Wake Forest’s recent road game upset to Duke wasn’t just met with criticism. For one particular player, it also opened doors for fans taking things too far with death threats. In fact, things got so serious that the player was forced to come up with a plea on social media.

“The death threats need to stop !! Especially from Wake fans,” wrote running back Demond Claiborne on X. “4 years, I’ve given this program all I had, stayed true to my commitment even when it wasn’t no light at the end of the tunnel. (So Stop) and leave my family and teammates /coaches out of it!! Deac FL❤️.”

Demond accumulated just 58 rushing yards in the game without a touchdown. However, what drew massive ire were the two fumbles that were instrumental in ultimately handing Duke the 49-32 win.

The first instance came with 8 minutes and 42 seconds remaining in the second quarter when the Demon Deacons had a 1st down and 10 at their opponent’s 23-yard line. Wake Forest quarterback Robby Ashford handed the ball to Claiborne, resulting in a fumble. It was recovered by Duke’s defensive tackle David Anderson.

Then, with six minutes and 38 seconds remaining in the game, Ashford’s pass to the running back was punched out by Duke cornerback Chandler Rivers. Linebacker Luke Mergott recovered the ball at his team’s 18-yard line.

But that aside, Claiborne has largely been a reliable player for the team. Against UNC, he rushed for 98 yards and a touchdown. Against Oregon State in October, he rushed for 144 yards and one TD. Not to mention, the 22-year-old also put in an incredible 193 rushing yards performance against Western Carolina with a staggering three touchdowns.

As for Wake Forest’s recent loss, it wasn’t Claiborne’s fault alone. The team played its worst defensive game of the season, a stark downfall from their three-game winning streak earlier this month. They committed four turnovers and were flagged eight times for 97 yards, as opposed to Duke’s zero turnovers and five flags for 50 yards.

Expectedly, Deacons head coach Jake Dickert was not happy.

“Every 15-yard defensive penalty is an explosive play,” the head coach said of the game where two penalties by his team on the first two Duke drives gave the latter almost 60 yards. “You stack those. You get two explosive plays on a drive, you’re going to give up touchdowns. That’s exactly what we did. Sometimes you’ve just got to be better in those kinds of moments.

“In the big, critical moments, they made big critical plays. They were the more physical team at the line of scrimmage. We’ll have to watch the tape to see why. They beat us decisively in every area. I’ll take that on me, and we’ve got to move on.”

Well, they’ll have to “move on” fast enough to not repeat the same mistake for their upcoming bowl game.