Power Ranking Top 10 ACC Quarterbacks for 2016
The state of quarterbacking in the ACC runs the gamut. At the top of the group reside several of the nation’s best signal-callers, who have eye-popping skills and NFL futures ahead. You have one of the nation’s best option quarterbacks and several quarterbacks who’ll try to replace predecessors who led championship drives last season.
Then you have plenty of uncertainty. As spring practice wrapped up, Boston College, Florida State, North Carolina State, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest were all still in the midst of quarterback competitions that will determine their 2016 starters.
Such competitions make it impossible to predict exactly what ACC teams will get out of their quarterbacks in 2016, but it likely won’t be dull. Here’s a look at the top 10 quarterbacks in the ACC as we head toward the 2016 season. Players were ranked based on their on-field accomplishments, displayed talent and potential for the season ahead.
10. Eric Dungey, Syracuse
1 of 10
Syracuse officials decided that a change was in order after three years of the Scott Shafer era. Shafer led the Orange to seven wins and a bowl in his first season, but he regressed afterward, managing just seven wins in two seasons while playing lifeless football. Syracuse made a smart hire in now-former Bowling Green head coach Dino Babers, who runs a lightning-fast offense that is anything but boring.
He’ll need a quarterback he trusts in that system, and that could be Eric Dungey. Dungey was solid as a freshman, throwing for 1,298 yards with 11 touchdowns against five interceptions and rushing for 351 yards and five touchdowns before missing the final three games due to injury.
If Dungey proves he can handle the fast pace Babers requires, he’ll likely be the man in Syracuse.
9. Brenden Motley, Virginia Tech
2 of 10
There are programs where Brenden Motley would be breathing relatively easy heading into summer workouts. After all, Motley, a senior, made six starts for Virginia Tech last year in relief of injured starter Michael Brewer, who has now graduated. That experience would be meaningful in most years—but not in 2016. Not in Blacksburg. After all, Frank Beamer, the longest-tenured coach in the FBS ranks, is gone. In is Justin Fuente, who is fresh off leading Memphis to 19 wins in two seasons with NFL first-round pick Paxton Lynch at quarterback.
Fuente wants a leader for his fast-paced scheme, and Motley will compete with junior college transfer Jerod Evans for the starting role. Fuente didn’t show his hand after spring practice, meaning the two will compete into preseason practice.
Last fall, Motley threw for 1,155 yards with 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions, but the Hokies were 3-3 in that span. That said, Evans outperformed him in the spring game, throwing for 104 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, Motley completed four of 10 passes for 19 yards and was sacked three times. Motley has the experience, and he’ll get the nod here, but the competition is far from over.
8. Thomas Sirk, Duke
3 of 10
Duke head coach David Cutcliffe knows how much a great quarterback can mean to a team. After all, he molded Peyton Manning as Tennessee’s quarterbacks coach and did the same for little brother Eli as Ole Miss’ head coach. Cutcliffe has revitalized a moribund Blue Devils program by receiving solid quarterback play.
2016 could show just how much quarterback talent means to Cutcliffe. Duke is coming off an 8-5 season, which was capped off by a Pinstripe Bowl win over Indiana, and the Blue Devils have a returning senior starter in Thomas Sirk. However, Sirk’s 2016 season was placed in jeopardy after he suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon during offseason workouts.
Sirk threw for 2,625 yards with 16 touchdowns against eight interceptions last season and was also Duke’s leading rusher with 803 yards and eight touchdowns. He has progressed well in rehabilitation and could be ready for the start of the regular season, per Laura Keeley of the Raleigh News and Observer, who noted that he is No. 1 on Duke' post-spring depth chart.
If not, Cutcliffe will turn to sophomore Parker Boehme, who had 579 passing yards with two scores against an interception in 2015.
7. Nathan Peterman, Pittsburgh
4 of 10
Tennessee didn’t work out well for Nathan Peterman. The 6’2”, 225-pound Jacksonville, Florida, native started his career on Rocky Top, but he left as a graduate transfer after starting just two games in two seasons. However, Peterman has found a home in Pittsburgh.
After landing at Pitt, Peterman wrestled the starting job away from Chad Voytik. He threw for 2,287 yards with 20 touchdowns against eight interceptions last season, completing 61.5 percent of his passes.
He is an experienced leader who won’t be pushed for a starting role this fall, as Voytik transferred. But it remains to be seen how well he’ll function with leading receiver Tyler Boyd now off to the NFL.
6. Sean Maguire, Florida State
5 of 10
Replacing a legend is tough, which Florida State found out last fall. With Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston gone to the NFL, neither Sean Maguire nor Everett Golson stood out as the starting quarterback. Maguire eventually seized the role, throwing for 1,520 yards and 11 touchdowns against six interceptions, but he completed only 59.6 percent of his passes.
It was telling that, while Maguire recovered from ankle surgery this spring, head coach Jimbo Fisher didn’t commit to him as the unquestioned starter. Freshmen Deondre Francois and Malik Henry ran FSU’s offense, and Francois held a slight edge over Henry as practice concluded.
Maguire will get a chance to keep his job in preseason practice, but it is by no means a given. If Francois wins the role, he’ll inherit a maturing group of receivers and hand off to Heisman Trophy candidate Dalvin Cook. Not to mention his explosive ability as a dual-threat passer.
