He would never want the attention or distinction that would come with it, but Brandon Hourigan has been one of the most-important factors in Wake Forest’s ability to develop high-caliber football players during Dave Clawson’s tenure.
As the head of the Deacons’ strength and conditioning program, Hourigan spends more time with players during the spring and summer months than any other staff members.
Until now.
Hourigan is leaving Wake Forest to join Clark Lea’s staff at Vanderbilt, as confirmed by a source close to the program. The move was first reported by Pete Thamel of Yahoo! Sports.
Hourigan came to Wake Forest from Bowling Green, where he worked with Clawson for the last three years of his tenure. That’s not the extent of their experience together: Hourigan was Clawson’s strength and conditioning coordinator for three years at Richmond with Clawson.
Lea is a former Wake Forest assistant and more recently has been Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator for the past three seasons. He was hired at Vanderbilt, his alma mater, last month.
Hourigan is one of the more beloved members of Wake Forest’s staff — snippets of that could be found in the reaction to Thamel’s tweet.
Without sparking too much of an adverse reaction here, losing Hourigan is as big a loss as any player attrition that has occurred or will occur before next season.