Wake Forest Might Have the Best Freshman QB in all of College Football
...The question is: how long will this staff be able to keep him off the field?
(Boromir) What is this new devilry?
A demon of the ancient world. This foe is beyond any of you. Run!
- Gandolf, Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
The Demon Deacons are probably the most under-discussed collegiate football program in America. For a school that continuously does more with less (this is a small private school in North Carolina), they have been surprisingly successful over the last nine or so years. For some context, we’re talking about a school that was 11-3 and rated within the top 10 of the CFP rankings at one point in 2021 (eventually finished 17th). This is also a program that has finished with a winning record six of the last seven full seasons (excluding the COVID year).
However, amongst those who have been paying attention, head coach Dave Clawson is regarded as one of the best coaches in the sport at the current moment. Not only does he have a solid track record of success on the field, his program has produced a number of productive CFF assets in the past, especially at WR.
Experienced CFF diehards will remember names like Sage Surratt, AT Perry, Jaquarii Roberson and Kendal Hilton. Of course, these players relied on a gunslinger who could get them the ball as well. Jamie Newman had a strong season in 2019. Then it was Sam Hartman’s turn in 2021 and 2022 to lead the charge, and lead he did. He scored 39 and 38 passing TDs in each of his two seasons as the starter. Another notable name—John Wolford, had himself a stellar season in 2017 accounting for 39 scores to only six INTs.
They’ve even had a 1000-yard tailback (Cade Carney did it in 2018 with 1005 yards rushing). And of course, there’s “the one that got away”, eventual superstar Kenneth Walker who shared a backfield under Clawson in 2020 before moving onto Michigan State in 2021.
Now, after a fairly pedestrian year from Mitch Griffis in 2023, we find ourselves in a QB battle for the starting spot this upcoming year. Griffis has since transferred out, and Hank Bachmeier is the veteran who was brought in to (presumably) start. However, nothing is ever a guarantee in CFB, especially with quotes like the ones below. From the spring game coverage back in April:
Hank Bachmeier completed 24 of 39 passes for 313 yards, with a touchdown and an interception.
Freshman Jeremy Hecklinski had a big day, completing 12 of 20 passes for 203 yards and three touchdowns. He was not picked off. Mizzell and Gilliam had their moments, but Hecklinski stood out.
Afterwards, [HC] Clawson said the quarterback battle remains open.
“We won’t name a starter until we have to . . . Last year in the Pitt game, we ended up playing our No. 3 quarterback. So anyone is in contention.”
To be clear, at the time it sounded like Hecklinski was third on the depth chart (at best), with Bachmeier as the presumed favourite to win the role, and Michael Kern still hanging around. However, as Clawson mentioned, last year they ended up rolling with their third stringer; so I’d keep your eyes peeled here for the first few weeks of the season. Some of the best freshman QBs in CFB history (e.g, Trevor Lawrence) didn’t take over until midway through the season.
Jeremy ‘Ice Man’ Hecklinski (6’0, 175)
Hecklinski originally found his way onto my radar as someone who follows UGA football recruiting heavily. His name was brought up on a few different boards by guys who apparently follow GA high school football closely. The six-foot tall gunslinger played at a big program called Walton, which is located in the northern part of the Atlanta metro. In recent years, several highly regarded prospects have emerged from that school, but H-dog has been considered the standout player since assuming the role as a sophomore in 2021.
Here are some of his accolades as listed on 247 Sports:
2023: MaxPreps National Player of the Year semifinalist. Carried Walton to a 14-1 record and an appearance in Georgia's AAAAAAA title game. Threw for 3,835 yards, completing 63.6% of his passes with 50 TD to go against 6 INT.
2022: Georgia Region 5-AAAAAA Player of the Year. Cobb County Offensive Player of the Year. As a junior, completed 194 of 305 pass attempts (63.6%) for 3,520 yards with 37 TD and 12 INT. Also carried the ball 50 times for 77 yards and 5 TD. Led Walton to a 10-3 record and the third round of the playoffs after an upset of Buford. In season-opener against Mill Creek, threw for a school-record 425 yards. Also tossed a school-record 98-yard score against Brookwood.
2021: Took over for starter Zak Roszman in the playoffs. Ended up starting a trio of games. Completed 100 of 166 pass attempts (60.6%) for 1,781 yards with 15 TD and 5 INT.
Just to be clear, that title game in 2023 was in GA’s seven A distinction, which is the highest level of play within the state. And, in case some of y’all have been under a rock lately, there’s some pretty good players—especially on defence—coming out of the state of GA right now.
In fact, looking at that 2022 synopsis, he would have faced 2023’s #1 safety (across all four major services) in Caleb Downs at Mill Creek, where he carved those boys up early for Thanksgiving dinner; he also led a comeback vs. Buford, which is basically like the IMG Academy of Georgia. Buford’s defence sported 2024’s #1 safety prospect in KJ Bolden, in addition to five star EDGE Eddrick Houston, and several other prospects that went on to commit to high major division one FBS programs.
