ACC Football took home the National Championship, its second in the past four years. Here’s a look at the top returning talent this spring.
The 2016 ACC football season saw the Clemson Tigers take home the National Championship this year. The Tigers could very well repeat this year as champions. But they’ll have their work cut out for them replacing quarterback Deshaun Watson and others.
Head coach Dabo Swinney will look to reload as other teams look to unseat the Tigers for the ACC Championship in 2017. The Tigers have dominated the Atlantic Division the past two seasons and look to accomplish a three-peat this year. But the Florida State Seminoles lurk in their shadow. Quarterback Deondre Francois is ready to break out even more in 2017.
The Coastal Division, on the other hand, is once again a wide open race. Duke and Virginia are the only teams who return their signal-callers in 2017. Both teams had a combined record of 6-18 last season.
The top three teams in the Coastal will all have work to do replacing some top quarterbacks in the ACC. Virginia Tech quarterback Jerod Evans, Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya and North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky both left early for the NFL Draft. Virginia Tech and Miami still have strong defenses returning, so it will be interesting to see if their offenses can keep pace.
Entering spring camps, here’s a look at the top 10 ACC players heading into spring games.
After a strong sophomore season, Florida State Seminoles defensive end Josh Sweat is prime for a big junior campaign in the ACC. He recorded 41 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks and a forced fumble in 2016.
Sweat had a breakout year last year despite playing behind defensive ends DeMarcus Walker and Brian Burns. Walker and Burns combined for 26.5 sacks in 2016 as well. With Walker heading to the NFL Draft, it gives Sweat the opportunity to have a big 2017 as the starter alongside Burns.
Sweat recorded 18 tackles, 4.5 sacks and his lone forced fumble of the season the Seminoles final three games. His biggest game in their annual rivalry game against the Florida Gators. Sweat had seven tackles, 2.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks in the Seminoles’ 31-13 victory. His ranking on this list may come a little low but with a big spring, things will probably change.
Pittsburgh Panthers wide receiver Quadree Henderson returns this spring with a lot of expectations. With the loss of quarterback Nathan Peterman and running back James Conner, he returns as the Panthers best offensive playmaker this spring.
Henderson recorded 60 rushes for 631 rushing yards and five touchdowns and caught 26 passes for 286 receiving yards and a touchdown. He averaged 10.5 rushing yards per game as a back in the Panthers offense. Henderson was second on the team in rushing yards behind Conner last season. He took jet sweeps all season long for first downs and touchdowns in 2016.
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Henderson also torched ACC on special teams in the return game to earn All-American honors as a returner. He racked up 914 kick return yards, three touchdowns, 252 punt return yards and a touchdown last season. He was second in the ACC in punt return yards (15.8) and kick return yards per return (30.5) in 2016, proving to be a lethal threat on special teams for Pittsburgh.
In 2016, Henderson recorded 917 yards from scrimmage and 1,166 total return yards. It will be interesting to see how the Panthers feature his playmaking ability this spring.
With quarterback Brad Kaaya off the NFL Draft, the Miami Hurricanes could rely heavily on running back Mark Walton in 2017. He returns as the Hurricanes leading rusher this spring.
Walton rushed for 1,117 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns last season. He also caught 27 passes for 240 rushing yards and a touchdowns. He ran for at least 100 rushing yards and seven touchdowns in the Hurricanes first three games last year.
The Hurricanes hit a tough stretch of games starting 1-5 in the ACC, losing four games in a row. Walton had a strong showing in the final five games of the season though. He ran for 468 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns to close out his sophomore season with Miami.
As the spring approaches, look for Walton to get a lot of carries in the Hurricanes’ offense. His production and rank certainly could go up with a good spring camp. The Hurricanes also have wide receiver Ahmonn Richards at receiver returning which could open up things for all parties as well.
Wide receiver Cam Phillips adjusted nicely in first-year head coach Justin Fuente’s pass-heavy offense. His season culminated with six catches for 115 yards in the Virginia Tech Hokies’ 35-24 comeback victory against the Arkansas Razorbacks in the Belk Bowl.
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Phillips finished 2016 with a career-high 76 catches for 983 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns. He was second on the team to receiver Isaiah Ford, who has departed for the NFL Draft along with starting quarterback Jerod Evans and tight end Bucky Hodges.
With their departures, it opens the door for Phillips to have a big role in the offense in 2017. He’ll have to bring along a new quarterback, but thats okay, maybe he can go for 100 catches as a result. With plenty of quarterbacks to choose from, there shouldn’t be too tough of a transition passing the ball with Phillips on the field. Spring will give us a good indication of what Phillips could bring to the as the leader of Hokies’ receiving core.
