Cameron Hite on Wake Forest’s Winning Mentality
When Wake Forest tight end Cameron Hite caught a third quarter pass from Sam Hartman and found green grass in front of him, he couldn’t believe it.
“It rarely, rarely happens like that,” Hite said. “I turned around and nobody was there. It kind of spooked me for a second. I knew the blocks would do their job, so I just turned and ran as fast as I could towards the end zone and was fortunate to get there.”
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Despite Hite’s astonishment that he could coast to a touchdown, he knew the ball was coming to him the entire play.
“That was a play design for the tight end all the way,” Hite said. “Coach R [offensive coordinator Warren Ruggiero] called something out of his back pocket, a little trick play. We worked on it a lot at practice and did a good job of selling it. The wide receivers, the O-Line, Sam [Hartman] did a great job of holding on to the ball and sending it late, everybody did their job.”
The reception was the redshirt sophomore’s first of the season, second of his career and first score at Wake Forest. This season, the journey to that play has been one of building confidence, and it’s soaring now.
“Every time I get on the field and get more snaps under my belt I gain confidence,” Hite said. “It’s growing more and more each week. I’ve been trying to get out there and play fast, hit all of my assignments and play within myself.”
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Now in his fourth season, Hite attributes much of his growth and belief on the field to the players around him, especially those in the tight end room.
“I have a great group of guys in the tight end room with me,” Hite said. “Blake [Whiteheart] has been there for me all four years. He’s been a mentor to me and I’ve learned so much from him — the way to do things right, knowing the defense and knowing the game plan. We have a really tight knit group of guys and everyone brings something a little different to the table.”
Hite also credited his performance to the player who threw him the ball on Saturday. Having one of the best quarterbacks in Wake Forest history back on the field is important to him and the team.
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“Sam’s been awesome, unbelievable,” Hite noted. “Everything that he’s been through. Everyone knows how much he’s put into this program and how big his heart is for this team. He’s going to go out and give his all for this team. Just look at the blocks he was throwing for us on Saturday.”
As the season moves forward, the tight end is excited to contribute to the offense in any way needed.
“I’m going to put my head down and work as hard as I can,” Hite said. “Winning is our number one goal. It doesn’t matter to me if I get zero catches or five, as long as the team wins. That's the biggest thing. So anything I can do to help the team win, that's what I'm going to do.”
As the improvement and confidence grows for Hite and the rest of the team, one goal remains — victory.
“Every week is a new season,” Hite said. “Coach Clawson preaches about that. We’re playing a good team every week. We have to go 1-0 against Liberty, and we’ll take off from there. We’re working to go 1-0 each week and focus on the opponent right in front of us. That’s our one goal right now.”
Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. on Saturday at Truist Field.
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