Walk-on’s three picks, 11 tackles earn scholarship
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – A blood-stained black jersey with gold numbers and trim emerged from the huddle of Wake Forest football players gathered at the 50-yard line of Truist Field on Oct 24.
A cut suffered in the preceding Atlantic Coast Conference game blemished Nick Andersen’s chin, thus dripping down his jersey, serving as a battle scar from his efforts.
As he celebrated in all of his game-day glory, the true freshman walk-on was hoisted on the shoulders of his teammates for his performance in Wake Forest’s 23-16 victory against thenNo. 20 Virginia Tech.
“They were calling him ‘Rudy’ and they were chanting, ‘scholly, scholly,’ ” Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson said, acknowledging his players’ calls to reward the walk-on with a scholarship. “So I think we’ll definitely be taking care of that next semester.”
Andersen’s three interceptions and 11 tackles were at the center of a stout defensive showing by the Demon Deacons (3-2 overall, 2-2 ACC) that held a prolific Virginia Tech offense to a season-low point total and elicited the praise of his teammates.
“He is an absolute dog,” Wake Forest defensive tackle Sulaiman Kamara said. “For him to be a walk-on on a Division I level and do what he did these last couple games and (against Virginia Tech), that just shows you that if you put the time and dedication into anything, you can make anything happen. I’m absolutely so proud of him. When we brought him up in the middle of the field, everybody’s yelling, ‘Put him on scholarship,’ because he’s earned it. He has absolutely earned it.”
Andersen caught the gamesealing interception near midfield in the closing seconds as the Hokies (3-2, 3-2) attempted to construct a game-tying drive.
“We came out there, our mindset was to stop the run and make them beat us throwing the
ball,” Andersen said. “And we showed that our secondary, you try and test us and we’ll be ready for it.”
The 5-foot-11, 185-pound safety from Clifton, Virginia, said it was the first game he’s ever recorded three interceptions in, on any level of football. It’s the first time a Wake Forest player has recorded three interceptions in a single game since 1987 when A.J. Greene tallied four against Georgia Tech.
“That kid is the definition of a Wake Forest football player,” Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman said. “Gritty. Tough. It’s an honor to play beside him. It’s an honor to have him on my team. That kind of personifies why we’re going crazy out there. It’s guys like that make plays like that and just really excited.”
Andersen’s second takeaway came when Virginia Tech put together a promising drive that
worked its way into Wake Forest territory with the Hokies trailing by 10 in the third quarter.
“It’s really all in the week’s preparation,” he said. “It starts with our coaches and it ends up with the players. We’re in there every day, we’re watching film, countless hours of film. On the practice field, we’re intense and we’re treating every day like it is a Saturday game day. And that’s why when we’re called upon to be in position to make a play, we’re making plays.”
He hauled in his first interception late in the first half with Virginia Tech driving down the field and looking to even the score before halftime. Anderson made a diving grab in the end zone to haul in a deflection off the hands of the Virginia Tech intended receiver and preserve a seven-point lead.
Virginia Tech entered the game as the top rushing team
(312 yards per game) and second-highest scoring team (42.0 points) in the ACC.
Wake Forest held the Hokies to 210 rushing yards and 16 points.
“They come in here to Wake Forest, in our stadium, thinking they’re going to run for 300 yards?” Wake Forest defensive end Carlos “Boogie” Basham said. “Naw. We took that as disrespect. So we went out there every day working hard to do what we got to do for the game plan. They came in thinking they was going to run it; we shut that down.”
Virginia Tech running back Khalil Herbert led the country in rushing yards per game (148) entering the contest. Wake Forest contained him to 64 yards on 14 carries.
“Clearly, we had to do that and limit him and we did a great job,” Clawson said.