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Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Breaking down the ACC Coastal
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Let’s take a moment to break down the ACC Coastal as spring ball cranks up. The SEC East will be on Thursday and the SEC West on Friday.
DUKE
Last season: 1-11.
Starters returning: Offense 7, defense 10.
Top story lines: The David Cutcliffe era begins at Duke and inquiring minds want to know: Can Cutcliffe, who had five winning seasons at Ole Miss, make an immediate impact? The former OC at Tennessee has already put his offensive linemen on a diet. He wants his first team to be quicker; Thaddeus Lewis has thrown for 4,564 yards in first two years at quarterback. Now Lewis will learn how to really play the position from the man who groomed the last two Super Bowl MVPs.
GEORGIA TECH
Last season: 7-6; lost to Fresno State (40-28) in the Humanitarian Bowl.
Starters returning: Offense 6, defense 4.
Top story lines: First-year head coach Paul Johnson adapts his option offense, which led the nation in rushing last season at Navy, to ACC talent; the first order of business is finding a quarterback. Josh Nesbitt and Calvin Booker are the likely candidates; The offense will have growing pains but will be fine. The real concern is on defense, where the Jackets will be without DC Jon Tenuta, who has gone on to Notre Dame. New DC Dave Wommack will begin with only four returning starters.
MIAMI
Last season: 5-7.
Starters returning: Offense 4, defense 6.
Top story lines: The Hurricanes hit rock bottom last season under first-year coach Randy Shannon, but there is reason for optimism. Shannon has put together two great recruiting classes and those players will begin making an impact sooner rather than later; Miami has to find a quarterback. Redshirt freshman Robert Marve will finally get his chance; there us much work to do on defense, where DE Calais Campbell and S Kenny Phillips are gone.
NORTH CAROLINA
Last season: 4-8.
Starters returning: Offense 10, defense 8.
Top story lines: Quarterback T.J. Yates of Marietta, who had a huge season (2,655 yards passing) as a redshirt freshman in 2007, will sit out spring practice as he recovers from shoulder surgery; new defensive coordinator Everett Withers will be working with a young defense (five returning sophomore starters) that needs to get better in the spring; there is reason for optimism in Chapel Hill. With an extremely young team, North Carolina lost six games by seven points or fewer in 2007.
VIRGINIA
Last season: 9-4; lost to Texas Tech 31-28 in the Gator Bowl.
Starters returning: Offense 6, defense 5.
Top story lines: It has not been a good off-season for head coach Al Groh. Starting quarterback Jameel Sewell is not enrolled in school this semester, reportedly due to academic problems, and is not expected to play this fall. That leaves the door open for sophomore Peter Lalich, who completed 57.4 percent of his passes as a backup last season; Jeffrey Fitzgerald, who was supposed to take over at DE for All-America Chris Long, dropped out of school. Mike London, Virginia’s defensive coordinator, left to become the head coach at Richmond. On the positive front Virginia welcomes back WR Kevin Ogletree, a big time player who miss all of 2007 with an injury.
VIRGINIA TECH
Last season: 11-3; beat Boston College (30-16) in ACC championship game; lost to Kansas (24-21) in Orange Bowl.
Starters returning: Offense 7, defense 6.
Top story lines: With the departures of linebackers Xavier Adibi and Vince Hall along with five other defensive starters, DC Bud Foster is going to have a busy spring; Virginia Tech must also replace three of four starters on the defensive line; Virginia Tech will continue to tinker with the two-quarterback system of Sean Glennon and Tyrod Taylor that worked at the end of the 2007 season. The good news is that the offensive line, which was a weakness last season, should be a strength in 2008. That can only be good news for senior RB Brandon Ore, who should have a big year.
