Happy Friday and welcome to another edition of the ACC Mailbag The AthleticBrendan Marks, Manny Navarro, Grace Rayner. Due to the large number of questions (approximately 70 questions in total!), we will send them in two parts. Today's mailbag will focus on the 18 teams on the field in the ACC and their 2024 prospects. Monday's mailbag will cover conference realignment and NIL.
As always, thank you for your questions.
Editor's note: Questions have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
How competitive will the conference's new members be this season? — Noah S.
The additions of SMU, University of California and Stanford bring the ACC's football roster up to 17 teams. None of the three will be immediate contenders in the conference race, and none of them will exactly strengthen the ACC from a competitive or optical standpoint. But they shouldn't be basement dwellers. It is also possible to make and finish the rice bowl while it is being packed.
Stanford and the University of California have competed at the Power 5 level before and will be better prepared for the level of competition. The Golden Bears return quarterback Fernando Mendoza after throwing for 1,708 yards, 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions as a redshirt freshman last season. Fernando Mendoza could be an interesting under-the-radar player to watch. And Stanford is hiring heavily under new coach Troy Taylor. The Cardinal's 2024 class was ranked 30th and included two top-250 prospects. That's all positive, but Cal has yet to experience a winning season since 2019, and Stanford finished with the nation's 91st-ranked offense and 132nd-ranked defense a year ago. That's why I wouldn't be surprised if SMU was the most successful of the new entrants at the end of the year.
Rhett Lashley inherited a quality program from Sonny Dykes, who returned to SMU as head coach after the 2021 season and continued to keep the Mustangs among the top offensive teams in college football. Granted, the defenses SMU will see in the ACC will be tougher than those the Mustangs will face in the AAC, but Lashley has looked to shore up his roster with plenty of Power 5 talent. . Since Lashley took over, SMU has signed him over 50 transfers, with over 40 of his transfers coming from the Power 5 level. Starting quarterback Preston Stone and leading rusher Jaylan Knighton return after the Mustangs went 11-3 a season ago. There is information that SMU will have him ready by 2024 with a manageable schedule. — Rayner
Here's something interesting. NCAA 2025 is about to be released on consoles, how do you think the Hurricanes will be evaluated? Who do you think has the highest evaluation offensively and defensively? — Trell V.
I love this question so much. First of all, I'm a 45 year old recovering from his NCAA football video game addiction. I spent way too much time playing this game in my 20s and early 30s. I feel like I have to declare that. Next time you want to delve down the rabbit hole of NCAA player ratings, I recommend you take a deep dive into his website here at Madden Ratings.
To answer your question, on paper I think Miami and Florida State are the two best teams in the league and would rank in the top 25. Clemson and Louisville are close behind and will likely be ranked or receive a vote. So I think Miami will probably receive a team ranking between 92 and 94.
For context, Miami's team rankings in the last four official games (2011-2014) were 92 (2010 season), 94 (2011 season), 91 (2012 season), and 90 (2013 season). Miami went 7-6, 6-6, 7-5 and 9-4 in those seasons. These teams featured 28 NFL draft picks, including players like Duke Johnson, Travis Benjamin, Sean Spence, Lamar Miller, Olivier Vernon, Denzel Perryman, and RayRay Armstrong.
When it comes to player rankings, I wanted to take a quick look at some of the Hurricanes' past greats and share how some notable players were rated in those games.
- Kenny Phillips (age 97 in 2008)
- Entrelle Roll (2005 97)
- Sean Taylor (age 97 in 2004)
- Kellen Winslow (age 97 in 2004)
- Allen Bailey (age 96 in 2011)
- Brandon Meriwether (age 96 in 2007)
- Eric Winston (age 96 in 2006)
- Vince Wilfork (age 96 in 2004)
- Orien Harris (age 95 in 2005)
- Bryant McKinney (age 95 in 2002)
- Ed Reed (age 95 in 2002)
- John Vilma (age 95 in 2004)
- DJ Williams (age 95 in 2004)
- Mike Rumph (age 94 in 2002)
- Frank Gore (age 92 in 2004)
- Duke Johnson (age 91 in 2014)
In my opinion, this Miami team has about 10 players (not including freshmen) who are probably future NFL draft picks and could be at the top of their individual rankings. Quarterback Cam Ward, running backs Damian Martinez and Mark Fletcher, receiver Xavier Restrepo, offensive linemen Jalen Rivers, Annes Cooper, Francis Mauigoa, defensive lineman Ruben Bayne, linebacker. Francisco Mauigoa and cornerback Damari Brown. Ward and Bane have to be the two most highly regarded offensively and defensively. — Navarro
How excited should we Duke fans be about a new coach and new QB Malik Murphy? — Christopher M.
