14 Oregon State. It marked the second-straight season Dickert led the Cougs to a win over the Badgers. With the help of the early wins, Dickert and Washington State climbed to as high as No. 13 in the AP Poll rankings, the highest ranking for the school since 2018.

A convincing 56-14 win over Colorado accounted for the Cougar's fifth win of the season and four of WSU's seven losses came by one possession. The Cougar defense continued its aggressive play from previous years as Washington State led the nation in defensive touchdowns with five on the season, the third-most defensive scores dating back to the 1996 season. In the 2024 NFL Draft, three Cougars were drafted, led by safety Jaden Hicks to Kansas City (4th round). Jackson (5th, Los Angeles Rams) and cornerback Chau Smith-Wade (5th, Carolina) were also selected, giving WSU its most draft picks in a season since the 2005 NFL Draft.

2022:
Dickert began the 2022 season, his first full year leading the Cougars, with three-straight wins, including a victory at No. 19 Wisconsin. The win was Washington State's first regular-season non-conference road win over a ranked team since 2003. The Cougars captured three of its final four games and reached a bowl game, the Jimmy Kimmel L.A. Bowl, for the seventh-straight season which was then the second-longest current streak in the Pac-12. Under Dickert's leadership, WSU again was strong defensively, finishing in the top four of numerous Pac-12 categories, including second in Red Zone defense and tackles-for-loss, third in scoring defense and turnovers gained and fourth in sacks. Washington State also led the Pac-12 in Red Zone offense. In 2022, Washington State had 10 All-Pac-12 players, including first-team linebacker and third-team All-American Daiyan Henley, while safety Jaden Hicks garnered third-team Freshman All-America honors. Henley was selected in the third round of the NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Chargers.

2021:
Dickert spent the final five games of the 2021 regular season serving as the Cougar's acting head coach, leading Washington State to a 3-2 record with wins over Arizona State, Arizona and a dominating 40-13 Apple Cup victory in Seattle, earning a trip to the Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl. The Apple Cup win snapped a seven-game skid to Washington and was the Cougar's largest margin of victory in series history.

Under Dickert's leadership, the Cougar defense was a huge spark in 2021, leading the Pac-12 with 29 takeaways, fifth-most nationally, while also leading the Pac-12 and tied for ninth nationally in turnover margin. 14 players earned All-Pac-12 honors including first-team selections in right tackle Abraham Lucas, kicker Dean Janikowski and EDGE Ron Stone Jr. while punter Nick Haberer was named a Freshman All-American. In the 2022 NFL Draft, offensive lineman Abraham Lucas was selected in the second round by the Seattle Seahawks and cornerback Jaylen Watson went in the seventh round to the Kansas City Chiefs. Entering the 2021 season, Dickert was in his second year as Washington State's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.

2020:
In his first season in Pullman, the Washington State defense produced four All-Pac-12 Conference selections including linebacker Jahad Woods, who was second on the team with 31 tackles and led the team with 4.5 tackles-for loss. The Cougars led the league with eight forced fumbles and was fourth in rush defense (154.8), a 30-yard improvement from the previous season.

Wyoming (2017-19):
Prior to his time at Washington State, Dickert helped build Wyoming into one of the best Group of Five programs in the country. During his three including the final as the defensive coordinator, Wyoming played in a pair of bowl games while he tutored four future NFL draft selections on the defensive side of the ball. In 2019, the Cowboys were sixth in the country in red zone defense, No. 11 in the country in rush defense (107.1) and scoring defense (17.8), No. 40 tackles-for-loss (83) and No. 43 in total defense. Dickert mentored All-American linebacker and Butkus Award Finalist Logan Wilson while redshirt-freshman defensive end Solomon Byrd was named a Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America.

In 2018, Wyoming's defense was among the best in the nation, finishing the season No. 19 in total defense (326.2), No. 25 in rushing defense (129.5), No. 28 in scoring defense (22.0) and No. 32 in pass defense (196.7). In his first season at Wyoming, Dickert help the 2017 Cowboy defense become one of the best groups in the country as they led the country in takeaways (38), ranked ninth in scoring defense (17.5), were first in fumbles recovered (18), second in interceptions (20), eighth in defensive touchdowns scored (4 TD), No. 13 in pass defense (174.9) and No. 23 in total defense (335.2).