5. Mitch Trubisky, North Carolina
6 of 10
To outsiders, Marquise Williams’ graduation might look like a big concern for North Carolina. After all, the athletic quarterback was at the center of the Tar Heels’ huge 11-3 season and ACC Coastal Division title last year. He accounted for over 4,000 yards of total offense and 37 touchdowns.
But that would discount Williams’ backup, Mitch Trubisky. The junior pushed Williams hard for the starting role as a redshirt freshman, appearing in 10 games and throwing for 459 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions. Last fall, Trubisky was excellent in an understudy role, completing an eye-popping 40 of 47 passes for 555 yards and six touchdowns against no interceptions last fall.
He is well-respected by his teammates and has the experience to make a seamless transition into leading North Carolina’s fast-paced offense. Trubisky should acquit himself just fine this fall.
4. Justin Thomas, Georgia Tech
7 of 10
Last fall, Georgia Tech was one of the nation’s biggest puzzles. Coming off an 11-win season that included an ACC Coastal Division title and an Orange Bowl victory, the Yellow Jackets slipped into mediocrity at 3-9.
Quarterback Justin Thomas’ fortunes sunk alongside his team. As a sophomore, Thomas threw for 1,719 yards with 18 touchdowns against six interceptions and rushed for 1,086 yards and eight touchdowns.
With multiple new offensive pieces around him, Thomas fell off sharply as a junior. He threw for 1,345 yards with 13 touchdowns against eight interceptions, completing just 41.7 percent of his passes. His rushing stats were down sharply, too, as he rushed for 488 yards and six scores, averaging just 3.4 yards per attempt.
This fall, the core of Tech’s flexbone offense returns and should be better with a year’s experience, which will take some pressure off Thomas’ shoulders. Leading rusher Marcus Marshall (654 yards, four touchdowns) returns, as does top receiver Ricky Jeune (24 receptions, 420 yards, four scores).
The option offense is best when all involved are comfortable and have a strong sense of timing. That can only help Thomas’ stats and Georgia Tech’s overall record.
3. Lamar Jackson, Louisville
8 of 10
Entering 2015, Louisville and head coach Bobby Petrino had some questions about their quarterback situation. The Cardinals needed someone to separate and take control under center. By season’s end, that’s exactly what happened. Lamar Jackson made it clear that he, not Kyle Bolin or Reggie Bonnafon, was the man to move the offense forward.
Jackson grabbed control of the offense in a big way. The dual-threat passer threw for 1,840 yards with 12 touchdowns against eight interceptions, and he was also Louisville’s leading rusher with 960 yards on the ground and 11 rushing touchdowns.
He saved his best for last in the Music City Bowl against Texas A&M, throwing for 227 yards and two scores and rushing for 226 and two more. Jackson is “the guy” in Louisville’s offense, and he has excellent potential. Can he knock off ACC Atlantic heavyweights Clemson and Florida State? We’ll see.
2. Brad Kaaya, Miami
9 of 10
Brad Kaaya took a bit of a step back in 2015. Miami’s 6’4”, 210-pound pocket passer threw for 3,238 yards and 16 touchdowns with five interceptions, but it’s important to note that he was caught up in a tumultuous season that saw the Hurricanes fire head coach Al Golden.
He was knocked out of the 58-0 home loss to Clemson, which proved to be Golden’s swan song, with an injury, missing the next week at Duke as well. Kaaya’s numbers were down from his 2014 ACC Freshman of the Year campaign (3,198 yards, 26 touchdowns, 12 interceptions), but there’s no denying his skills and potential.
With new head coach Mark Richt in the fold, Kaaya should thrive in a pro-style scheme. He is the second-best signal-caller in the ACC and has strong potential as an NFL quarterback.
1. Deshaun Watson, Clemson
10 of 10
There is no doubt about who the ACC’s best quarterback is. At least there shouldn’t be. At this time last year, it would have been understandable to harbor some doubts about Deshaun Watson. Clemson’s young quarterback flashed some impressive dual-threat skills as a freshman, but he couldn’t stay healthy, missing time with a broken finger and torn ACL.
If you have doubts after 2015, however, you weren’t paying attention. Watson was the linchpin in Clemson’s run to a 14-1 record and national runner-up finish. He threw for 4,104 yards with 35 touchdowns and 13 interceptions and also topped 1,000 yards rushing, becoming the first player in FBS history to pass for 4,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in the same season. He finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting behind Alabama’s Derrick Henry and Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey.
This could be his final collegiate season; Watson is a fixture in NFL 2017 mock drafts, ranking No. 4 on ESPN.com's Mel Kiper Jr.'s early big board. He told the Times-Picayune's Andrew Lopez that he's only focused on the 2016 season, however.
"I'm focused totally on Clemson. That's my main priority. All that other stuff is going to take care of itself. I've got to learn and see in previous years that all that stuff is for hype. There's not a lot going on in the summer so people have to put out stories and focus on those things. I just focus on my job and make sure I'm getting better and let everything else take care of itself.
"
Watson is somewhat slight in stance at 6’2”, 205 pounds, but he can create with his arm and his legs. He is also a natural leader who is at his best when the stakes are highest. His strong play rallied Clemson past halftime deficits against both Florida State and Oklahoma, and with an experienced, deep, explosive offense around him this fall, he should be a strong contender for the Heisman Trophy. Most importantly for Clemson, Watson will lead another charge at a national title.
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