ESPN ACC Blog

ESPN.com's Ivan Maisel and Heather Dinich discuss the ACC's red-hot rivalries for '09.

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

Another chapter in Florida State vs. the NCAA leads the ACC again today.

• Florida State finds the NCAA "woefully inadequate" as it fights to keep its victories. Try to work that phrase into your routine at least five times today -- "This toast is woefully inadequate!"
• A gambol through the ACC, A to Z.
• A preview of Boston College. 
• "Amazing" is the way this Florida State receiver has looked during summer workouts.
• A Q&A with Georgia Tech's Robert Hall.
• A Miami safety is transferring, looking for more playing time.
• Nike and North Carolina say "I do." Based on the numbers, it's going to be a heck of a wedding reception.
• This NC State fan is shaking his fist at the heavens: "As flies to wanton boys we are to the gods! They injure us for their sport!""
• Guessing Virginia Tech fans can officially start getting excited about this incoming recruit, who's become a world-beater (literally!). And the Hokies picked up their 11th commitment, a defensive end.
• Checking in with one of the lions of college sports administration, Gene Corrigan.

Posted by ESPN.com's Heather Dinich

VIRGINIA TECH

Biggest reason for hope -- Talent-laden backfield

The only person who will be missing from this group is Sean Glennon, and the Hokies got used to life without him last fall. It's officially Tyrod Taylor's team now, and he and tailback Darren Evans were enough to get the job done last year. Taylor has a 13-2 record as the starter, and Evans became the first Tech freshman to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. The Hokies should only be better this fall with the addition of Ryan Williams, who had an excellent spring and has the ability to jump over a defender or make him miss. Don't forget they also have Josh Oglesby and Kenny Lewis Jr. The key here will be keeping Taylor, who has battled ankle injuries, healthy, as there's no college experience behind him.

Biggest reason for concern -- Soaring expectations

There's national title talk. There's preseason rankings. There's uber-hype over the Alabama game. There's everything Clemson faced last season before its season unraveled. If Virginia Tech is going to finish the season where it likely will start -- in the preseason top five -- then the players have to breathe deep and take it one quarter at a time. Virginia Tech is the kind of program that tends to be at its best when the chatter is at a minimum. They were under the radar when Michael Vick got there as a freshman, and seem to struggle when ranked high. Last year, though, when the adversity was at a premium, the coaching staff was at its best.

Posted by ESPN.com's Heather Dinich

NC State receiver Jarvis Williams said he is still motivated by coach Tom O'Brien's postgame speech following the Wolfpack's loss to Rutgers in the Papajohns.com Bowl.

	William Perlmanthe/US Presswire
	Owen Spencer snagged 31 passes for a team-high 691 yards in 2008.

"He made a real good statement to focus on after the bowl game," Williams said, "That we got a taste of a real hard loss and we should never be used to losing. Losing games is over and out of our system. And we're going to turn this program around to a winning program."

They've certainly got the quarterback to do it.

But if NC State is going to start strong this fall and make a legitimate run at the Atlantic Division, the passing game is going to have to include more than Russell Wilson's feet. NC State's receivers are working hard this summer to make that happen, but with Donald Bowens not expected to return from last year's season-ending back injury until September or October, the bulk of the workload again falls on 2008 starters Williams and Owen Spencer. They're both redshirt juniors who became full-time starters last year and have the potential for breakout seasons.

"We'll be much better because Russell wasn't named the starting quarterback until right before the first game," said Spencer, who caught 31 passes for a team-high 691 yards and five touchdowns. "We'll have another year under our belts. It will strengthen our corps."

It's not like NC State's receivers weren't factors last year -- the Wolfpack were No. 3 in the ACC in passing offense with 206 yards per game, and Wilson was the ACC's first-team quarterback and rookie of the year. But none of them had started a game until last fall. And Spencer and Williams were working with five different quarterbacks a year ago. Now, the chemistry should be better, and they should be better at their pre-snap reads and understanding defenses.

At 6-foot-4, Williams is the Pack's tallest receiver, and it helps him with jump balls and intimidating smaller cornerbacks. He takes advantage of his old skills as a high school post player, but said he wants to be more aggressive and explosive this fall. He caught 26 passes for 432 yards and four touchdowns in 2008.

"I can do way better than that," he said. "We had a slow start with the season. It was a little up and down with the passing game. We didn't open it up until the end of the season. I expect for us to start off with the passing game strong from the beginning. That's where our downfall has been my whole career here, having a slow start and then working our way up, grinding for wins. That's why we changed our whole mindset this year. Start off fast, finish strong and get wins early."

