Ranking 2010 ACC Football: Quarterbacks

Posted by Brandon Rink on August 17, 2010 under ACC Football | Read the First Comment

Breaking the ACC unit by unit as we approach football season, today, we’re looking at the QBs of the ACC…

Opened up the rankings to Twitter today and here’s how it went down:

1) FSU – Christian Ponder – 1.25
2) NCSU – Russell Wilson – 2.25
3) GT – Josh Nesbitt – 3.5
4) UM – Jacory Harris – 3.75
T-5) VT- Tyrod Taylor – 4.75
T-5) CU- Kyle Parker – 4.75
7) UNC – T.J. Yates – 8
8) UVA – Marc Verica – 8.5
T-9) BC – Dave Shinskie – 9
T-9) DU – Sean Renfree – 9
11) Maryland QB – 10.75
12) Wake Forest QB – 11

All the votes are here.

My Rankings

1) NC State

Talent/Performance Grade (out of 10): 9.6
Depth: Solid
Top QB (2009 Stats): Russell Wilson (3,027 passing yards, 260 rushing yards, 35 total TDs, 11 INTs)
Stat: Wilson connected in the endzone with 31 TDs – 5 more than the nearest ACC QB in 2009.
A Word (or two): Ponder has the best shot at the Heisman, but Wilson has proved over the course of his career to be the best coming back in the ACC.

2) Florida State

Talent/Performance Grade (out of 10): 9.4
Depth: Solid
Top QB (2009 Stats): Christian Ponder (2,717 yards, 14 TDs, 7 INTs)
Stat: Ponder finished the season (9 games due to injury) with a league leading 68.8% completion rate.
A Word (or two): Ponder should be neck and neck with Wilson on passing stats in 2010 – and with a better overall team, might just sneak into NY for that award that starts with an “H”.

3) Georgia Tech

Talent/Performance Grade (out of 10): 9.4
Depth: O.K.
Top QB (2009 Stats): Josh Nesbitt (1,701 passing yards, 1,037 rushing yards, 28 total TDs, 5 INTs)
Stat: 12th in passing efficiency – 116th in passing offense in 2009.
A Word (or two): Nesbitt has developed into a machine at running Johnson’s scheme – so, so deadly on the dive, and decent enough in the passing game to keep defenses honest.

4) Miami

Talent/Performance Grade (out of 10): 9.2
Depth: Solid.
Top QB (2009 Stats): Jacory Harris (3,352 yards, 24 TDs, 17 INTs)
Stat: Jacory had -219 rushing yards in 2009 – speaks to how much he was sacked and how much Whipple wants him to stay in the pocket.
A Word (or two): Harris’ arm got a workout in 2009 and with all his top receivers back – he should have an outstanding year, but Jacory will have to improve on the INT numbers.

5) Virginia Tech

Talent/Performance Grade (out of 10): 9.1
Depth: Solid.
Top QB (2009 Stats): Tyrod Taylor (2,311 passing yards, 370 rushing yards, 18 total TDs, 5 INTs)
Stat: 10th in passing efficiency, 95th in passing offense in 2009.
A Word (or two): Taylor had a solid 2009 and is on track for an even better season in the tough Coastal.

6) Clemson

Talent/Performance Grade (out of 10): 8.7
Depth: Solid.
Top QB (2009 Stats): Kyle Parker (2,526 yards, 20 TDs, 12 INTs)
Stat: Parker finished 6th among ACC QBs in passing efficiency.
A Word (or two): Ever since Parker walked off the field at the Music City Bowl, it has been drama, drama, drama in the offseason, but Parker is back at QB and needs to find a new group of targets due to graduation.

7) Boston College

Talent/Performance Grade (out of 10): 8.4
Depth: Solid.
Top QB (2009 Stats): Dave Shinskie (2,049 yards, 15 TDs, 14 INTs)
Stat: 92nd in passing efficiency in 2009.
A Word (or two): We start to get into the unsettled QB situations here – BC’s Shinskie had a solid freshman season (for a guy in his mid-20s) and should improve in 2010.

8) North Carolina

Talent/Performance Grade (out of 10): 8.3
Depth: Solid.
Top QB (2009 Stats): T.J. Yates (2,136 yards, 14 TDs, 15 INTs)
Stat: Yates finished 9th among ACC QBs in passing efficiency in 2009.
A Word (or two): Yates’ numbers and overall play were unspectacular in 2009, and now, he has a backup in Renner poised to jump in if he doesn’t step it up now.

9) Duke

Talent/Performance Grade (out of 10): 8.1
Depth: O.K.
Top QB (2009 Stats): Sean Renfree (330 yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs)
Stat: Renfree replaces a QB in Lewis who had exactly 3,000 more yards passing (and 16 more TDs) in 2009.
A Word (or two): At one point last season, Renfree appeared to have an outside shot of grabbing the QB job – after offseason surgery on his knee, he’s just looking to return to that form.

10) Virginia

Talent/Performance Grade (out of 10): 7.7
Depth: Spotty.
Top QB (2009 Stats): Marc Verica (156 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT)
Stat: 113th in passing efficiency in 2009.
A Word (or two): No QB controversy in Charlottesville, but Verica hasn’t done much in his career to this point – hard to expect much now.

11) Maryland

Talent/Performance Grade (out of 10): 7.6
Depth: O.K.
Top QB (2009 Stats): Jamarr Robinson (459 passing yards, 229 rushing yards, 2 TDs)
Stat: 68th in passing offense in 2009.
A Word (or two): Robinson brings the dual-threat element that coupled with a good grasp of Friedgen’s offense – might just surprise some folks and move up towards the middle of the pack.

12) Wake Forest

Talent/Performance Grade (out of 10): 7.4
Depth: Spotty.
Top QB (2009 Stats): Skylar Jones (no stats)
Stat: 26th in passing offense in 2009.
A Word (or two): Losing Skinner hurts, and have no experience QBing in the ACC behind him knocks the Deacs down that much more.

How would you rank them? Any players you expect to breakout in 2010 I didn’t mention?

Series So Far

Running Backs
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Offensive Line
Coaches
Kickers/Punters
Defensive Line
Linebackers
Secondary
Intro