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Kenneth Walker and Trey Rucker enter Transfer Portal

I completely get KWIII as he is an absolute stud RB that is going to go nuts as a primary back that should be getting 25+ touches a game. CBS is a solid back but nowhere near the explosion or power of KWIII and crazy for KW to only be getting just under 15 carries a game. He sees how Newman could go to a big name school/CFP contender and thinks he can go to a similar school and be the man. Or even a lesser school like Wiscy that is going to run a more traditional power running game and know he is going to get touches. Either way he thinks his upside is more than 15 carries per game which doesn't allow him to really garner the stats and attention for NFL scouts.

Trey is a bit more worrisome as no idea why he would leave and he looked like a stud DB for us.
 
I guess Rucker's afraid he can't take playing time back from Anderson. He flipped from Maryland to Wake and now he's in the portal two years later after a good freshman season and a broken foot this year.

We rescued a low 3-star Kenneth Walker from a college career at fucking Kent State, hand him the ball constantly, and this is the thanks we get ? He's a good back, but where the hell does he think he's going to play where he's going to be the focal point of the running game ? He's going to be the second or third option (or buried on the bench) at a "bigger" P5 school that can reel in 4-star and 5-star running backs every year. Or he can go play at fucking Akron or whatever.

I don't understand these kids.

Head scratcher...
 
Man, KW is such a good back this sucks. I never understood why CBS and KW virtually split carries given the significant discrepancy in their abilities.

I never understood why people seem to think that KWIII is a significantly better back than CBS.

CBS - 142 carries for 732 - 5.2 avg per carry
KWIII - 119 carries for 579 - 4.9 avg per carry

Walker found the endzone a lot more. Some of that was due to a tremendous ability to stay on his feet around the goal line, and some of it due to his role in the goal line wildcat. If the roles had been reversed, I think you could have seen the TDs be split more closely though I can't seem to find anything that tells me which of Walker's TDs were direct snaps.

Walker is a nice home run hitting back and will be missed. Walker certainly flashes watching the games in person, but the production is fairly similar.
 
There is something seriously wrong with the culture at Wake Forest. Entirely too many kids, in both basketball and football, have looked for the exits in situations where kids at other schools wouldn't think about leaving.

i think football and basketball are very different

basketball transfers have been because we suck

football transfers seem to me to be because some of our top players can probably raise their profile at a "bigger" football school (whether we want to admit it or not)
 
Maybe there is some frustration with the program after not being properly utlized this year. This loss to this sorry Wisconsin team really has been hard to take....
 
Think everyone here is too focused on WF and KW3 and not considering outside influences.

KW3 has been home in Tennessee for more than a month. When Walker initially opted out, he posted on Twitter that he would be back. It's not like KW3 suddenly woke up in January and felt like he wasn't getting enough carries or didn't like the RPO. College football is dirty dirty. You can bet that messages have been sent by multiple programs through intermediaries (e.g., HS coaches, HS teammates, any other connection) suggesting that KW3 enter the portal so that competing schools can directly recruit him. These schools aren't dumb enough to text or call KW3 directly, but they have ways of communicating with players to skirt those rules. Guessing KW3 has been recruited for awhile and based upon that, he decided to explore his options.
 
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hope that Walker doesnt up in Chapel Hill. They need a one year bridge. He would absolutely kill it in that offense. Think they have entire OL coming back.
 
Well that would pretty much guarantee that we beat them next year. I’d be livid if I was a Wake player. And very fired up to dish out some punishment
 
I never understood why people seem to think that KWIII is a significantly better back than CBS.

CBS - 142 carries for 732 - 5.2 avg per carry
KWIII - 119 carries for 579 - 4.9 avg per carry

Walker found the endzone a lot more. Some of that was due to a tremendous ability to stay on his feet around the goal line, and some of it due to his role in the goal line wildcat. If the roles had been reversed, I think you could have seen the TDs be split more closely though I can't seem to find anything that tells me which of Walker's TDs were direct snaps.

Walker is a nice home run hitting back and will be missed. Walker certainly flashes watching the games in person, but the production is fairly similar.

Walker is a much better back at finding space, even when little is there, he is a tougher runner (CBS rarely breaks tackles) and he is as big a home run threat as CBS. CBS had good numbers this year and played well, but Walker has a lot more upside then CBS .
 
i think football and basketball are very different

basketball transfers have been because we suck

football transfers seem to me to be because some of our top players can probably raise their profile at a "bigger" football school (whether we want to admit it or not)

You mean like both Boogie and Sage who have been listed as first rounders at many sites? What about like Jesse Bates or Kevin Johnson 🙄 it’s ridiculous to suggest an athlete need go somewhere else to be a top pick
 
You mean like both Boogie and Sage who have been listed as first rounders at many sites? What about like Jesse Bates or Kevin Johnson 🙄 it’s ridiculous to suggest an athlete need go somewhere else to be a top pick

Yeah that’s not what he said at all.
 
Why else would they need to raise their profiles?
 
This sucks. That said, Clawson always figures these things out and I'll put my money on him every damn day.
 
Why else would they need to raise their profiles?

Real or imagined, there are about a dozen reasons a player might choose a bigger name football program. Among them:

-More TV exposure and/or better time slots
-Presumably lesser academic requirements
-Larger fan base/better fan support
-Simply playing on a better team

Realize that virtually all of these kids dreamed of playing at a name program growing up and didn’t have that chance coming out of HS. Some now may see that chance and have a no-penalty window to transfer and play right away. Everyone knows that if you are an NFL caliber player you *can* make it there from WF. But to pretend that there are no advantages to playing for a more traditional power program is just silly.
 
Real or imagined, there are about a dozen reasons a player might choose a bigger name football program. Among them:

-More TV exposure and/or better time slots
-Presumably lesser academic requirements
-Larger fan base/better fan support
-Simply playing on a better team

Realize that virtually all of these kids dreamed of playing at a name program growing up and didn’t have that chance coming out of HS. Some now may see that chance and have a no-penalty window to transfer and play right away. Everyone knows that if you are an NFL caliber player you *can* make it there from WF. But to pretend that there are no advantages to playing for a more traditional power program is just silly.

You forgot cash.... That is the major motivator. The rest of it not really that much of an influence.
 
i think it's totally reasonable to think someone like walker (who is 20 years old) getting a bit emotionally upset at not being the starter / nominated for all-acc and wanting to transfer as a result. i think we all see the same thing at work with fully grown adults. i have no idea if that is why he's transferring, but there's no way that didn't sting. i'd say most decisions we make are driven by emotion as much as logic, esp. for college kids. i'd also say managing those might be the biggest part of a coach's job. (not saying clawson is to blame, or if there is any blame at all)
 
I didn't even know somebody had to be nominated for an all-conference team until I read this thread. And I don't know how that information (that he wasn't nominated) would find its way to the general public.
 
It sucks losing KW3. Is it guaranteed CBS comes back?

Was impressed with Ellison this season. Heard good things about Cooley before he got hurt.
 
I didn't even know somebody had to be nominated for an all-conference team until I read this thread. And I don't know how that information (that he wasn't nominated) would find its way to the general public.

Conor told us bc folks were surprised that he didn't get at least Honorable Mention, having scored many TDs on the year
 
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