Wake Football: Deacs land grad transfer from Mississippi State

Wake Forest landed a cornerback graduate transfer today from Mississippi State who will likely start in the fall. Cedric Jiles was granted a 6th year of eligibility for the upcoming football season and has decided to spend it in Winston-Salem playing for the Demon Deacons.

Jiles started 8 games last year after returning from a broken arm that kept him sidelined for the first few games.

He played in 35 games at Mississippi State and scored a touchdown off of an interception in the 2016 Egg Bowl vs. rival Mississippi.

Jiles received the 6th year of eligibility because of a hamstring injury that kept him sidelined for the entirety of the 2014 season in Starkville. He announced back in January that despite receiving a final year of eligibility, it would not be in at Mississippi State.

This is a player that will make an immediate impact for Dave Clawson and first year defensive coordinator Jay Sawvel. Jiles will likely start at one cornerback position while Amari Henderson, Essang Bassey, and Dionte Austin battle over the second spot.

There is a lot of time before that decision has to be made, but I would think that Henderson has the inside track to the second starting spot.

Another positive to this is how it will impact the handling of the true freshmen cornerbacks coming in. This puts less stress on the staff to play 1-2 of them and will pay off in 4 years when the Deacs get a fifth year out of them instead of wasting a year as a freshman.

This leaves Wake with two open scholarships for the fall if there is no other attrition.

Anytime Wake Forest can pick up an experienced starter from the SEC it is a great day.

Welcome to Wake Cedric, we are excited to have you as a part of the team and look forward to covering you in the fall!