Wilson's strength last year was his ability to scramble and use his feet to get out of trouble. His first instinct was to run, but O'Brien has said he's now looking for Wilson to work his way through his progressions before pulling the ball down. Wilson hasn't been around on seven on sevens, but he's in touch with his teammates.

"I tell him what's going on with the football team, and how the passing is going with Mike Glennon," Williams said. "Mike Glennon is holding his ground right now, he's doing a good job. Both of them have strong arms. Glennon, when you look at him, he resembles Matt Ryan a lot. His mechanics are familiar with Matt Ryan. He's coming along, he's a good athlete."

Andrew Synowiez/US PRESSWIRE
At 6 foot 4, Jarvis Williams is a potent red zone threat.

NC State's receivers are expecting to be catching balls from both quarterbacks this fall.

Catching them, though, is the key. Spencer said he is looking to be more consistent and not drop as many balls. If he does, he could be a big-play threat in the ACC. Spencer caught three passes of over 50 yards last fall. Of the team's 55 pass plays of 20 yards or more, Spencer was at the receiving end of 15 of them. He finished the season ranked seventh in the ACC in receiving yards per game with 53.2.

Spencer's average of 22.3 yards per catch set a Wolfpack single-season record and was the best among the ACC receiving yards leaders.

"Based on last season I think I can put up some big-time numbers this season," Spencer said. "That comes with preparation and focus and things like that. Whatever I put into it is going to show on the field."

Spencer said the Wolfpack have their "swagger back," and a lot of it can be attributed to the progress the offense made last year.

"We haven't really had our identity as a whole team," Spencer said. "We've had pretty good defenses in recent years, but offensively kind of went down the hole a little bit. Now I think we're becoming solid. We have a lot of returning starters on our team and a lot of proven players. Once you have that on your side, it raises a lot of eyebrows. Coming off our last four games of the regular season last year, that showed a lot of people we have a pretty good team once we get healthy. We're on the rise now. If we continue to stay healthy, we will play great ball."

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

I guess Heather couldn't handle the heat from our ACC/Big East debates and decided to skip town. Just kidding. Here are your links:

• Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen says he might want to stay at the school another five years, even though offensive coordinator James Franklin is owed $1 million if he is not the head coach by 2012, Jeff Barker reports in the Baltimore Sun.

"Let's say I want to coach two more years after the three. I don't know if I'll do that," Friedgen said. "But if we go to the Orange Bowl, maybe I will. And James has sat down with Debbie [Yow] and I, and we have talked about that.

"But I'm not going to be Joe [Paterno] and coach until I'm 75 or 80 or 90."

• Brad Senkiw of the Anderson Independent Mail ranks the ACC quarterbacks. No. 1 on his list is NC State's Russell Wilson.

• Clemson is experiencing a drop in season-ticket sales, Paul Strelow reports for McClatchy Newspapers

• The Tallahassee Democrat has Florida State's official response to the NCAA in the academic misconduct case.

• The Sporting News' Matt Hayes ranks the top 10 most difficult nonconference schedules in the nation. Virginia Tech is No. 2, Florida State No. 4 and Miami No. 8. The ACC is also well represented in Hayes' best 10 nonconference games.

• Vic Hall is working hard to try to win Virginia's quarterback job, Jerry Ratcliffe writes in the Virginian Pilot.

• The Miami Herald's Barry Jackson lists the reasons why the Hurricanes should be optimistic in 2009.

Posted by ESPN.com's Heather Dinich

Biggest reason for hope -- Experience at quarterback

It seems like the one position the Cavaliers didn't lose a boatload of experience, and it's quite a turnaround from the situation they were in at this time last year, when none of the candidates had ever started a game. The return of former starter Jameel Sewell from academic troubles, the newfound experience of Marc Verica, and the athletic ability of Vic Hall will give first-year offensive coordinator Gregg Brandon plenty of options.

Biggest reason for concern -- It's a tie: Linebackers and wide receivers

Both of these positions were hit equally as hard, as three veteran linebackers and the top four receivers have to be replaced. The graduation of linebackers Clint Sintim, Antonio Appleby and Jon Copper will literally change the face of Al Groh's defense, and considering how good they were, Groh was understandably reluctant to take them off the field in order to get their backups much playing time. Receivers Jared Green and Kris Burd both had good springs, but they combined for 19 catches last year and will be facing much higher expectations. Groh said he is still waiting for a dependable go-to player to emerge.