All that to say, this guy isn’t going to blink when he sees ACC defences. No disrespect to the great Atlantic Coast Conference—everybody knows VP loves himself some ACC—but our boy here has been chewing up All-SEC/B1G level gangsters in high school for several years now, and I’m going to hazard a guess that he’s not going to be seeing a lot of KJ Boldens in his new conference.
Beyond the on-the-field accolades, which are obviously impressive, just look at my guy in the photo above. Mans is swagged out of his mind right now. Add on the fact that his last name is eerily similar to notorious serial killer Richard Kucklinski, and it’s no wonder that all the cool kids are calling him the ‘Ice Man’—it’s not just because he has ice in his veins...
His recruiting ranking won’t blow you away, but I think the lower score is simply due to his measurables. He’s certainly not a physical specimen the way some of the top rated QBs in the class are, but the guy just keeps on balling.
Here’s what 247 Sports’ Andrew Ivins had to say about the Ice Man coming out of high school:
A new-age gunslinger with some moxie. On the smaller side, but can whip the ball around the field and make defenses pay. Shows plenty of command on the field and tends to be at his best when his back is against the wall.
Owns a bit of an unconventional release, but gets the ball out quickly and can use a variety of different arm angles to challenge tight coverage windows.
Should be classified as more of a pocket passer, but can extend plays and sell run-pass options.
Put up big numbers as a junior in one of Georgia's highest classifications and picked up right where he left off as a senior, throwing for over 250 yards in back-to-back weeks against ranked opponents. Volatile play style won’t be for everyone, but has the tools to flourish in a high-volume passing attack and win games on Saturdays.
High volume passing attack is exactly what we’re looking for, and it sounds like Hecklinski might have found the perfect match in Wake Forest.
Here’s some quotes on him from a WF writer:
Hecklinski has added about 10 pounds since his commitment to Wake last December, putting him at 6-0, 185 pounds.
Hecklinski is a pro-style quarterback with better-than-average mobility rolling out of the pocket. His throwing motion is decidedly over-the-top and he has strong downfield capabilities with good accuracy. Because of his ability, compared to other quarterbacks in the league, he tends to thread passes into tight spaces with reasonable accuracy.
Coaching & System
QB1 PPG AVERAGE — HC: 25 — OC: 251 (four point passing)
Clawson joined the program as the head coach in 2014, taking over a team that had just suffered five straight losing seasons. His first two years were challenging as the Deacons finished 3-9 in both 2014 and 2015, before ultimately turning the program into a consistent winner from 2016 onward.
Part of the winning football that is being played on the field has to do with the development of the offensive skill players under Clawson and his OC Warren Ruggiero, who has been with Clawson since day one with the Deacons. Ruggiero spent time with Clawson previously at Bowling Green as the QBs coach and OC (2009-13).
Prior to Bowling Green and Wake Forest Clawson spent time as the OC of Tennessee (2008), and head coach at Richmond (2004-07), and Fordham (1999-2003).
Given that both coaches have been together for the last decade, their numbers will be exactly identical (see Table 1. below)
This is a system that has a tendency to move fairly quickly (2023 WF ranked 34th in seconds per play with 24.7). We can also see that in 2022 they averaged just over 21.5 seconds per play, which probably ranked in the top 10 of play calling pace across the FBS that year.
The run/pass tendencies are a bit surprising to me—I was expecting a heavier skew towards passing—but overall, the 55/45 run/pass split is fairly balanced. Some years have gotten away from that (2018, 2022), but in general that seems to be the rule of thumb for what to expect.
Closing
I mentioned some of the names that have come through the program at QB in the intro section; each of their campaigns has contributed to the strong 25 PPG average of the starting QBs under Clawson (and that’s under four point passing TD formats). Obviously, we can see that the opportunity is large here for whoever wins the role, but the QB has to be capable as well. Mitch Griffis was a disaster last year, but by and large, Clawson and his staff have found a good passer to lead the offence most seasons.
Hecklinski comes in as a decorated high school QB who excelled in what might be the best high school football circuit in the country right now, and it appears early on that the fit with the program is the right one for his skillset.
According to Campus2Canton, Hecklinski currently has no ADP data in C2C or DEVY formats… I’m just going to assume that that’s a glitch in the program because there’s no way that the Ice Man is really just going under the radar to that degree here in July—less than two months out from the season.
I get that the NFL upside may be seen as limited due to his size, but at the same time, Bryce Young got taken first overall two drafts ago. Similar to the profile I did on UW’s Demond Williams, it’s difficult to project what he’ll be at the next level (if he even makes it there), but the chances seem high that he is going to be a CFF producer before his time is done in CFB.
Unfortunately for Hecklinski (or maybe fortunate for him but unfortunate for us), one of the WF writers mentioned that Clawson typically likes to lean on experience:
Clawson leans toward having years to develop players before they are ready to start. It didn’t pan out with Griffis. His most experienced player within the Deacs system is clearly Kern, but you generally don’t go into the portal for a seasoned veteran like Bachmeier if he is not going to have a legitimate shot at starting. That would buy a year for the development of Gilliam and Hecklinski.
Even still, Hecklinski has one of the more open paths to early playing time amongst any of the 2024 QBs this year, and when he gets his shot, he might just take the torch and run with it. ◾
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Sample of 2018-2023.