ACC Football: Most Important 2015 Spring Practice Battles

Players graduate, injuries happen and changes need to be made. Regardless of the situation, important spring practice battles are happening all across the nation. As for the ACC, a few big-time positional battles truly stand out heading into the 2015 college football season.

For teams like the Louisville Cardinals and Florida State Seminoles—sitting with multiple options at the quarterback position—the choices won't be easy.

As for other teams, such as the Virginia Tech Hokies, the battles for multiple starting jobs will be heated. The battles for starting gigs are going on throughout the ACC, so let's take a look at a few of the most important ones to watch out for.

6. Boston College Starting Quarterback

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Candidates

• Darius Wade (So.)
• Troy Flutie (RS Fr.)
• Elijah Robinson (Fr.)

That's a whole lot of young talent for the Boston College Eagles. Unfortunately, fans are likely still wishing they had one more year with Tyler Murphy.

What's the good news? Darius Wade had a full year to learn behind Murphy and could be a perfect fit to replace him.

Murphy was a physical specimen and ran head coach Steve Addazio's offense to perfection, but now it's time for the next man to step up. While it'd be a great story to see Troy Flutie get the nod, he most likely won't be able to outperform Wade when all is said and done.

At one time a 4-star prospect, per ESPN.com, the Delaware native possesses some impressive physical tools and has solid speed. The issue for Wade (and each of these quarterbacks) is that he has very little in-game experience. Wade has thrown a grand total of eight passes in his collegiate career, so he'll still be learning as the year gets going.

Both Flutie and true freshman Elijah Robinson are intriguing prospects, but I don't see them surpassing the man who has been waiting in the wings for his shot.

Projected winner: Wade

5. Miami's No. 1 Tight End

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Candidates

• Standish Dobard (Jr.)
• Chris Herndon (So.)
• Jerome Washington (RS Fr.)

Replacing one of the best tight ends in the nation in Clive Walford is no easy task, but one of the three men above will be asked to do just that.

So who is the popular choice? Well, that would be Standish Dobard. Who's the dark horse of the pack? A former No. 1 tight end recruit, per 247Sports, Jerome Washington is someone to keep an eye on.

Dobard backed up Walford last year and did an excellent job as a blocker. Not only that, but we also saw what Dobard could do when Walford went down with an injury in the regular-season finale. During that game, the backup tight end hauled in three catches for 44 yards.

If Walford's former backup can prove that he can be a weapon in the passing game for quarterback Brad Kaaya, then the job remains his. If not, the attention turns to both Chris Herndon and Washington. Herndon played in only three games last season and didn't rack up any stats.

As for Washington, well, he's the guy to watch out for. The former No. 19 overall JUCO transfer could end up being the future at tight end for the Hurricanes. If he proves he can consistently be a factor as a blocker as well as in the passing game, don't be surprised to see some type of split happen in 2015.

Projected winner: Dobard (at least for 2015)

4. Virginia Tech Starting Quarterback

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Candidates

• Michael Brewer (RS Sr.)
• Dwayne Lawson (Fr.)

Oh, the fun of a battle between a senior and a freshman. In reality, the Hokies would need to have some serious trust in freshman Dwayne Lawson to choose him over senior Michael Brewer as the starter. Is there a chance? Absolutely.

Will it happen? Probably not—unfortunately.

Brewer isn't the most mobile quarterback, and he struggled with interceptions last year. While he tossed 18 touchdowns, Brewer threw 15 interceptions and couldn't get the Hokies over the hump. With the team finishing 2014 with a 7-6 record, it heads into 2015 with high expectations.

There's a good chance that the Hokies contend for the Coastal Division crown, but they need consistency at quarterback.

If we get a head-to-head competition from the start of practice, Lawson has a shot.

Brewer will likely head in as the starter, though, and Lawson will need to surpass him to grab the job. Lawson has a strong arm and very good speed, but he will need to perfect his ability to read a college defense.

While we've seen some freshman quarterbacks come in and take the reins (including a certain former FSU quarterback), it's not incredibly common. The talented freshman has a bright future, but that future doesn't start until Brewer gets another crack at it.

That's not to say that we won't see Lawson at any point in 2015, though.

Projected winner: Brewer

3. Georgia Tech's Running Backs

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Candidates

• Dennis Andrews (RS Jr.)
• Broderick Snoddy (RS Sr.)
• C.J. Leggett (RS Fr.)

If you want to talk about an interesting positional battle, look no further than the Georgia Tech run game. While the Yellow Jackets will likely use multiple backs in their triple-option offense, someone needs to step up and become the lead back.