Posted by ESPN.com's Heather Dinich

Florida State running backs Jermaine Thomas and Ty Jones will be competing for carries this summer and fall, but as roommates, they've developed a friendship that seems will only encourage their progress together.

	Dale Zanine/US Presswire
	Jermaine Thomas, who finished last season with 482 yards, is the Noles' leading returning rusher.

On Tuesday nights, they head out for wings, and when they stay in, Thomas has learned that Jones is a pretty good cook. In return for a few "four-course meals," Thomas makes sure Jones, who is a diabetic, takes his medicine and keeps his blood sugar up. They've learned to take care of each other.

"It feels like a family," Thomas said. "It's a bond that we've built and we look out for each other. I couldn't ask for a better roommate."

Teammate Tavares Pressley lives about four houses down, and they've become a close-knit group ready to take on the challenge of leading Florida State's offense. With so many questions surrounding the wide receivers, and a talented offensive line that returns four starters, it would hardly be a surprise to see the Noles depend heavily on their running game this fall.

FSU had the No. 33 rushing offense in the country last season, but two of the top four ball carriers were quarterbacks Christian Ponder and D'Vontrey Richardson. Thomas, who finished with 482 yards and three touchdowns on 69 carries, is the team's leading returning rusher.

"I think the running game is going to be a lot better," Thomas said. "It might be the face of the offense. I just think because of the bond me and Ty have with each other and also Tavares Pressley is coming along too from that knee injury, we all have a bond and we treat each other like brothers. We know we have to compete against each and all three of us want to be the best. Us all wanting to have that starting position, it's just going to make us work even harder and want to learn the offense. And the offensive line, I don't think nobody worked as hard as the offensive line. They seemed to be really dedicated. We're just trying to do our part and be counted on when it's time."

Pressley, Jones and Thomas will be responsible for helping to replace Antone Smith's 177 carries and 15 rushing touchdowns from 2008. Without quarterbacks in the equation, Smith's 117 carries accounted for almost 55 percent of the running plays last year. As a true freshman, Thomas was introduced quickly with an average of seven yards per carry on 69 attempts. He finished behind only Sean Jackson and Warrick Dunn for the most yards per carry by a true freshman. Jones showed his potential in the Champs Sports Bowl, when he rushed four times for 55 yards and a touchdown.

One of Thomas' best attributes last season was his ability to constantly get positive yardage. He only lost 10 yards rushing all year.

"I learned a lot," Thomas said. "The game experience, how to run certain plays, ... knowing I have to be more comfortable when I'm in the game. Antone Smith taught me a lot. He told me, 'If it's something you love, you don't have no problem doing it and you're destined to do it, so just go out there and be dedicated.' I just listened to him."

The staff also has high expectations for Pressley, who redshirted in 2008 after suffering an ACL injury in his left knee. He wasn't cleared for full participation this spring, but has begun to get some of his speed back and will be ready for summer camp.

"The guy everybody keeps forgetting about," said offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher, "Tavares Pressley is back. Tavares is a heck of a player. Tavares is 4.4 220 pounds. He has great hands and can do things."

It's still a young, inexperienced group, but they've learned they're pretty productive when they stick together. And it could take all three of them to build upon last year's success.

Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

Some ACC links to munch on while Heather works on her tan on vacation:

• North Carolina State linebacker Nate Irving is on his way to recovery after a horrific car accident early Sunday morning. Police think he might have fallen sleep, causing the wreck.

• Duke defensive tackle Vince Oghobaase looks to raise his game both on the field and as a leader in his fifth and final season.

• Florida State's Matt Dunham is looking forward to his second chance after academics kept him sidelined last season.

• All but two of the 19 players Miami signed in the 2009 class are expected on campus Tuesday for the second session of summer school. Offensive lineman Malcolm Bunche is headed to prep school, and defensive back Prince Kent is also facing academic issues.

• At least three members of North Carolina's 2009 signing class are expected to attend prep school and a fourth is likely headed to junior college, Bill Cole of The Winston-Salem Journal reports.

Posted by ESPN.com's Heather Dinich

Biggest reason for hope -- Quarterbacks

Unlike coach Tom O'Brien's first two seasons in Raleigh, there's no question who the starting quarterback is -- Russell Wilson. He also happens to be the best quarterback in the ACC, and he finally has a backup who isn't a liability in Mike Glennon. Both of them are going to play, and they bring different strengths to the offense that will keep opposing defenses alert. Wilson is one of the most accurate passers in the conference, and Glennon has already drawn comparisons to Matt Ryan.