The North Carolina State Wolfpack list Jaylen Samuels as a tight end, but he’s been much more than that for their offense. He had 55 catches for 565 receiving yards and seven touchdowns and 33 carries for 189 rushing yards and six touchdowns for the Wolfpack in 2016.
Samuels was eighth in the ACC in touchdowns a season ago. While he did catch a lot of touchdown passes, most of it in the team’s Independence Bowl 41-17 victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores. He had six catches for 104 receiving yards and three touchdowns against the Commodores to close out the 2016 season. He also threw a 59-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Stephen Louis against the North Carolina Tar Heels. They won that game 28-21 to clinch bowl eligibility.
He led the Wolfpack in receiving touchdowns last season and with quarterback Ryan Finley returning, the duo should have a better 2017 season. They’ll need to replace running back Matt Dayes, who rushed for 1,166 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns to lead the rushing attack, but spring camp should show who will replace him. At 5-foot-11 and 223 pounds, Samuels could very well be the answer for the Wolfpack.
Clemson Tigers wide receiver Deon Cain had quite the coming out party in his sophomore season. He caught 38 passes for 724 receiving yards and nine receiving touchdowns for the National Champions.
Cain finished fourth in the ACC in receiving touchdowns in 2016. With much of the Tigers offense off to the NFL Draft, Cain returns as the Tigers biggest deep threat. He had two catches for 69 receiving yards in the ACC Championship Game against the Virginia Tech Hokies. In the National Championship Game against the Alabama Crimson Tide, he caught five passes for 94 receiving yards.
With a new quarterback under center, Cain should help the transition along smoothly. The Tigers will have to find the same offensive rhythm if they hope to return to the College Football Playoff. He was third on the team last season in receiving yards. With the top two receivers on the team off to the NFL Draft, he returns as their best receiver statistically.
Clemson Tigers defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence earned Freshman All-American and ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year honors on his way to a National Championship in his first year. He leads a strong Tigers defensive front this spring and he’s sure to be more explosive.
Lawrence had 62 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries in 14 games for the defending National Champions last year. The first-year defensive tackle had a big opening and finish to the season as a second team All-ACC honoree.
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He had seven tackles and a sack in the team’s season opening 19-13 victory over the Auburn Tigers. He recorded four tackles and a career-high two sacks in the team’s 42-35 ACC Championship victory over the Virginia Tech Hokies. Lawrence finished second on the team in sacks a season ago.
The spring will preview how Lawrence has developed on the Tigers defense along with a lot of other returning starters. They’ll need to replace departed senior defensive tackle Carlos Watkins but with Lawrence and others on the field, they should be okay.
Safety Derwin James had his 2016 season cut short after tearing his meniscus in his left knee and missing the remainder of the season. After taking a medical redshirt last season, James is ready to show he is healthy this spring.
He had the first interception of his career along with eight tackles in the team’s season opening 45-34 victory over against the Ole Miss Rebels back on September 5. He received ACC Defensive Back of the Week honors for his play that wee. The following week he went down with his season-ending injury against the Charleston Southern Buccaneers.
James was a preseason All-American before suffering his injury. Entering the spring, he enters as the potential anchor for a team that lost its sack leader, DeMarcus Walker to the NFL Draft. Back in 2014, James was named a Freshman All-American in his first year as starter. He had 91 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries during that season.
If the Clemson Tigers can return to form, it will be because of the strong play of defensive end Christian Wilkins. Despite losing starters on the defense, Wilkins gives a strong pass rusher off the edge for 2017.
With a strong spring, Wilkins can return to the player he was a season ago. He recorded 48 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, nine pass breakups and two fumble recoveries in 15 games. Wilkins earned first team All-American and second team All-ACC honors for his performance.
He led the team in tackles for loss and pass breakups, where he also ranked ninth in the conference. He had six tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack, a pass breakup and a fumble recovery in the team’s 19-13 season opening win over the Auburn Tigers.
The Tigers defense allowed just 18.0 points per game, 10th in the FBS. With a lot of youth experience returning this spring, the Tigers have a chance to have another strong defensive season with Wilkins on the front-four.
Louisville Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson won the Heisman Trophy in 2016. He will return in 2017 looking to do more than just that, starting with a strong spring.
The Cardinals lost their last three games of the season despite Jackson winning the Heisman Trophy. However, it wasn’t entirely on Jackson. He was sacked 22 times in the team’s final three games of 2016, including 8 in their 29-9 Citrus Bowl loss to the LSU Tigers.
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Jackson still threw for 3,543 passing yards and 30 passing touchdowns and rushed for 1,571 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns to earn ACC Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year last season. With some offensive line adjustments and finding new targets in the receiving game, Jackson could get the Cardinals high-powered offense to the College Football Playoff.
Louisville does have five offensive lineman incoming, one is an early enrollee. With some o-line help on the way, Jackson could show he has better production in the spring.