ACC Quarterback Rankings: Optimistic Look at Key Position
How good a team is at quarterback generally dictates preseason predictions.
After all, there is no more important position in the game. Maybe prognosticators rely too much on quarterbacks in July and August, and maybe they miss out on diamonds in the rough like last year with LSU's Joe Burrow. But come December, look at who is in the College Football Playoff.
Last year, it was Ohio State's Justin Fields, Oklahoma's Jalen Hurts, Clemson's Trevor Lawrence and Burrow, the Heisman Trophy winner and national champ. You'll be hard-pressed to find someone who wouldn't have ranked the top QBs in the country with those four in some order.
How good you are at the position can also influence what people think of your conference. The ACC, and rightfully so, hasn't had the reputation as the strongest of leagues the last couple of years.
Clemson is dominating, winning five consecutive ACC titles and favored to run away with another a sixth, in part because the Tigers keep churning out blue-chip signal-callers. Meanwhile, the rest of the league hasn't exactly lit the NFL on fire with recent quarterbacks.
In 2019, Duke's Daniel Jones was taken sixth overall by the New York Giants, which some pundits believed was a reach, but still, he was a first-round pick. N.C. State's Ryan Finley was the only other ACC QB to get drafted, and he went in the fourth round.
In April, the ACC had more punters (1) selected in the 2020 NFL Draft than quarterbacks (0). The league was young at the position last year. Two of the top names, Clemson's Trevor Lawrence and North Carolina's Sam Howell, were sophomore and freshman, respectively.
So what does 2020 hold for the ACC at such a vital position? Well, maybe improvement. The league has a chance at an uptick in the level of competition, and that is due to several returning players who actually played well last year.
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Aside from Lawrence and Howell, other returning starters include Pittsburgh's Kenny Pickett, Syracuse's Tommy DeVito, Florida State's James Blackman, Louisville's Micale Cunningham, Virginia Tech's Hendon Hooker, Georgia Tech's James Graham. That's over half the league.
Other positives for the ACC:
- Miami brought in dynamic Houston transfer D'Eriq King, who could potentially fix the one position that's been a roadblock the Hurricanes' path to redemption.
- Wake Forest's Sam Hartman was the starter in 2018 before suffering an injury and losing his job to now-Georgia QB Jamie Newman.
- N.C. State's Devin Leary wasn't especially great in four starts last year but that experience should help him in 2020.
- Duke replaces Quentin Harris with former Clemson backup Chase Brice, who had his moment for the Tigers in 2018 against Syracuse.
- Virginia didn't get a look at new starter Brennan Armstrong in the spring, but they still feel good about Bryce Perkins' replacement.
- Technically, Notre Dame isn't a football member, but if 2020 turns out to be as wild as it's heading, we could see the Irish and QB Ian Book playing a predominately ACC schedule, and he's pretty solid.
- Boston College should see an increase in offensive production if Notre Dame transfer Phil Jurkovec receives an NCAA waiver for immediate eligibility. If he doesn't, new coach Jeff Hafley's first year might not go so well.
It's July, the month of optimism in college football. The ACC should be in better shape at quarterback than it has in the last two seasons. If so, the entire league will benefit and maybe shake off its weak, Clemson-heavy persona.
Here's a quick ranking of the ACC's quarterbacks:
1. Trevor Lawrence, Clemson: This is as easy as it gets. Lawrence is the best quarterback in this league by an extremely wide margin and is behind just Ohio State' QB Justin Fields in the Heisman Trophy odds.
2. Sam Howell, UNC: He led the ACC in passing yards per game as a true freshman, and the Tar Heels' hope of winning the Coastal Division rests on him avoiding a sophomore slump, but Howell has the stuff to be really good in this league.
3. D'Eriq King, Miami: He hasn't played since 2018, but King had 50 total touchdowns and led the AAC in passing yards per game that season. If he shakes off the rust, he could be a real weapon for Miami's new offense, led by offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee.
4. Micale Cunningham, Louisville: The dual-threat QB became very comfortable in Scott Satterfield's offense last year as Cunningham accounted for 17 of his 28 total touchdowns in the final five games.
5. Phil Jurkovec, BC: He needs to get eligible but the 6-foot-5 dual-threat QB was a highly-sought-after five-star prospect coming out of Pennsylvania and has the tools and the pedigree to move up this list in the postseason.
6. Hendon Hooker, Virginia Tech: It took a few weeks into 2019 for Justin Fuente to give Hooker the keys to this offense, but once he got comfortable, he produced 22 total touchdowns and can make the Hokies a Coastal contender in 2020.
7. Kenny Pickett, Pitt: He probably deserves more credit than he's getting after throwing for over 3,000 yards in OC Mark Whipple's offense last year, but he still had just 13 touchdown passes and needs more help from playmakers to be elite in this league.
8. James Blackman, FSU: One of the reasons for the ACC's of great QB play is because the Seminoles haven't had an elite one since Deondre Francois' freshman season of 2016. Blackman, who has over 5,000 career passing yards, has had way too many offensive coaches in his time at FSU, and he'll be pushed by some incoming freshmen, but the veteran could have a breakout year.
9. Sam Hartman, Wake Forest: It's been a while since Hartman has been the full-time starter, and he wasn't accurate enough for coach Dave Clawson's liking, but he's a veteran. Hartman will need healthy receivers to keep Wake's offense going.
10. Chase Brice, Duke: It's been said that Brice was the second-best QB in the ACC. Now he'll get a chance to prove it under QB guru David Cutcliffe. He'll be fun to watch in Durham this year.
11. Brennan Armstrong, Virginia: There will be a dropoff from Perkins to Armstrong, who isn't as fleet-footed but still has potential as a runner. He'll also be pushed by Mississippi State transfer Keytaon Thompson.
12. James Graham, Georgia Tech: It's not fair for any quarterback to have to go through a massive offensive transition and be graded good or bad, but Graham showed flashes of athleticism and is the Yellow Jackets' best option to bridge the gap between the triple-option era of Paul Johnson and Geoff Collins' modernization.
13. Tommy Devito, Syracuse: A QB as experienced as Devito shouldn't be this low, but he didn't do much last year to garner high expectations with his 2,360 passing yards and 19 touchdowns for a team that went 5-7. He was sacked 43 times.
14. Devin Leary, N.C. State: It's hard to like this Wolfpack squad right now, and Leary must improve upon his 50-percent completion rate, 1,219 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions.