South Dakota State (2016):
Before arriving at Wyoming, Dickert spent the 2016 season as the safeties coach and co-special teams coordinator at South Dakota State. In his one season on the South Dakota State coaching staff, Dickert helped guide the Jackrabbits to the 2016 Missouri Valley Football Conference Championship and a No. 8 seed in the 2016 NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Playoffs, where they advanced to the FCS National Quarterfinals.

Minnesota State (2014-15):
As defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Minnesota State, Mankato for the 2014 and 2015 seasons Dickert was part of a coaching staff that led the Mavericks to back-to-back Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) championships and consecutive NCAA Division II Playoff berths, earning their way to the 2014 National Championship Game. Minnesota State posted a combined record of 24-3 over that two-year span. Dickert's 2014 defense ranked second in the nation in scoring defense (12.9).

Early coaching stops (2007-13):
In his first season as a college defensive coordinator in 2013 at Augustana, Dickert's defense ranked No. 20 in the nation at the NCAA Division II level in scoring defense. Prior to that, Dickert had full-time assistant stops at Southeast Missouri State in 2012, South Dakota in 2011 and North Dakota State in 2009-10.

He also served as a graduate assistant for North Dakota State in 2008 and got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant at his alma mater Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 2007.

As a player:
He played football at Wisconsin-Stevens Point from 2002-06 where he earned All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) honors as a wide receiver his senior season of 2006 and was named his team's Wide Receiver of the Year both his junior and senior seasons. Dickert earned his bachelor's degree in secondary math education from Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 2007, and completed his master's degree in general education, also from UW-Stevens Point in 2009.

Family
He and his wife, Candice, have three children, daughter Rylee and sons Jett and Jace.

Head Coaching Records & Notes

Year	School	Record	Pct.	Conf.	Pct.	Postseason
2025	Wake Forest	9-4	.692	4-4	.500	Duke’s Mayo Bowl (W)
2024	Washington State	8-4	.667	0-1	.000	Holiday Bowl
2023	Washington State	5-7	.417	2-7	.222
2022	Washington State	7-6	.528	4-5	.444	LA Bowl (L)
2021	Washington State	3-3*	.500	3-1	.750	Sun Bowl (L)
Total		23-20	.604	9-14	.391	Three bowl appearances

*Took over as interim coach to finish the season

Postseason History

Season	Bowl Game	Opponent	Result
2025	Duke’s Mayo Bowl	Mississippi State	W, 43-29
2024	Holiday Bowl (Washington State)	Syracuse
2022	LA Bowl (Washington State)	Fresno State	L, 29-6
2021	Sun Bowl (Washington State)	Central Michigan	L, 24-21
2019	Arizona Bowl (Wyoming)	Georgia State	W, 38-17
2017	Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Wyoming)	Central Michigan	W, 37-14
2016	FCS Playoffs - Quarterfinals	North Dakota State	L, 36-10
2016	FCS Playoffs - Second Round	Villanova	W, 10-7
2015	Division II Playoffs - First Round	Emporia State	L, 51-49
2014	Division II Playoffs - Championship	CSU-Pueblo	L, 13-0
2014	Division II Playoffs - Semifinals	Concord	W, 47-13
2014	Division II Playoffs - Quarterfinals	Minnesota-Duluth	W, 44-17
2014	Division II Playoffs - First Round	Pittsburg State	W, 24-21
2010	FCS Playoffs - Quarterfinals	Eastern Washington	L, 38-31
2010	FCS Playoffs - Second Round	Montana State	W, 42-17
2010	FCS Playoffs - First Round	Robert Morris	W, 43-17

Coaching History

Seasons	School/Team	Title
2025-Present	Wake Forest	Head Coach
2021-24	Washington State	Head Coach
2020-21	Washington State	Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
2019	Wyoming	Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
2017-18	Wyoming	Safeties
2016	South Dakota State	Co-Special Teams/Safeties
2014-15	Minnesota State	Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
2013	Augustana (SD)	Defensive Coordinator
2012	Southeast Missouri State	Defensive Backs
2011	South Dakota	Special Teams/Defensive Backs
2009-10	North Dakota State	Safeties
2008	North Dakota State	Graduate Assistant
2007	Wisconsin-Stevens Point	Graduate Assistant