When looking over the potential candidates, consider the fact that this is a team that lost a ridiculous seven of its top nine leading rushers at running back from last season.

That's insane.

As for the next man who will play alongside quarterback Justin Thomas, he'll have to win a tough battle.

Replacing that many players on a team that ranked No. 2 in the nation in total rushing yards per game (342.1) won't be easy. To this point in his career, senior Broderick Snoddy has amassed the most collegiate touches on the team—with 65 rushes for 483 yards and four touchdowns. Last season was an impressive one for him, as he averaged 10.1 yards per carry with three touchdowns before suffering a brutal leg injury in November.

The problem is this: No one knows how Snoddy will bounce back from that.

This leaves Dennis Andrews, who has rushed 28 times for 246 yards in his career, or the real dark horse in freshman C.J. Leggett. Andrews will likely have the edge since he has more experience, but if Leggett lives up to the hype, he may steal a few carries.

Now, for the consensus, we'll get a bit bold here and assume Snoddy gets back into action and takes over this offense with Thomas. He may need a game or two to get it going, but Snoddy will be the man once he gets comfortable again.

Projected winner: Snoddy

2. Louisville Starting Quarterback

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Candidates

• Will Gardner (RS Jr.)
• Reggie Bonnafon (So.)
• Kyle Bolin (RS So.)
• Tyler Ferguson (Jr.)

The Cardinals are loaded with quarterback prospects.

All three of the quarterbacks on the roster in 2014 saw in-game action, and all had moments when they looked great. Gardner took the majority of the snaps last season, throwing for 1,669 yards with 12 touchdowns and three interceptions.

What's the issue? He completed just 57.5 percent of his passes.

As for Reggie Bonnafon and Kyle Bolin, they both made mistakes that young quarterbacks make. It's hard to judge either based on his statistics—since Bonnafon played sporadically throughout the year and Bolin saw the bulk of his action in the final two games.

Their completion percentages and touchdown-to-interception ratios hurt these two. Bonnafon completed just 50.8 percent of his passes with a five-to-four ratio but also rushed for five touchdowns. Bolin posted a completion percentage of 57.7 with a touchdown-to-interception ratio of four to three.

Bolin really stood out in Louisville's season finale against Kentucky, as he completed 21 of 31 passes for 381 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He took a step back after that, though, and struggled against Georgia when he got the nod as the Belk Bowl starter.

All of those numbers above are fun to look into and try to decipher, but I gave my original edge to the dark horse, Tyler Ferguson. I'm not swaying from that decision, either, as I expect Ferguson to come in and make a statement.

To put it as sweet and simple as possible, Ferguson hasn't seen his moment yet.

He hasn't had the chance to shine. The 6'4, 225-pound transfer from Penn State didn't come to Louisville to ride the pine. After completing 10 of 15 passes for 155 yards and a score in 2013 before transferring, he's going to come out firing for head coach Bobby Petrino's squad.

Projected winner: Ferguson

1. Florida State Starting Quarterback

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Candidates

• Sean Maguire (RS Jr.)
• J.J. Cosentino (RS Fr.)
• John Franklin III (RS So.)
• Deondre Francois (Fr.)
• De'Andre Johnson (Fr.)
  

Good gracious.

The Seminoles have plenty of options at quarterback to replace Jameis Winston, but who will separate themselves from the pack? Sean Maguire opens as the favorite—since he was Winston's backup in 2014—but that doesn't mean much.

It's going to come down to who can grasp the Florida State offense best and become a playmaker for this team in 2015. While I have said that Francois will surprise us all and grab the job, would it be wrong to backtrack now?

It's an interesting situation: Maguire already knows the offense, but a few of the other quarterbacks on the roster are more talented. The real competition for Maguire is still going to be Deondre Francois, but J.J. Cosentino and De'Andre Johnson can step up as well.

That doesn't help much—does it?

Well, here's what may help: Johnson enrolled in spring camp, so he'll get a jump on Francois, but Cosentino has had plenty of time to learn the offense over the past year. Johnson's extra time to learn the offense could give him a slight boost over Francois, but will it be enough to hold him off and surpass both Cosentino and Maguire?

It's unlikely.

Here's how it should all play out.

Maguire may end up starting the first game of the season for the Noles, but his term as the starter won't be a season-long gig. Expect Francois or Johnson—who will both then have extra time to learn the offense—to get a shot as the starter after Maguire struggles.

For now, the pick will be Maguire for Day 1—but not for the entire season.

Projected winner: Maguire (for a few weeks, at least)