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. Read the rest of this entry →
Quarterback –Joshua Nesbitt (right, courtesy of SMI) will once again lead Tech’s hi-powered triple option offense and this time could see less success. With this being the third year of GT running the offense, the ACC has had yet another year to gear up and learn the tricks. Add in some new defensive coaches that will be hell bent on stopping the option along with Tech losing itstop receiver (Demaryius Thomas) and top running back (Jonathan Dwyer) and I predict they will struggle to find the success that they had last year. Losing Thomas is probably the bigger blow. The first-round draft pick accounted for more than 66 percent of the team’s receiving yards. If Nesbitt (who missed the spring due to ankle surgery) goes down, Georgia Tech will have turn to Tevin Washington. If you look at his stat line, you will see he has thrown one career pass.
Running Back – Georgia Tech lost Jonathan Dwyer (1,395 yards), but returns Anthony Allen, who led the team with a gaudy 9.7 yards per carry average. Juniors Marcus Wright (5.8 per carry) and Roddy White (6.5 per carry) also figure to be in the mix. Any starting or second RB in GT’s offense is going to put up great figures, so draft away.
Quarterback – Boston College will enter the fall with a quarterback controversy despite the return of last season’s starter. 26-year old sophomore Dave Shinskie was out played by sophomore Michael Marscovetra in the spring game. A pair of true freshman who participated in spring practice are also in the mix. I predict Shinskie will emerge the starter based on his experience, but watch for him to be on a short leash and possibly benched at times for motivation purposes.
Running Back – Montel Harris was a pleasant surprise last year as he ripped off 1,457 rushing yards and he topped the 100-yard mark in each of his last five games. With the QB questions on this team, I expect second year head coach Spaziani to focus more on the run game. This is especially true since they lost star WR Rich Gunnell. My prediction is that Montel Harris will once again carry the team and end up with close to 1,500 yards.
Wide Receiver –Colin Larmond Jr is the top returner this year, which isn’t saying much. With the graduation of Rich Gunnell, who had three times as many catches as any other WR on this team, I expect rough going this year. Add in the possible controversies from the QB department and I just don’t feel that great about the air game.
Since 2004, the Atlantic Coast Conference lags all others in offensive production – but there are some potentially strong individual fantasy performers in 2010. Maybe even Heisman Trophy hopefuls in Jacory Harris and Christian Ponder?
ACC correspondent Jeremy Shory and host Vince Mullins break down the talent-and-scandal-ridden UNC defense, get excited about the Miami Hurricanes and find some value WRs for your 2010 fantasy team.
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Look, I don’t care: this is the Peach Bowl. This is not the Chik-Fil-A Bowl, although they do make one heck of a sandwich. This is one of the comparatively few bowls out there that actually has some kind of history, and if it’s good enough for the Rose Bowl to stubbornly cling to an outdated tradition and be mocked roundly, well, it’s pretty easy for me to do the same.
This year’s incarnation pairs a couple of teams who are strikingly similar; both rely on power running games and excellent defensive play (typified in part by a safety operating up in run support a large percentage of the time). The difference lies in – go figure, knowing the teams – special teams: Virginia Tech has them, while Tennessee hasn’t had them in a while, up to and including this season. Read the rest of this entry →
North Carolina State Team Breakdown
Look, I don’t care: this is the Peach Bowl. This is not the Chik-Fil-A Bowl, although they do make one heck of a sandwich. This is one of the comparatively few bowls out there that actually has some kind of history, and if it’s good enough for the Rose Bowl to stubbornly cling to an outdated tradition and be mocked roundly, well, it’s pretty easy for me to do the same.
