ACC notes: Freshmen making impact at several schools

Clemson's Sammy Watkins and Mike Bellamy were spectacular in their debuts and Florida State's Devonta Freeman and Rashad Greene also each scored in their first game.

Parks, Watkins and Bellamy likely will continue to see plenty of action, joining Virginia cornerback Demetrious Nicholson, who had an interception after becoming the first freshman to start a season-opener for the Cavaliers since 2005.

Parks finished with 114 yards rushing and scoring runs of 19, 1 and 26 yards in Virginia’s 40-3 victory over William & Mary.

Watkins scored on a 33-yard pass on his first collegiate catch just 26 seconds into a 43-19 victory over Troy – the quickest ever for a Clemson player -- and finished with seven catches for 81 yards.

“I was shaking running down the Hill,” Watkins said. “I put the butterflies behind me and just played after that. I thought it [scoring a touchdown on his first series] was a dream, but it came true.”

Bellamy finished with 81 yards rushing, including a 75-yard touchdown run.

"We have to rely on some freshmen this year. But they are the right kind of guys. That's the good thing about it," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said this week. "They're guys who fit our criteria and what we're looking for and we're excited about them. We have some guys who are beyond their years, football-wise."

Virginia and Clemson each played 12 freshmen, Florida State played 11 and North Carolina played 10.

Linebacker Terrance Smith (Southwest DeKalb) was among the Florida State freshmen who played and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett (Rockdale County) saw action for Clemson.

On second thought

Just one day after Miami coach Al Golden said his quarterback position was open to competition, the program announced Wednesday declared the job belongs to incumbent Jacory Harris, who is just returning from his suspension.

Golden reportedly wasn't pleased with the performance of Stephen Morris, a sophomore who started in the 32-24 loss to Maryland on Monday. The first-year coach said Harris and Morris would have three practices, beginning Thursday, to compete before Golden made his decision.

But before the process could begin, the school on Wednesday announced Harris would start Sept. 17 against Ohio State, a direct about-face from Golden’s remarks earlier in the week.

“There were too many operational things that the quarterback is responsible for that we have to improve,” Golden said previously. “Clearly a lot those situations that we got in, either from an operational standpoint or confusion coming out of the huddle, we have to get it cleared up. That has got to come from the quarterback position. There’s no other way to do that.”

Morris was 19-of-28 for 195 yards against Maryland, but threw two interceptions, including one that was returned 54 yards for a touchdown with 39 seconds left to seal the Terrapins’ victory.

Morris and Harris battled for the starting job until Harris and seven other Hurricanes were suspended last month for accepting benefits from booster Nevin Shapiro. Morris also started final four regular-season games last year when Harris was sidelined with a concussion.

In focus

Northwestern defeated Boston College 24-17 last Saturday, but the Eagles’ tackling machine worked just fine.

Luke Kuechly, a junior middle linebacker who led the nation in tackles (183) and solos (110) on his way to an All-America season in 2010, started strong with 18 tackles (nine solo, nine assists). Kuechly also intercepted a pass and returned it 23 yards to the Northwestern 2-yard line.

He has made at least 10 tackles in 23 consecutive games.

"He's not a perfect football player; no one is. He's certainly, instinctively, one of the best football players I've ever been around," BC coach Frank Spaziani said this summer. "He's just a productive football player. There's nothing more you can say about him. That's what he is. He's a natural football player and he's getting better all the time."

Kuechly surpassed 200 career tackles in his 17th game and became the fastest Boston College player to reach the 300-tackle milestone, doing so in the 23rd game of his career.

By the numbers

15 – Tackles broken by Virginia Tech running back David Wilson on his way to rushing for 162 yards and three touchdowns in an opening 66-13 win over Appalachian State.

95.6 – Completion percentage of North Carolina quarterback Bryn Renner, who was 22 of 23 for 277 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start. His only incompletion was an interception in a 42-10 win over James Madison.

Quotable

"The uniforms are amazing. It was great that [Under Armour founder and CEO] Kevin Plank did this for us and is putting us on the map with them. I think the fact that we won makes it even that much more meaningful." – Maryland offensive lineman Andrew Gonnella on the colorful uniforms the Terrapins wore in their win over Miami Monday night.

"What's done is done. We can't get this game back. So right now we just have to take it in, forget about it and move on. We have a top 5 team coming in next week, so we just kind of have to put this one behind us and get ready for Stanford." – Duke receiver Conner Vernon after Richmond, a FCS (formerly Division I-AA) team, defeated the Blue Devils 23-21, the third win over the Blue Devils in six seasons.

Etc.

Duke safety Matt Daniels (Fayette County) had six pass deflections on Saturday, the most by any player since the NCAA began keeping the statistic in 2002. He also tied the school record set by Quinton McCracken in 1989. ... Florida State star cornerback/returner Greg Reid and backup middle linebacker Telvin Smith, two former Lowndes County players, will both miss Saturday's game against Charleston Southern for a team rules violation. ... Florida State defensive tackle Cameron Erving (Colquitt County) had two tackles. ... North Carolina linebacker Ebele Okakpu (Roswell) had one tackle against James Madison. ... Wake Forest receiver Terence Davis (Brookwood) had two catches for 29 yards and strong safety Cyhl Quarles (Meadowcreek) had a team-high nine tackles in a 36-29 opening loss to Syracuse.

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