2010 ACC Preview – Part 3
August 24th, 2010 by Jeremy Shory
North Carolina State Team Breakdown
Returning starters: Offense: 7, Defense: 5, Punter/Kicker: 1
QB Russell Wilson back to slinging the pigskin.
Quarterback – Starter Russell Wilson (pictured right, SMI) missed all of spring football to play baseball. In his absence, Mike Glennon impressed coach Tom O’Brien and completed 21 of 38 passes for 423 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in the Pack’s spring game. As long as Wilson picks up where he left off in 2009, it should be his job to lose. Wilson had nearly three times as many touchdown passes as picks (31 to 11) last season. He also threw 379 passes without a pick, which broke the old mark of 325. I think this team is going through some turmoil with all of the offseason distractions (arrests) so watch for them to have a slow start and then pick up their performance about midseason. Wilson will not come close to 30+ TDs this year.
Running Back – For the first time since 2005, NC State doesn’t have a running back with any starting experience. Brandon Barnes broke his ankle so the competition is now between Curtis Underwood, who redshirted last year, and James Washington, who played in six games as a true freshman last year. I would expect to see the carries be limited to start, especially if either of the unproven runners have fumble problems on their new stage. Watch these two as the season progresses and pick them up off of waivers or in Free Agency.
Wide Receiver – So who are the lucky recipients of Russell Wilson’s passes? Senior Owen Spencer led the nation with 25.5 yards per catch last season and senior Jarvis Williams led the league with 11 touchdown catches. This offense has a very potent passing offense and Russell Wilson will once again be looking to air it out. I would take both of these guys in the mid rounds of your fantasy draft as both will be productive.
Tight End – George Bryan may be the best tight end in the league, although he could face future disciplinary actions for being one of four Wolfpack players arrested in April. Watch this closely and if he misses a game or two, he is worth taking high in the draft as he will still see the field and make the most of the time he does have, trust me!
Defense –Watch for linebacker Nate Irving to come back from a near-fatal car accident last year and light a spark for this defense. He’ll be a little rusty to start but should come back and be one of the top LB in the ACC. The secondary will still struggle this year as they have lost some players to injury and the D line is expecting to be very thin. This is a near bottom defense in my opinion.
Kicker/Special Teams – NC State has a good kicker returning in 2010 in Josh Czajkowski. He made all of his extra points last year and was in the mid 80% range on field goals. The best thing about Czajkowski is the number of opportunities he is going to have this year. They should see more field goal opportunities this year as he only had 12 field goal attempts.
Schedule – NC State faces Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, and Boston College in back to back to back games in October. Throw in games against FSU and at Clemson and at UNC and this team is staring down another bowl-less season. Sorry Wolfpack, it just doesn’t look good right now.
Virginia Team Breakdown
Returning starters Offense: 6, Defense: 6, Punter/Kicker: 2
Quarterback – The Cavaliers have just as many question marks at quarterback as most of the ACC does. A new coach brings in a new offensive philosophy. I expect a rough year for this team as they don’t quite have the talent and the scheme is too new. Watch for them to be near the bottom of the list in fantasy stats.
Running Back – In addition to losing their leading passer from a season ago, Virginia also loses its four leading rushers (Rashawn Jackson, Mikell Simpson, Jameel Sewell and Vic Hall). Correy Mack is the team’s leading returning rusher with 73 yards in his freshman season, but is not listed at either #1 or #2 on the post-spring depth chart. With these kind of questions no certainty at who is going to be the starter, I suggest to stay away, stay very far away.
Wide Receiver – Junior Kris Burd is the lone returning bright spot on the WR corp. Vic Hall has graduated along with Mikell Simpson and Rashawn Jackson who accounted for over half of the catches last year. Burd is the only guy I would even consider having on my team, but I would wait a couple of weeks to see how Mike London changes things up for this offense.
Tight End – There is no experienced talent at the TE position and no one has been named a starter yet. I would keep away from any TE from this team until something is known which could take a couple games to figure out.
Defense – So much has been mentioned about the Cavalier’s change in coaches that no one knows much about either the offense or defense. They switch back from a 3-4 defense to a 4-3 base. Watch for cornerback Ras-I Dowling to step up his game in the secondary and become a vocal leader for this team as the spotlight is now shining on him. The NFL scouts are watching. LB Steve Greer should help man the middle of the field, but I would still stay away for now as no one knows how this team is going to respond to all of the changes.
Kicker/Special Teams – Robert Randolph started off taking the extra points last year, but by midseason Drew Jarrett had take over those duties and left the field goals only to Randolph. Neither has the clear advantage yet and Mike London said the battle will continue into fall camp. Regardless, neither kicker will probably see a whole lot of chances to score as the offense learns the new schemes which means the offense will struggle about as much as last year to move the ball.
Schedule – Virginia is going to have a tough season this year. They have a whole new scheme being learned, and the schedule is not going to allow for a whole lot of breathing room. The non-conference schedule allows for some competitive games against Richmond and Eastern Michigan, but watch for the game against Southern Cal to be tough sledding. Their conference games late in the season are going to be the real determining factor on how well this team is adapting to the new systems as they round out the year against Duke, Maryland, Boston College, and then rivals Virginia Tech.