We'll start with Murphy, who is the highest-rated quarterback prospect at Duke in the rankings era. Murphy was ranked the No. 12 QB and No. 179 overall in the 2022 recruiting class by the 247Sports Composite. So how excited should Duke fans be? I'd say 7 out of 10 or he's an 8. Murphy started two games as a redshirt freshman last season and totaled 418 passing yards and three touchdowns, good enough to keep Texas undefeated. But remember: He was throwing to three NFL-caliber pass catchers (Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell, J'Tavion Sanders) and passing to running back (Jonathon Brooks), the first pick in last week's NFL Draft. is. That means they have far better skill position players than Murphy has at his disposal in Durham. He also threw three interceptions in those two starts. On a related note, early rumors from Duke's spring practice were that Murphy had an absolute arm (see: deep ball highlights from last season), but that his accuracy was still developing. It's on its way. This kid is obviously incredibly talented, but I hope they give him a few games to work out his habits as a starter.
As for Manny Diaz, he may not have as outgoing and outgoing a personality as Mike Elko, but his three seasons leading Miami were better than you remember. Diaz went 21-15 (with one top-25 finish) and played elite defense. It's been a calling card for his career and fits well with Duke's culture and recent success on the field. — Mark
Official 😈 @SmvOperator pic.twitter.com/OrX9Xunoz5
— Duke Football (@DukeFOOTBALL) January 6, 2024
So, will the Tar Heels be 8-4 or 3-9 this season? QB play is completely unknown, so I don't know. — Raisel A.
Drake Maye was arguably the best quarterback in school history, but UNC went…8-5 last season despite being the No. 3 pick in last week's NFL Draft. Woof woof woof. Considering neither Max Johnson nor Connor Harrell are as good as Maye, I'm not very optimistic that the Tar Heels can achieve that mark this season (even with an incredibly favorable schedule). too).
Instead, regardless of who wins the QB battle (I'm still betting on Johnson due to the initial investment), Mack Brown's team will be as run-first as ever in his second stint in Chapel Hill. I hope that it will become. Omarion Hampton is one of the best backs in the country, and if Brown decides to go the 2QB route, it would take a lot of pressure off of whoever wins the job, or perhaps even both players. will be required. It's not inconceivable that UNC starts 4-0 with him. Minnesota, Charlotte, North Carolina Central, and James Madison aren't strong opening-rounders, but in that case he could win seven or he could win eight. If Brown can make this roster that far, it would be an incredible feat. — Mark
What is Syracuse's cap in Fran Brown's first year? The hire looks great, but can this new group of coaches take them to a higher, more consistent level? — Joseph S.
Recruiting looks great at Syracuse. The Orange just signed their first top-40 class in the modern recruiting era and already have 18 offers for the Class of 2025. There's a reason Brown's recruiting ability is widely admired, and it's not going away anytime soon. But you're right. Syracuse isn't going to change things overnight starting with the 2024 season. Reason for optimism: Brown and his staff have an experienced quarterback, former Ohio State starter Kyle McCord, and Orange returning star running back LeQuint Allen, who rushed for 1,064 yards in 2023. It is planned to acquire the following. Top tackler Marlowe Wax also returns, and the schedule is shaping up nicely for first-year Brown. The Orange are avoiding Clemson, Florida State, Notre Dame and North Carolina.
I think the ceiling is 8 wins. Ohio State, Holy Cross College, UNLV, Boston College, and UConn should all be manageable. Three more wins between Georgia Tech, Stanford, North Carolina State, Pitt, Virginia Tech, California and Miami would be a great first year for Brown. — Rayner
Will the arrival of new schools have a noticeable impact on recruiting for ACC schools in Texas and California? – Brian M.
Last year, I wrote a series of articles about the recruiting pipelines of all power conferences, including the ACC, and looked at how much in-state recruiting each school did from 2018 to 2023, and how much each school did. He pointed out which states attacked outside players the most. their borders.
After updating these numbers through the 2024 cycle, Florida (20 percent), Georgia (18 percent), North Carolina (12 percent), Virginia (8 percent), Maryland (4 percent), and New Jersey (4 percent) I can report that there are still. Unnamed ACC schools SMU, Cal and Stanford have been the main hubs for most of the shopping over the past seven cycles.
How much more are ACC's original companies hiring Texas and California? It's not that big. In the 2024 cycle, seven of the original 14 schools (Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Pittsburgh, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest) did not sign players from either state. The remaining seven signed for a total of 12 (three from California and nine from Texas). From 2018 to 2023, the league signed an average of about six players from California and nine from Texas. Looking at the list of 14 schools committed for the 2025 cycle, he has no commitments from California and a total of three schools from Texas. So so far the answer is no. — navarro
(Photo by Fernando Mendoza, Preston Stone and Ashton Daniels: Darren Yamashita, Gregory Fisher and Robert Edwards/USA Today)