Biggest reason for concern -- Injuries

It might have been the program's biggest weakness over the past two seasons. We saw how good a football team NC State had in the second half of 2008 when everyone was healthy, and we also saw it fall apart in the second half of the Papajohns.com Bowl after Wilson hurt his knee. Strength and conditioning coach Todd Rice is slowing rebuilding the Pack's philosophy and approach to training, and in turn there should be fewer injuries this fall. NC State will fall out of the Atlantic Division race again if players like Nate Irving and Alan-Michael Cash don't stay on the field.

Posted by ESPN.com's Heather Dinich

One of the biggest question marks for Clemson heading into this fall is who will be starting at quarterback, and Willy Korn is working hard to make sure his name is at the top of Dabo Swinney's list this summer.

	Rex Brown/Getty Images
	Willy Korn is working on his technique in hopes of securing the starting quarterback job.

About two weeks after the Tigers' spring game, Korn spent some time in Atlanta working with retired NFL veteran Jerry Rhome, who is now training quarterbacks, receivers and tight ends as young as 10 years old. Rhome, who spent 33 years as a coach and player in the NFL, has worked with the who's who of quarterbacks, including Troy Smith, Vince Young and Chase Daniel.

"With NCAA rules, I couldn't work with coach Napier or any of my coaches at Clemson, so I just wanted to get an extra set of eyes on me, someone who could coach me and help me out," Korn said.

Kyle Parker had an impressive spring, but Korn has the most experience among the candidates to start this fall. He played in eight games for 127 snaps as Cullen Harper's backup the past two seasons, but has been hindered by a shoulder injury.

Korn played two games as a true freshman in 2007, then suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. He played in six games last year and made one start against Georgia Tech in Swinney's first game as a head coach. He was hit while attempting a pass, though, and suffered another shoulder injury that limited him the rest of the season.

"It's feeling great now," he said. "I had the surgery the day after the Carolina game and I haven't been in pain at all since I started throwing again after I got the surgery done. The biggest hurdle this spring was getting my mechanics corrected and my release short and quick."

Korn said that both his father and offensive coordinator Billy Napier came up with the same idea for Korn to work with Rhome without even discussing it with each other. Before he went to Georgia, though, he and his dad played a little catch.

Korn would work with his father and throw to him, and they sent Rhome a DVD of the spring game and a few spring practices to see how he could help.

"We really didn't have to spend a whole lot of time correcting stuff when I went down there because I worked so hard on it with my dad and my dad would tape me throw so I could go back to the house and watch it and see what I need to correct," Korn said. "It improved a ton before I even got down there to work with coach Rhome. He was excited to see my release had gotten quicker and shorter and it wasn't so long and I was getting the ball out of my hands pretty quickly. It just gave me a lot of confidence for a guy with his experience and his knowledge of the game to look at me and say, 'You're throwing fine, your mechanics look good,' two weeks after the spring game. It gave me a lot of confidence."

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Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson

Filling in for Heather, who is on vacation this week.

• Virginia Tech running back signee David Wilson rushed for four touchdowns in Team USA's game against France in the inaugural International Federation of American Football Junior World Championship in Ohio.

• A quick look -- through a recruits eyes -- of how Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson recruits players to his school.

• Florida State defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews returns for his 26th season as FSU's defensive coordinator only to face one of the more challenging seasons of his career.

• The ACC is hoping to challenge the SEC for college football supremacy this year.

• North Carolina finished second place nationally in the 2008-09 Learfield Sports Directors Cup. It's the 14th time in the 16 years of the cup that UNC has been the top ACC school.

Posted by ESPN.com's Heather Dinich

Hey guys, just wanted to let you know I'm taking this week off. Of course, the blog will go on. I'll still have a few posts for you each day, but it will be a little slower. If news breaks, ESPN has you covered. Thanks and have a great Fourth of July.

Posted by ESPN.com's Heather Dinich

Biggest reason for hope -- Defensive front-seven

The Tar Heels return all four starters on the defensive line and have excellent depth, so defensive line coach John Blake should be excited. Defensive tackle Marvin Austin, now a junior, is one of those recruits who lived up to the hype and he tied with E.J. Wilson for the most tackles (38) by a Carolina defensive lineman. Robert Quinn became a starter in the second game of the season, and massive defensive tackle Cam Thomas (6 foot 3, 330), finished the season with 34 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and one sack. Those guys, combined with standout linebackers Bruce Carter, Quan Sturdivant and Zach Brown, should give UNC one of the best defensive fronts in the ACC.

