ACC loaded with experienced QBs in 2021, but teams need to step up

Uiagalelei started against Boston College last season and led a comeback win.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Thu Jun 10 08:00:05 GMT-04:00 2021

The in-person ACC Football Kickoff media event is back, and while we still have 41 days until we all meet in Charlotte to discuss the upcoming season, it’s not too early to say what everybody around the country is already saying – the ACC needs a team besides Clemson (and maybe UNC) to be really good in 2021.

We all know that Clemson’s schedule is not very good – when you have just six home games and two of them are against SC State and UConn, it makes for a drab season, even one after COVID. People want night games and excitement and ranked teams and right now there isn’t anything close to that on the schedule after Sept. 4.

But don’t give up on the ACC just yet. There is promise, and it starts with the quarterbacks.

Of course, the Tigers are and will be the favorites to win a seventh consecutive ACC Championship. North Carolina will be good, but I am not sure they are ready to challenge the kings, especially considering what the Tigers bring back on defense (which is pretty much everybody).

Clemson tied for No. 1 in the country in sacks (46) and was second in tackles behind the line of scrimmage (109) last season. The Tigers return the players accounting for 45 of those sacks and 105 tackles for loss. They also return the players responsible for 13 of the 14 interceptions. This is a unit that finished in the top 20 nationally in scoring defense and should be in the top 10 next season.

So where does that leave the rest of the league? Well, it wasn’t all that long ago that the ACC prided itself on being one of the stronger conferences while the SEC tool a backseat and a large part of that was quarterback play. In 2016, the league had Deshaun Watson and Lamar Jackson and Brad Kaaya and Deondre Francois and a host of other solid signal callers and held its own nationally.

The past few years have been barren except for a player here and there and the Clemson quarterbacks. But here is what people don’t know – other than Duke, every team returns a player that either started in 2020 or played significant snaps.

Let’s take a look:

Notre Dame: Jack Coan (Wisconsin transfer) takes over for Ian Book.

Boston College: Phil Jurkovec (2558 yards last season)

Clemson: DJ Uiagalelei (914 yards)

NC State: Devin Leary (890 yards in four starts before injury)

Syracuse: Tommy DeVito (threw for 2360 yards in 2019)

Wake Forest: Sam Hartman (threw for 2224 yards)

FSU: Jordan Travis (threw for 1000 yards last season)

Louisville: Malik Cunningham (threw for 2617 yards)

UNC: Sam Howell (we all know he’s good)

Pitt: Kenny Pickett is back for what seems like his 19th year

Miami: The electric D’Eriq King returns

Georgia Tech: Jeff Sims, averaged 237 yards per game last season

Virginia Tech: Braxton Burmeister

Virginia: Brennan Armstrong (played well in loss to Clemson)

Duke: Gunnar Holmberg is expected to replace Chase Brice

The ACC has a chance to make a statement very early in the season. Clemson opens the season against Georgia in Charlotte at the Duke’s Mayo Kickoff Classic, while Miami takes on Alabama in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic in Atlanta earlier the same day. Louisville plays Ole Miss in Atlanta on Labor Day night.

Week two has NC State at Mississippi St., Pitt at Tennessee, and Virginia hosting Illinois. Miami hosts Michigan St. in week three, while Virginia Tech travels to West Virginia. Boston College hosts Missouri in week four. Then the ACC begins in earnest.

A good ACC is better for Clemson, and one can hope that a few other teams rise up this season and surprise people.