Everyone knows the importance of the quarterback position in football. There’s almost always a correlation between your quarterback is and how well your football team does. While that correlation isn’t as strong in college football as it is in the professional ranks, it’s still the most important component to success. With that correlation in mind, where do the 14 teams of the ACC stand with their quarterback situations as we head into the 2018 season? Here are the ACC quarterback rankings heading into the 2018 season.
ACC Quarterback Rankings Heading Into 2018
In part one of our two-part series, we’ll look at quarterbacks 14 through 8. While this may be the second half of the quarterbacks in the conference, that doesn’t mean that there’s a lack of talent here.
14. Wake Forest – Jamie Newman / Sam Hartman / Kendall Hinton
Wake Forest’s quarterback(s) will have one of the ACC’s best weapons at their disposal in wide receiver Greg Dortch. Their offensive line is among the best in the league, a rarity for the Demon Deacons. But they must replace star passer John Wolford, a four-year starter. As a senior, he led the offense to a second overall ranking in Passing S&P+, a remarkable feat.
His primary backup, Kendall Hinton, does have significant game experience. He totaled almost 600 total yards and five touchdowns in four games (one start) last year. The problem is Hinton is suspended for the first three games. Sophomore Jamie Newman and freshman Sam Hartman will battle in fall camp to start week one. It’s expected to be a close battle between similar players, but it may come down to a simple choice for Coach Dave Clawson. Hartman was a slightly higher-ranked recruit out of high school and displays more mobility. However, Clawson may prefer the (slightly) more experienced option in Newman, at least until Hinton returns in week four.
13. North Carolina – Nathan Elliott
The Tar Heels started three different quarterbacks in 2017. Chazz Surratt led the team with 1,342 yards, but Nathan Elliott threw for 925 yards and 10 touchdowns in just five games. Surratt is one of the players suspended in the team’s recent Jordans “scandal” and will miss the opening four games. As a result, Coach Larry Fedora declared Elliot the starter for week one.
In three starts against ACC competition, Elliot was fairly efficient on the ground, averaging over seven yards on 11 carries per game, including sacks. He also completed less than half of his passes and threw five interceptions. He was good against Western Carolina, though, with a 183.4 passer rating. Unfortunately, their first four games this season are against Cal, Eastern Carolina, UCF, and Pittsburgh. 49% completion rate won’t be good enough against those teams.
12. Virginia – Bryce Perkins
The junior college transfer is expected to emerge as the starter in a competition with Lindell Stone and freshman Brennan Armstrong. Perkins, a three-star prospect, attended Arizona State before Arizona Western Junior College. He redshirted as a freshman in 2015 and missed the 2016 season with a neck injury before heading to junior college.
The Cavaliers have not had a quarterback with the mobility of Perkins in a long time. He has big shoes to fill in the passing game, however, as senior Kurt Benkert threw for over 3,200 yards in his final year. In addition to the 3,000 yard season, Benkert threw 25 touchdowns with only nine interceptions. The key for Virginia will be maintaining some of the downfield passing game that keyed a successful first half in 2017 while limiting the opportunities for Perkins to make back-breaking mistakes.
11. Pittsburgh – Kenny Pickett
Pickett led the Panthers to a stunning upset of the then-undefeated Miami Hurricanes as an inexperienced freshman. He threw for 193 yards and a touchdown while adding 60 yards and two scores on the ground. He plays a physical style of quarterback, similar to Michigan State’s Brian Lewerke or Syracuse’s Eric Dungey. If he can stay healthy and continue to improve as a passer, then he’ll end the season much higher on this list.
Pickett likely won’t ever look like an elite quarterback on paper. However, his performance against two good defenses in Virginia Tech and Miami, as a freshman, is really impressive. His arm is average, if that, but Pittsburgh can win a lot of games with Pickett at the helm. The difference between the Virginia Tech and Miami games was his legs. In the Miami game, his first career start and the final game of the year for bowl-ineligible Panthers, Coordinator Shawn Watson made a concerted effort to run Pickett straight at a tired and beat up Canes defense all game. Can they do this for a whole year?
10. Georgia Tech – TaQuon Marshall
Marshall only moved to quarterback prior to the 2016 season, when he backed up Yellow Jacket great Justin Thomas. He began his career at Georgia Tech as an A-back, which explains his inconsistency throwing the football. Still, Marshall earned the starting job after just one year at the position. In 2017, he ran for 1,146 yards and 17 scores in Paul Johnson’s triple-option offense. He also threw ten touchdowns with only five interceptions, a great number for the ball-control based offense.
At the very least, Marshall needs to complete more than 37 percent of his passes. When Johnson’s offense is at its best, they can be explosive with play action. A few long passes would be great, but it may be a big ask. Star receiver Ricky Jeune is now in the NFL. If they couldn’t pass the ball with him, it’s hard to picture the passing game making great strides without him. Jeune accounted for 60% of Tech’s receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns last year. He was the only receiver to post a positive marginal efficiency rating. The Yellow Jackets might run even more than usual this year. Marshall may not throw like a typical quarterback, but he doesn’t run like one either.
9. Boston College – Anthony Brown
A high three-star recruit, Brown redshirted in 2016 before edging veteran Darius Wade for the starting job in 2017. The offense once again struggled early on, but as AJ Dillon took over and Brown gained experience, the offense began to show promise. Then, on November 11, Brown suffered a season-ending knee injury against N.C. State. Despite being unable to participate in spring ball, the hype around Brown and the Eagle’s offense is developing. For the first time in years, the Eagles are now receiving considerable votes in many of the preseason polls.
In Brown’s final four complete games, all against ACC competition, he showed massive improvement. Following an easy win over Central Michigan, he threw for almost 600 yards and five touchdowns to only one interception. Not bad for the freshman quarterback of a run-heavy offense. Brown himself added almost 40 yards on the ground per game, with limited carries. There are defensive questions the Eagles face, as detailed earlier this offseason, and the answers are fairly promising. They have fielded a consistently good to great defense under coordinators Jim Reid and Don Brown, so the hype is clearly a vote of confidence in the offense. If Brown is healthy, and he seems to be, then the Eagles could make some noise this year.
8. Miami – Malik Rosier
Rosier will not be the starter in 2018 without winning the job. He’s being pushed in fall camp by redshirt freshman N’Kosi Perry and true freshman Jarren Williams. Rosier will likely hold onto the job, at least for week one, but the competition may help his development in the passing game. Reports from Miami indicate that Rosier has upped his leadership, a trait Coach Mark Richt values highly in his quarterbacks. Rosier of course also led the Canes to 11 wins with his 31 total touchdowns just last year.
Miami was unusually all-or-nothing for a Mark Richt offense last year, with Rosier completing just 54 percent of his passes. That has to change, as does the 14 interceptions he threw. If Miami wants to win a national title, Rosier (or his replacement) must improve. To repeat as a top-ten team, 2017 Rosier might be just fine.
His weapons are absolute studs, reminiscent of the old Hurricanes teams. Travis Homer is one of the best running backs in the country, and DeeJay Dallas looked anything but overmatched as a true freshman. Receiver Jeff Thomas, another true sophomore, is one of the fastest players in the country. Ahmmon Richards, who is healthy again, is one of the top receivers in the country. Miami has all the targets it could ask for and a solid floor at quarterback. Can Rosier or a youngster raise the bar?
Part Two
The top seven quarterbacks will be discussed in part two of our series next week. How will the remaining quarterback groups fall in to place? And while there’s some talented quarterbacks in this group, to top seven features some championship-caliber signal callers.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
