Spring Football Position to Watch: Quarterback

Before I begin, I want to express my thanks to new managing editor Riley Johnston for allowing me to join the BloggerSoDear team! While this is my first official article, I will do my best to contribute in the best way possible going forward. I am a lifelong Deacon fan, born and raised in Winston-Salem and my blood runs old gold and black. From the time when I was only three and told the sales person when asked if I wanted the Michael Jordan shoes that “NO!!! I want the TIM DUNCAN shoes!,” I have always cheered for Wake Forest above anybody else.

This will breakdown into three parts and focus on three main positions to keep an eye on as spring practice progresses: quarterback, halfback, and cornerback. Today we will begin with the quarterback position.

Quarterbacks

This one is the one that everybody seems to want to know about, and with good reason! First of all, what a great problem to have in that we have so many talented players competing for this position!

John Wolford has been the opening day starting quarterback the past three seasons, and is probably the most familiar on this list for Deacon fans. He weathered the storm through a very rocky first two years under Dave Clawson, and was instrumental in leading the team to their first bowl game since 2011 last season. Without John’s leadership and composure on the field, I don’t see any way that Wake makes a bowl game last season. He has thrown for 5,600 yards with 30 touchdowns and 35 interceptions in his three years here. He ran for 537 yards last year with 6 touchdowns. If you are looking for dedication and toughness in your starting quarterback, you won’t find a better candidate than John Wolford.

Kendall Hinton is perhaps the most popular choice among fans. His ability to make flashy plays happen in the blink of an eye and change the momentum of a game can make for quite the show for spectators. Hinton has a deep ball that Wolford hasn’t exhibited, and also is more of a dual-threat quarterback, making plays with his legs just as often as with his arms. Before hurting his MCL that kept him out for a lot of the year, Hinton already had 125 yards on 25 carries in just three games. He was also 11-19 for 174 yards. Hinton’s ceiling is high, and he gives Wake Forest the kind of quarterback that can make a huge difference late in close games. If I had my choice, Kendall Hinton will be the starting quarterback in August.

Jamie Newman is an unknown to Wake Forest fans, as we have never seen him play in a game situation. There were a few good reports out of practices last year on what he was doing though. The fact that he is 6-4, 225 gets me excited because he is a bigger quarterback who has a Cam Newton type build. Now I certainly don’t expect him to be Cam Newton, but he may have the highest potential of any of the quarterbacks on the roster. His highlight tape practically has me salivating at what he could become over his four years. He may not be the first or even second string, but I would love to see him take some snaps with the first team this year and be turned loose just to see what he is capable of.

Kyle Kearns did an admirable job stepping in as a last-minute starter against Clemson last year, and showed some signs of great potential, but it appears that he doesn’t possess the same threat with his legs that Wolford and Hinton do. He appears to be a typical pro-style quarterback. I expect to see Kyle as fourth on the depth chart, and while I think he’s a good player I don’t see him running Dave Clawson’s offense as effectively as the other candidates.

Tayvon Bowers is technically committed and is listed on the official roster on, so I have listed him here. Per his signing day report on BSD by Rob, he will greyshirt as a result of his ACL injury and will not be on the roster this fall. A grayshirt allows an athlete to sign with a school, but delays enrollment on the scholarship until the second semester. Bowers will then basically have five years to play out his four years of eligibility. That means he will head to Wake in January of 2018.

Tomorrow we will have a look at the running back position to refresh everybody on the depth we have there.