Demond Claiborne has been on ‘Demon’ time for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons since stepping on the field. The 5-10 Junior RB’s stats looked scary in the 10 games he appeared for the Demons in 2023. He finished the season with 137 rush attempts for a career-high 586 yards gained and averaged 4.3 yards-per-carry with five rushing touchdowns another career-high. Heisman-like numbers, you think? The Demons, however, need some angels on the field as they trail 2-4. Crushed by the Clemson 49-14 on week 7.

But let’s stay away from the stats for now. Demond’s story runs deeper. Hailing from Aylett, Virginia, he grew up watching his mother, Tomeka Claiborne, struggling to feed their family. Inspired by her relentless work ethic, Demond adopted the motto that now drives his success, “I’ll never let my mother outwork me.”  

Sorry Demond but your mom is the actual hero!

And I bet he wouldn’t mind me saying that (Or) And he couldn’t agree more. Demond’s journey is one of grit, carried by the powerful example set by his mother, Tomeka Claiborne. As a single mother of five sons, Tomeka has been dodging through the tackles of life like her son is on the field. Juggling three jobs at once—at DoubleTree, Sheraton, and JCPenney, only to keep her family afloat. Raising five boys is no small feat, but for Tomeka, it’s been a labor of love.

Demond, the second-oldest. Shares a close bond with his twin brother Damien, along with his other brothers Monta, Roshaun, and Romell. With their father absent. Tomeka has been both mother and father, a role she embraced fully. “My mom did everything for me and my brothers. She was my backbone, I’ll go to war for that lady.” The Deacon’s battering ram once said, capturing the immense respect he holds for her. A solid mother-son bond, for sure.

Almost like returning the favor, Demond chose to commit to Wake Forest on his mother’s birthday, further showing the tight-knit connection he shares with her. If that doesn’t melt someone’s heart, I don’t know what will. It’s this admiration that fuels his desire to match his mother’s work ethic in everything he does on and off the field.

The motto that drives Demond Claiborne

“If she’s working three jobs, I’m going to do something that day to help me match up to the amount of hours she puts in,” a determined Demond said. This mindset reflects in his performance from his high school days at King William. There he led the Cavaliers to a 13-1 record and a state championship, to his current exploits at Wake Forest. Now we know why he runs like ‘an angry guy’ on the field. Channeling his emotions into strength, he attacks the game with the same vigor his heroine mother brings to her daily grind—treating every snap like it’s a battle he refuses to lose.

Demond’s success isn’t just talent—it’s built on hours of hard work, much like his mother’s relentless pursuit to provide for her family. “She works all day long. Most definitely my biggest hero,” Demond said of Tomeka. Who now is primed to be a starter and leader for the Wake Forest offense. For Demond, football is more than a game—it’s his way of repaying his mother for everything she’s done for him and his brothers. Now entering his junior season, he’s in line to be a starter for the first time. There will be plenty of eyeballs in the NFL draft on the Aylett native when the time comes, with one of them the proudest of them all, his mother.