Within two hours of Wake Forest hiring Colorado State’s defensive coordinator to its coaching staff, the Deacons landed a commitment from a former Rams defensive lineman.

Nuer Gatkuoth committed to the Deacons on Friday afternoon, not two hours after the announced hiring of Freddie Banks as a defensive backs coach.

Gatkuoth is a 6-3, 235-pound defensive end from Canada. He redshirted in his first season with the Rams (2022) and was a breakout player for the Rams in 2023, landing on the Freshman All-America first-team, per The Athletic.

That season, Gatkuoth had 53 tackles, 6½ TFLs, one interception, one fumble forced and three passes defended. This past season, playing in only seven games, Gatkuoth had 15 tackles, four TFLs, one sack and one fumble forced.

Gatkuoth has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

He is the third transfer commitment to join the new regime at Wake Forest. Offensive lineman AJ Hasson, who redshirted in his first year at Washington State, committed to the Deacons on Thursday ahead of his scheduled visit (Friday-Sunday); wide receiver Sterling Berkhalter (Cincinnati), whose visit aligned with Gatkuoth’s in running from Wednesday to Friday, committed earlier Friday.

It’s a busy weekend for Wake’s new staff, which is putting back together the pieces of a roster that was left in flux with Dave Clawson’s abrupt resignation last month. Because of the coaching change, Wake’s players still have until Jan. 16 to enter the transfer portal.