Conference media days serve multiple purposes. The media gets to meet with coaches and players who are not part of their weekly coverage. There are insights into the transformation from the previous season to the new one. This week with the ACC, there were times when you had to double-check what they said. Pay attention to the details and you will catch some nuggets from the players and the coaches on stage.
One of the major themes of the week was the extensive travel for schools on both coasts, as Cal and Stanford join the ACC. There was time spent teaching the ACC folks about the two schools and their rivalry.
The Rivalry
Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza grew up in Miami. He talked about when he realized how big the Stanford/Cal rivalry is. “I was actually the fake signal caller. And I was doing little whips and sprinklers and stuff. I looked like a fool. We played Stanford at home,” he said. That was our sold-out game that year. It was crazy. After the game, everyone stormed the field, and alumni came up to me shaking and hugging me while crying. Thank you so much. I’m like, I’m the fake signal caller, man. I would love to think… Being a scout team quarterback that year, I helped the team. At that moment it really showed me how much that rivalry meant.”
New Rules, Unintended Consequences
There are always some coaches ready to speak to issues above the X’s and O’s. Clemson’s Dabo Swinney talked about the plan to expand the number of football scholarships to 105.
“The crazy thing is, there’s not many coaches that want 105 scholarships. We want to keep our walk-ons. It’s hard to manage that many guys. When you have that many guys on scholarship, you think you got transfers now, wait till that number gets there. It’s going to be a lot,” Swinney said.
Wake Forest’s Dave Clawson also had some thoughts on the topic. “With everything that’s done, there’s going to be unfortunate consequences. The days of the walk-on in college football are probably leaving us.”
Speaking of Clawson
There was plenty of talk all week about the expanded playoffs. How many of the 12 slots will go to the Big 10 and the SEC? What is left for the Big 12 and the ACC? How does the ACC get in more teams? Clawson proffered the following; “I don’t think we have a football problem in our league. I think we have a perception problem. The only way to change that perception is to put teams in. Once we get in there, win those games against those other two conferences.”
Career Choices
Louisville defensive back Quincy Riley was also a track star in high school. He was even South Carolina Boys AAAA Track Player of the Year in 2019. So why is he not a running back in college? Riley made it simple; “Really don’t want to get hit,” he responded.
The Quarterback Conference
SMU is new to the ACC. And the Mustangs have a starting quarterback who has been on the roster for four years, a rarity in this day and age. Preston Stone said the program fits into the ACC and its quarterback legacy. “The ACC does have a tradition of putting a lot of talented quarterbacks in the NFL. Just off the top of my head, I think of Jameis Winston, Trevor Lawrence, Deshaun Watson,” he told us. “We’re coming into this conference guns a blazing. I think the quarterback room fits perfectly with that.”
Who Has Juice in the ACC?
Apparently, UNC coach Mack Brown did not always have influence in the conference. “I was here when Florida State came in. I remember Florida State was so good. John Swofford came to me, and we weren’t good. He said, ‘Do you mind if Florida State comes in the league?’ I said, Yes. I said, ‘My Lord, why would I want them in the league?’ And I said, wait five years and we’ll do it. And we put them in the next year.”
The Hair
But the big news comes for NC State fans from new quarterback Grayson McCall, and it’s about the hair. Yes, he discussed the mullet. “It’s coming, baby. It’s coming. I showed it to Raleigh with the buzz cut. I got a lot of mullet requests. I’m ready to let this thing go.”
Now, we can officially start training camps.
