:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/68616300/1286250950.0.jpg)
2021 is already off to a brutal start for Wake Forest football as Wake has lost 2 more players to the transfer portal.
Sophomores Kenneth Walker III and Trey Rucker decided today to officially enter the transfer portal and look for new homes for the 2021 season.
Walker rushed for 1,158 yards and 17 TD, including 13 touchdowns this year, before opting out towards the end of the season. Rucker racked up 84 tackles, 2 tackles for loss and 2 interceptions during his 2 years at Wake, but missed a decent chunk of the season with a foot injury.
I mean overall it’s a slight shock. Both factored into being either a co-starter or a good depth piece(Walker and Rucker respectively) and well it’s a gut punch to Wake that seemingly every single year loses a major piece to the team.
2016: Mike Elko to ND
— Conor O'Neill (@ConorONeillNOO) January 4, 2021
2017: Jessie Bates III enters NFL
2018: Greg Dortch enters NFL
2019: Jamie Newman enters portal
2020: Kenneth Walker III enters portal
You're going to lose key ingredients after every season; the biggest factor becomes how prepared you are to deal with it.
The running back room now consists of Christian Beal-Smith, Quinton Cooley, Justice Ellison, Ahmani Marshall and incoming freshman Will Towns. CBS is a very good back in his own right, while Cooley and Ellison both flashed in their opportunities, but it still hurts losing a back like Walker.
In terms of Rucker, he was one of the better safeties on the team with healthy, and with a unit that struggled with injuries mightily throughout all of last season, it will be interesting to see how they handle this moving forward.