Virginia Tech Team Breakdown
Returning starters: Offense: 8, Defense: 5, Punter/Kicker: 0
Quarterback – Virginia Tech’s Tyrod Taylor certainly belongs among the top half of quarterbacks in the league. Taylor’s five interceptions were the lowest among any starter last season and he averaged an impressive 17 yards a completion. His back-up, redshirt freshman Logan Thomas, has never thrown a pass which largely explains why the Hokies are worried about their depth. Throw in the addition of Evans coming back, I think the Hokies will look to control the clock by grinding it out on the ground to keep their untested defense off the field. The Hokies have a great set of receivers, but I expect them to see fewer passes than last year. Taylor will throw a few less TDs than last year, but he will also run a few more in.
Running Back – Virginia Tech’s Ryan Williams burst onto the scene as a freshman last season and broke a school record with 1,655 rushing yards. . If Darren Evans is suffering any lingering effects from last year’s torn ACL, it wasn’t evident during his first carry of the spring game when he ran over safety Antone Exum. Evans told reporters he’s feeling the best he has since he was injured. This will be the most potent RB tandem in the ACC and will be a top 10 RB group in the nation. Draft Willams first as Evans will most likely ease his way into the season as an ACL injury is no small thing.
Wide Receiver – Jarrett Boykin is the leading returner which should really help this group out as he was most often looked to on passing downs.. Also keep an eye on Danny Coale and Dyrell Roberts as both have potential to rack up some yards this year. I have mediocre expectations for this group in 2010 as they focus on the running game in Blacksburg.
Tight End – With the departure of star Ed Wang on the O line and Senior TE Greg Boone to graduation, this group of TE will most likely be used for blocking the way for their 2 1,000 yard rushers. I don’t expect anyone from this group to be really an option in the passing game as the WR are more than capable.
Defense – The Hokies struggled to plug all of the holes on defense during the spring which has the coaches in Blacksburg slightly worried for the fall. They don’t have a star playmaker at any position which is different from years past. The coaches will not allow this defense to be the demise of the team, so watch for them to get better as the season progresses. This is a buy low and sell high kind of defense in my opinion. They will finish in the top half of the ACC like they should.
Kicker/Special Teams – Does anyone else hate the term “Beamer Ball” as much as I do? The only problem is that it is still alive and kicking in Blacksburg, Virginia. Chris Hazely enters the season as the frontrunner for the PK job this fall, but he is untested. I stick to my mantra to stay away from first time kickers, but in this case, I’ll make the exception as Virginia Tech has one of the best special teams in the nation year after year.
Schedule – The Hokies will open the season against Boise State who is looking for something to prove on a national stage. If they falter, they at least have a couple of easy opponents to take out their frustrations on in weeks 2 and 3 just before their league play starts. The toughest part of the season comes in November when they play against Georgia Tech, at UNC, at Miami, and the rivalry against Virginia who will be looking to put a good cap to the end of their season.
Wake Forest Team Breakdown
Returning starters Offense: 6, Defense: 7, Punter/Kicker: 2
Quarterback – Record breaking QB Riley Skinner is gone which leaves a small group of untested rookies in the star position. Coming out of spring, the QB position was not entirely settled and probably won’t be until just before game 1. Whoever it ends up being, watch for Wake to really struggle in all facets of the game, including the passing game. I would steer clear from a fantasy standpoint of any Wake Forest QB.
Running Back – Without Skinner, the Deacons are making the transition to a more run-based option offense. Receivers Devone Brown and Chris Givens can both take a handoff on a sweep, and the Deacons have two veteran backs in Josh Adams and Brandon Pendergrass. Wake’s ground game should get a boost from both the running backs and wide receivers. According to Grobe, he is going to hand it off until his backs tongues hang out. Watch for Josh Adams to be the main man with a few carries by Pendergrass sprinkled in.
Wide Receiver – Receiver Marshall Williams had 60 catches last season, and is the top returnee followed closely by junior Devone Brown. Both put up a combined 1,500 + yards receiving. Watch for those to be the main targets when needed but I expect their numbers to drop from last year as Wake breaks in a new QB. It’s been said several times already that this will be a run first team in 2010.
Tight End – Andrew Parker was the surprise TE candidate for the Deacons last year. He had a decent hear with a couple of TDs but not entirely start worthy unless if you’re in a pinch. I always like TE on team’s that have a new QB because they usually look their way as security blankets in the red zone.
Defense – The amount of talent lost to the NFL in 2008 reared its ugly head last year. Well this offseason saw the same time of exodus but from the offensive side. The biggest loss on the defense was DT Boo Robinson and CB Brandon Ghee. This team has the ability to take average players and make them better through solid coaching, so I expect little drop off from last years stats. This team will finish right about #6 in the ACC is my guess.
Kicker/Special Teams – Wake Forrest found a decent replacement for career record-breaking Sam Swank in the form of sophomore Shane Popham. Unfortunately Popham got injured in game 2 and never saw the field for the rest of the season. Jimmy Newman stepped in and had a solid season for a freshman as he completed 100% of his PATs and 65% in field goals. Expect Shane Popham to have the leg up on regaining the starting gig and if he stays healthy, he should have a decent season.
Schedule – Wake Forrest starts the season with a should-win game against Presbyterian, but then ramps up the competition gradually as the play Duke, then Stanford, then FSU. Games against Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech should present some speed bumps along a long season for this team. I expect the team to end the year right about .500.
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