2011 Pre-Spring Preview
Why To Be Grouchy - ACC
Click for each team's pre-spring
lookback and lookahead
Atlantic
Boston Coll |
Clemson
| Florida
St
|
Maryland
|
NC St
|
Wake Forest
Coastal
Duke |
Georgia
Tech |
Miami
|
North
Carolina |
Virginia
|
Virginia
Tech
2011 ACC Pre-Spring Preview
-
ACC Pre-Spring Rankings
-
Why Every Team Should Be Excited
- Why Every Team Should Be Grouchy
- What Every Team Needs To Work On
Atlantic
Boston College
An underachieving O-line loses three starters and two all-starters to graduation. As if moving the chains isn’t already daunting enough, patching up the front wall will make the challenge even tougher next fall.
Clemson
Last year’s lone constant, the defense, will have to be rebuilt. Not only has
star end Da'Quan Bowers departed Death Valley, but so has all-star DT Jarvis Jenkins and a big chunk of the secondary.
The stars are on the way, but it's a lot to ask for one big recruiting
class to pay off right away.
Florida
State
While QB E.J. Manuel has a considerable ceiling, there's some concern about him actually reaching it. He’s been spotty in brief appearances over the last two years, making quarterback a question mark heading into next season.
While he's a nice passer, he's not Christian Ponder and he still has to
prove he can be the type of playmaker who can take a good team to an ACC
championship level.
Maryland
Randy Edsall inherits a team that will be missing some key playmakers on both sides of the ball. The offense will be without
RB Da'Rel Scott and WR Torrey Smith, while top tackler Alex Wujciak leaves a big void in the middle of the D.
There's decent depth and plenty of good prospects, but finding
difference makers will be a key over the spring session.
NC State
The graduation of
LB Nate Irving leaves a gaping hole on defense. A star in his return from a life-threatening car accident, he racked up 92 tackles and 21.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage.
Making matters more difficult is that QB Russell Wilson almost certainly
won't be back. He's the type of player who can carry the Pack to a
special year
Wake Forest
Back-to-back losing seasons and just four wins in the last 18 games have the Demon Deacons reeling
a bit. Unlike the peak years under Jim Grobe, there aren’t many obvious next-level type players on the two-deep.
Coastal
Duke
Even with the program
taking a turn for the positive under David Cutcliffe, with an improved
ACC, the losing show no signs of stopping as Duke struggles to get out of the
conference basement. The mood would be a little brighter around Durham if the team hadn’t won just three times
one year after winning five.
Georgia
Tech
After slipping below .500 for the first time since 1996, the momentum of 2009 has disappeared
even though things are supposed to be in place after Paul Johnson has
had time to work. Georgia Tech will look to recapture it without Josh Nesbitt, who played such an important role when the program was thriving,
and with a bit of a quarterback battle to deal with.
Miami
The Canes accumulated
plenty of baggage in 2010 and there are a fair amount of bad habits that need to be undone
by the new coaching staff. Randy Shannon didn't do a poor job, but the
team could stand to be far tighter across the board (like turnovers and
key third down stops). The cornerbacks will be new after all-star Brandon Harris opted to forego his final year and enter the NFL Draft.
North
Carolina
Even with so many young players seeing time last season, there's still going to be a learning curve in several key areas. The quarterback situation has to be solid right away as T.J. Yates will be missed, and even with the influx of new talent, you don't lose the players the Tar Heel defense gave up and become stronger.
Virginia
Virginia has just one returning all-star, CB Chase Minnifield,
and a lot more like him have to quickly emerge or else this will be yet
another afterthought of an also-ran season. Quarterback is going to be a big issue for
an offense that boasts neither experience nor sure-fire veteran talent,
and to many inexperienced players could be thrown to the wolves simply
because they're more talented
Virginia
Tech
While the team will find a new feature back, likely David Wilson, it could take more than a year to adequately replace
Tyrod Taylor. A terrific leader and playmaker, his durability actually
turned out to be a negative at times; his ability to stay on the field prevented some of the younger kids from getting reps.
Losing running backs Ryan Williams and Darren Evans is hardly a step
forward.
Click for each team's pre-spring
lookback and lookahead
Atlantic
Boston Coll |
Clemson
| Florida
St
|
Maryland
|
NC St
|
Wake Forest
Coastal
Duke |
Georgia
Tech |
Miami
|
North
Carolina |
Virginia
|
Virginia
Tech
2011 ACC Pre-Spring Preview
-
ACC Pre-Spring Rankings
-
Why Every Team Should Be Excited
- Why Every Team Should Be Grouchy
- What Every Team Needs To Work On