Chuck Wade, Jr. ('19), a former standout player and 2018 team captain, has returned to the Wake Forest Football program as an offensive analyst, head coach Dave Clawson announced.

Wade, who graduated with a degree in communication three years ago, has always wanted to better the lives of those that are around him.

"I'm proud of Chuck because I have a personal relationship with him and he deserves this," Jaboree Williams said. "It feels good and shows that the coaches are bringing in guys who are young and had the opportunity to be coached by them. They are starting a movement to bring back those guys who have been in the program to help the current players develop."

"Chuck is like my brother and he's a great hire," Elontae Bateman said. "This shows that the coaches are allowing people who played for them and are familiar with the culture the opportunities to come back as staff members to make an impact and build the culture in other ways."

A 2015 graduate of Bishop Kenny High School in Jacksonville, Wade began his college football career at Wake Forest as a wide receiver in the summer of 2015. As a freshman, he quickly made an impact for the Deacs, collecting 33 receptions for 348 yards while leading the team in kickoff return yards. He continued to be a productive wideout and returner during his sophomore and junior years as well. 

"Chuck Wade was a tremendous teammate and someone that helped change the culture of our wide receiver room and overall program at Wake Forest," associate head coach Kevin Higgins said. "His return to our offensive staff is of tremendous value as he has a great football mind and understands what we need to do to help our young men find success on and off the field during their time in Winston-Salem."

Prior to his senior season in 2018, Wade met with the staff and decided that it would be best for the team if he changed positions and became a defensive back. Amidst his selfless and team-first attitude, Wade was voted a team captain for the season and tallied 63 tackles, two tackles-for-loss and one interception that fall.

"Chuck Wade is a person of high character that has been in the position of all our current players and is an aspiring young coach with a great football IQ," head coach Dave Clawson said. "After being a successful wide receiver for the first three years of his career, Chuck saw that we were thin at defensive back and changed positions before the betterment of the team. His unselfishness led to him being a captain within our program and he is someone that embodies what our program is about. Chuck has done a great job for us since he returned to our staff and we really value having former players on staff who can relate to our student-athletes and help them grow on and off the field."

Following Wade's career at Wake Forest, his first position was as a marketing internship with the Atlantic Coast Conference where Wade was a sales representative with the league, focusing on generating exposure for the ACC Women's Basketball tournament. He returned to his high school alma mater in 2020 to be the defensive backs coach for the football team and he has also worked in the corporate setting as a client solutions executive for the past two years before returning to Winston-Salem. 

"It feels crazy to be back at Wake Forest and extremely nostalgic," Wade said. "When I was here as a player we did not have the Sutton Sports Performance Center and all the incredible facilities our program has now. Being back and having the ability to embrace our players to help them and share experiences of when I was a player here has been very special. I am really glad to be back at Wake Forest."

Wade joins his former teammate and current Director of Player Development Wendell Dunn on the Wake Forest football staff. Dunn ('17, '19) was appointed to his role a year ago and his role of mentoring student-athletes off the field was made possible through a generous gift by Billy Prim to create the Football Player Career Development fund. 

"As we can see, these guys now have everything with the new facilities, technology, and winning the big games," Williams shared. "Guys like Wendell and Chuck can remind the guys that this took hard work and we can't forget the little things like going to class and eliminating the off field distractions."

"It affects the athletes in a positive way, to see alumni striding in spaces on and off the field after graduating," Bateman said. "Current players can see actual proof that when you commit to the program as a student-athlete that there may be opportunities to come back as an alum and even be on the staff. This is the start of a new tradition for Wake Forest football current players and alumni."