Biggest reason for concern -- Wide receivers

This one is a no-brainer. UNC has to rebuild its entire receiving corps, as the Tar Heels lost players that accounted for 17 of their 21 receiving touchdowns in 2008. The only player who returns with any significant playing experience is Greg Little, who moved from running back midway through the season and had just 11 catches. Little is now the veteran of the group, and is one of the most talented athletes on the roster. He'll have to help usher Dwight Jones, Todd Harrelson, Joshua Adams and Rashad Mason along. The inexperience here will force everyone to be even more precise with the timing of patterns and routes, and the yards-after-catch stat is likely to decrease until the comfort zone increases. It will also test quarterback T.J. Yates' accuracy, as he'll need to hit these young players in the numbers.

Posted by ESPN.com's Heather Dinich

It wasn't until his junior and senior year in high school that Virginia Tech linebacker Jake Johnson started paying close attention to college football and became aware of the Hokies' nationally known tradition of dominant defenses.

Now, as a sophomore with the opportunity to start for Virginia Tech this fall, Johnson is working to uphold that standard and he's been in the film room watching the players he wants to emulate -- former Hokies like Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi.

"There have been so many great linebackers here," Johnson said. "All Americans, all-ACC. The reputation of our linebackers here is great, and I want to be the next great one. I don't want to be the year where we're just OK."

Defensive coordinator Bud Foster certainly hasn't settled for 'just OK' defenses in the past, and knows his players will have to do their part if the Hokies are going to contend for the national title. Virginia Tech has some reloading to do, though, in its linebacking corps after the departures of Brett Warren and Purnell Sturdivant -- the team's top two leading tacklers from 2008. Johnson and redshirt sophomore Barquell Rivers are the frontrunners to take over, but right now their potential far outweighs their experience.

"I think we look good, though," said Cody Grimm, who returns as the leading tackler with 71, and had 7.5 sacks, two interceptions and 14 tackles for losses last year. "Barquell, obviously he played in the bowl game and he's a real strong kid. He's a good player, sure tackler, and then Jake Johnson has been doing a really good job as well. He's still young. He picked up a bunch of stuff in the spring. Once he started knowing it, he got a lot better. Both of them are really fast and strong."

How fast? Grimm said Rivers and Johnson ran around a 4.62 in their last 40-yard dash times. Rivers, who had been in on just 28 defensive plays before earning his first career start in the Orange Bowl at the expense of the injured Warren, is now the leading candidate to take over at Mike linebacker. Rivers made a name for himself in the bowl game when he stopped Cincinnati quarterback Tony Pike on fourth and goal from the 1-yard line and ended the Bearcats last chance at a comeback.

"Barquell, he knows everything right now," Johnson said. "He's like a coach out there."

That's exactly what Johnson said he wants to be by the time the Alabama game rolls around. Johnson said he is studying not only his position, but also what the defensive linemen and other linebackers are doing. He's gotten a lot of help from the two veteran linebackers, Grimm and Cam Martin, both fifth-year seniors who combined to play all but nine plays at the position. Their rotating schedule should stay the same, as long as Martin heals properly from knee surgery he had after the Orange Bowl.

"I just try to lead by example," Grimm said. "Take care of my job, and if something were to happen, like if Barquell has a bad play try to get him up, but he's a pretty calm player. He was calm in the bowl game. He knows what he's doing. He'll get all the first team reps. Coach Foster will definitely have him and Jake ready to go."

Posted by ESPN.com's Heather Dinich

Overall, the list turned out to be a reflection of the strength of the ACC this fall -- a strong defensive conference with a good ground game, all-conference offensive linemen, and lack of elite receivers. Clemson and Virginia Tech both had the most names on the list with five.

Here's how the list broke down:

BY POSITION

OFFENSE: 13
DEFENSE: 16
SPECIAL TEAMS: 1

Running backs -- 4
Quarterbacks -- 4
Wide receivers -- 1
Offensive linemen -- 4
Tight ends -- 0
Defensive linemen -- 6
Defensive backs -- 5
Linebackers -- 5
Kickers/punters -- 1

BY SCHOOL
Boston College -- 1
Clemson -- 5
Duke -- 2
Florida State -- 3
Georgia Tech -- 3
Maryland -- 1
Miami -- 2
North Carolina -- 2
NC State -- 3
Virginia -- 1
Virginia Tech -- 5
Wake Forest -- 2