Dan Caldwell, a 6’2, 235-pound punter from Oxford, Alabama visited Wake Forest this past weekend and came away with his weekend in Winston-Salem. “Plack was my host,” Caldwell said of the All-American kicker. “He’s a tremendous guy. We see eye to eye on everything. People around here know that I’m a spiritual leader and he was too. It as my first visit to Winston-Salem and I like the downtown but then there’s the small campus and I like the small atmosphere there.”
With his official visit to Wake Forest complete, Caldwell is now pondering a commitment to Wake Forest – and notes that it may come to fruition shortly. “I really enjoyed my visit and am really close to committing,” Caldwell said. “I feel confident I can fill [Ryan Plackemeier’s] shoes. “There’s no doubt that Plack’s going pro and knowing what Coach Mitchell can do with punters, it is a very, very exciting opportunity...”
In fact, Caldwell believes it is an opportunity that he may jump on soon. “I’d say within the next week,” he said. “I’m thinking about it, praying about it and talking to people I know. I’m expecting to be a Deacon and maybe in the next week.”
While the Deacs have shown immense interest in Caldwell, he has remained under the radar from other major college football programs. “Honestly though, it’s strange,” Caldwell noted. “As big of a program as Wake Forest is, you would expect other big schools to be in there. Wake Forest is the only big school I have an offer from and the only school that has treated me that way. I think it’s God’s way of saying this is what you’ve worked for and this is what you’ve got. I feel it’s his will to make it such an easy decision for me.”
If it is, in fact, such an easy decision and the Deacs receive a commitment, Wake Forest will be bringing in an impressive punting prospect who has put up big numbers over the past couple of years. Caldwell averaged 44-yards per punt as a junior and averaged 43-yards per punt during his senior campaign including a long of 73-yards. He was also a perfect 30-30 on extra points and 3-3 on field goals as a senior.
While he both punted and kicked field goals in high school, he knows his role at Wake Forest would primarily be as a punter. “They fully informed me that [Sam] Swank’s the man [as the kicker,] he’s a freshman All-American and all,” Caldwell noted. “They like the punter to be backup kicker and kicker to be the backup punter.”
While Caldwell, who has already qualified academically for admission at Wake Forest, may very well commit to Wake Forest, another prospect who was in town this past weekend committed on his visit. Teddy Tomlin from Lake City, Florida committed to Wake Forest while in Winston-Salem. “Teddy, you can tell he’s a fun guy to be around,” Caldwell said. “I think he knew he was going to be a Deacon all along but didn’t even tell his mom. You could see it the whole weekend.”