Wake Forest Transfer Portal Tracker: Analyzing Every Player Coming In and Out This Winter
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After a successful first season under Head Coach Jake Dickert, Wake Forest Football culminated its 2025 season with a bowl win (and a mayo bath!). However, in the never-ending cycle of collegiate athletics, the newly-extended Dickert transitioned directly from game preparation to the transfer portal recruitment process as the NCAA Transfer Portal opened on January 2.
Dickert is no stranger to recruiting to Winston-Salem, having just signed one of the highest-ranked high school recruiting classes in program history in early December 2025. (All Early Signing Day commits and signees can be found here.)
All Incoming Transfers to Wake Forest
January 5, 2025: Wake Forest landed a commitment from four players.
- Joshua Patterson, Safety, Iowa State
- Measurables: 5'11", 195 lbs
- Brother of Wake Forest DB Devaughn Patterson
- 4 years of eligibility remaining
- Chase Tyler, Wide Receiver, Duke
- Measurables: 6'2", 185 lbs
- 4 receptions, 120 receiving yards in the 2025 season
- 3 years of eligibility remaining
- Kahnen "KD" Daniels, Running Back, Florida
- Measurables: 5'11.5", 203 lbs
- 197 rushing yards, two touchdowns on 39 rushing attempts in two seasons at Florida
- 3 years of eligibility remaining
- Bernard Causey III, Defensive Back, Georgia State
- Measurables: 5'11", 165 lbs
- 1 forced fumble, 6 pass deflections, 19 combined tackles during 2025 season
- 3 years of eligibility remaining
January 6, 2025: Wake Forest landed a commitment from one player.
- Tolu Olajide, Offensive Lineman, New Hampshire (FCS)
- Measurables: 6'5", 300 lbs
- Started last 26 consecutive games at FCS level. Earned All-CAA First Team honors in 2025.
- 1 year of eligibility remaining
January 7, 2025: Wake Forest landed commitments from two players.
- DJ Johnson, Defensive End, New Hampshire (FCS)
- Measurables: 6'4", 248 lbs
- Earned FCS Freshman All-American honors in 2025
- 3 years of eligibility remaining
- Gio Lopez, Quarterback, North Carolina
- Measurables: 5'11", 203 lbs
- Played under Wake Forest Offensive Coordinator Rob Ezell at South Alabama
- 2 years of eligibility remaining
All Outgoing Transfers from Wake Forest
- Quarterbacks
Deshawn Purdie (618 pass yds, 6 pass TDs, 3 ints in 8 games in 2025)
Elijiah Oehlke (No recorded stats)
- Running Backs
Tate Carney (83 rush attempts, 339 rush yards, 7 total TDs in 2024)
Drew Pickett (No recorded stats)
Mason Andrade (12 games, 1 rush, 4 yds in 2025)
- Wide Receivers
Micah Mays Jr. (18 receptions, 302 yards, 2 touchdowns in 2025) - committed to Florida
Chris Barnes (39 receptions, 547 receiving yards, 3 touchdowns in 2025 -- see article here.)
Reginald "R.J." Vick, Jr. (4 games, stats N/A)
Elijah "EJ" Reid (2 games in 2024, stats N/A)
Ben Grice (12 games in 2024, stats N/A)
Ian VerSteeg (9 games, 1 return, 15 return yds in 2025)
Jeremiah Melvin (3 receptions, 39 yards, 1 TD in 11 games in 2025)
- Tight Ends
Dominic Deluca (10 games, 1 rec, 7 yds in 2025)
Harry Lodge (10 games, 12 rec, 110 yds in 2024)
Matthew Lusardi (12 games, 2 returns, 11 return yds in 2025)
- Offensive Line
IOL Derrell Johnson II (7 games in 2025)
OT Nathan Pahanich (No recorded stats)
- Defensive Line
Mateen Ibirogba (12 games, 21 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks in 2025) - committed to Texas Tech
Ka'Shawn Thomas (3 games, stats N/A)
- Edge Rushers
Cole Funderburk (stats N/A) - committed to Marshall
Kendal Howard (stats N/A)
- Linebackers
Darius Jones (9 games, 4 total tackles in 2025)
- Safeties
Jacob Cosby-Mosley (1 game in 2025)
William Wiebush (stats N/A)
Position-by-Position Breakdown of Roster Impact
Quarterback
With the graduation of Robby Ashford, the Demon Deacons were bound to have a new starting quarterback next year. However, the incumbent quarterback, Deshawn Purdie, entered the transfer portal on January 6. That move, together with the loss of backup quarterback Elijiah Oehlke, means that there is little to no experience in the current quarterback room, with the only remaining quarterbacks being Steele Pizzella, Billy Johnson, and early signing day enrollees Grant Lawless and Gannon Jones.
This means that Dickert will have to recruit an experienced quarterback to come in and, potentially, win the starting job. Dickert's track record with quarterbacks at Washington State was phenomenal, including the bolstered play and potential of eventual Number 1 NFL Draft pick Cam Ward and current Oklahoma Sooners quarterback John Mateer.
Wide Receivers
The loss of 2025 wide receivers coach Nick Edwards to Oklahoma State was a somewhat costly one, as the Demon Deacons have lost high-profile stars in the passing game over the last few weeks. The position has lost six players over the course of December 2025 and January 2026, by far the most out of any position group this offseason.
Of those six wide receivers, two of them were standout stars this season. The loss of the versatile Chris Barnes is a major, glaring hole to fill in the Demon Deacon receiving room, in addition to his All-ACC Honorably Mentioned status as an All-Purpose player (receiving, rushing, and returning). The Demon Deacons also lost speedy receiver Micah Mays Jr., who starred in the Wake Forest offense for the past two seasons.
New Wake Forest Wide Receivers coach Dyrell Roberts, who was hired from East Carolina, has already stayed in-state to fill some of the wide receiver holes- including Duke transfer Chase Tyler, who had four receptions for 120 yards this past season. Roberts is sure to keep on the recruiting trail in the coming weeks, despite the lack of a set starting quarterback.
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-b2b3204fafefe7b6e203a1c43238f099.jpeg "Sean Kennedy")
Sean is a recent graduate of Wake Forest University, where he served as lead sports editor of the school’s student-run publication, the Old Gold & Black. Outside of covering Wake Forest’s sports programs, he served as president of the school’s Sports Analytics Club. A native of Long Island, New York, he enjoys watching all forms of racing in his spare time.
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