ACC Kickoff preview: Storylines to track this week in Charlotte
An indicator of a quickly-approaching new college football season are the weeks in mid and late July filled with conference media days.
The Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC have already held theirs, and this week the ACC gets its few days in the spotlight. Beginning Tuesday and running through Thursday, league administrators, coaches and select players will descend on Charlotte for the ACC Kickoff, which has expanded from two days in past years to three days this go-around.
Attendees from Virginia are coach Tony Elliott, quarterback Tony Muskett, running back Perris Jones and defensive end Chico Bennett. Virginia Tech is sending coach Brent Pry, wide receiver Ali Jennings, tight end Nick Gallo and defensive tackle Josh Fuga.
The Hoos and Hokies will arrive to meet the media on Wednesday, but the three-day event begins Tuesday morning, when ACC commissioner Jim Phillips is scheduled to answer questions during his annual state-of-the-league news conference.
Tuesday follows with representatives from Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami and Syracuse, and on Wednesday, UVa and Virginia Tech will be joined by Duke, Florida State and Pittsburgh. Thursday concludes with Boston College, Clemson, North Carolina, N.C. State and Wake Forest.
Here are the on-field storylines to track throughout the week:
FSU’s push to challenge Clemson
The ACC’s decision to scrap divisions has made way for its two perceived favorites — at least according to preseason magazines and prognostications — to meet in the league title game this year. And, perhaps, that’ll boost the chances for the conference to put a team in the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2020 when Clemson and Notre Dame, which played as a member of the ACC during the pandemic campaign, both reached the CFP.
That thought seems to hinge, though, on whether or not this fall Florida State can actually challenge the Tigers, who’ve won the ACC title in seven of the last eight seasons.
Both Clemson and FSU, former Atlantic Division foes, are rated preseason top-12 teams by Phil Steele and Athlon Sports, and are likely to fall in that range in the AP’s Preseason Top 25, too.
The Seminoles went 10-3 a season ago and return 17 starters, including quarterback Jordan Travis and standout defensive end Jared Verse. They haven’t gone into a campaign with more hope since the mid-2010s when they were regulars in New Year’s Six games.
FSU was an abysmal 19-27 from 2018 through 2021.
So, on the heels of an impressive 2022, expect fourth-year coach Mike Norvell, Travis and Verse to be asked about expectations and what a reemerging FSU program could do for the ACC. The schedule is difficult early with a tilt against LSU in Orlando for a marquee non-conference opener on Sept. 3 and later that month the Seminoles hit the road for a showdown at Clemson.
The Tigers are experienced on the offensive line, talented on the D-Line and bring back quarterback Cade Klubnik. But they are changing offensive systems after longtime coach Dabo Swinney hired offensive coordinator Garrett Riley away from TCU.
Plenty of QBs on hand
Travis and North Carolina’s Drake Maye headline the list of 11 quarterbacks who are scheduled to be in the Queen City this week. The only schools that aren’t bringing a quarterback are Georgia Tech, Louisville and Virginia Tech.
And Maye, the 2022 ACC Player of the Year, is considered one of the top prospects for the 2024 NFL Draft, but he’s got a new offensive coordinator in Chip Lindsey and there will be questions about how the transition from former OC Phil Longo’s scheme to Lindsey’s system is going. Maye threw for 4,321 yards and 38 touchdowns and rushed for 698 yards and seven more scores last fall, and has the best Heisman Trophy odds, per BetMGM, of any ACC player entering the season. The ACC hasn’t had a Heisman winner since former Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson won it in 2016.
Travis threw for 3,214 yards and 24 touchdowns compared to only five interceptions last fall.
Same faces, new places
Two of the quarterbacks slated to speak this week have been to ACC Kickoff previously, but with their former schools.
Ex-UVa signal-caller Brennan Armstrong transferred to N.C. State and ex-Boston College quarterback Phil Jurkovec departed for Pittsburgh, and they will show up to represent their respective new programs.
Armstrong’s lackluster 2022, in which he threw only seven touchdowns compared to 12 interceptions prompted him to reunite with his former offensive coordinator Robert Anae in Raleigh. Jurkovec is doing the same in his move to Pitt, where former Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. holds the same gig. Both Armstrong and Jurkovec will be peppered with inquiries about what it’ll take to regain their top forms.
Looking to bounce back
UVa, Virginia Tech and Miami each had new head coaches last year, and all three programs are in need of a stronger second season with their coaches this fall.
Elliott and the Hoos went 3-7, but can be encouraged by the strides the defense made under coordinator John Rudzinski. The Cavaliers gave up 31.8 points and 466 yards per game in 2021, but Rudzinski — with largely the same group of players left behind by the previous regime — lessened those numbers to 24 points and 358 yards allowed per game in 2022. They need their offense to do some major catching up, though, and are hopeful Muskett can aid them in the process.
At Virginia Tech, Pry is looking for more consistency from returning quarterback Grant Wells and hoping Jennings, a transfer from Old Dominion who was third in the country for receiving yards per game (106.6) last year, can help grow the passing game and push the Hokies forward in their pursuit to improve upon their 3-8 showing last year.
Miami coach Mario Cristobal has new offensive and defensive coordinators with Shannon Dawson coming in from Houston to run the offense and Lance Guidry from Marshall to run the defense. The Hurricanes were a disappointing 5-7 in 2022.
