Despite not making the College Football Playoff, Colorado star Travis Hunter did enough on the field to convince voters he was worthy of the Heisman Trophy.
Wake Forest football's Dave Clawson is reportedly stepping down from his role as head coach, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Monday.
Clawson, 57, led the Demon Deacons to a 4-8 record this season after also going 4-8 in 2023. Thamel said Clawson is expected remain at the school in an advisory role.
Clawson ends his Wake Forest tenure with a 67-69 record, as his best season came in 2021 when the Demon Deacons finished 11-3 and won the Gator Bowl over Rutgers to end the season ranked No. 15 in the US LBM Coaches Poll. Wake Forest also finished as the ACC runner-up after falling to Pitt in the conference championship that season.
Clawson started his career head coaching career at Fordham, where he spent 1999-2003 before taking the job at Richmond, where he finished 29-20 in four seasons. He then coached five seasons at Bowling Green, leading the Falcons to a 10-3 record before taking the Wake Forest job.
Here's why Clawson is stepping down from Wake Forest:
Clawson reportedly made the decision himself, as he felt it was time to stop coaching, comparing the move to former Washington coach Chris Petersen and former Virginia basketball coach Tony Bennett, according to Thamel.
Thamel reported Clawson is taking the season off to "recharge and refresh" after being a head coach in 25 of the last 26 seasons.
Thamel also added Clawson has turned down offers from multiple other programs over the last few years to stay at Wake Forest.
The everchanging landscape of college football likely also contributed, as Thamel pointed out, with Wake Forest struggling to keep its players over the last few seasons with productive players leaving for bigger programs and potentially more name, image and likeness money.
Wake Forest famously lost starting quarterback Sam Hartman to Notre Dame, who played his final season for the Fighting Irish after spending five years with the Demon Deacons. Thamel also mentioned Wake Forest team members believed they played against players with larger NIL packages than its entire team this season.