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Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson will begin his first year in Winston-Salem with a first-year quarterback, naming true freshman John Wolford the starter for the season opener at Louisiana-Monroe.
“John Wolford is going to be our starting quarterback,” said Clawson. “We made that decision today after watching the tape of the scrimmage. Not just last night in the scrimmage but consistently through camp, he has executed the offense at the highest level. I think he gives us the best opportunity to win football games.
“We will try and redshirt players but if a freshman gives us the best chance to win, we’re going to play him. It’s not fair to the juniors and the seniors in the program to make a decision based on what’s best five years from now. He gives us the best chance to win so we will now prepare him as our starting quarterback. “
Wolford was a three-star prospect coming out of Bishop Kenny High School in Jacksonville, Fla.. There, the 6-1, 205-pound freshman broke Tim Tebow's state touchdowns record and set new state career marks for passing yards and all-purpose touchdowns.
Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson made it clear during the offseason that the true freshmen joining the roster would have a shot at the starting quarterback job after neither Tyler Cameron nor Frank Sousa did enough to win the job in spring practice.
“You always prefer to have experience at that position and you always prefer to have somebody who has had snaps in game situations but we were going to be starting a brand new quarterback no matter who we played,” Clawson said.
Wolford will make his debut on the road against ULM, who will be hosting a "Camo-Out" for the occasion on Aug. 28.
