It took about an hour, give or take, for the underclassmen gathered in Clemson’s locker room below University of Phoenix Stadium to turn toward the 2016 season.
A few had announcements to make. Clemson tight end Jordan Leggett would return for his senior year, he said. Then-sophomore running back Wayne Gallman was noncommittal, though he took to his Twitter account one day later to broadcast his decision to return to Clemson’s star-powered offensive attack.
Clemson Coach Dabo Swinney took the proclamations one step further: We expect to be back in this game next season, said Swinney, who had brought the Tigers within steps of the program’s first title in decades.
Recent college football history is littered with teams that neared the pinnacle — as did Clemson, a perfect 14-0 until losing the championship game to Alabama — before suffering a precipitous slide out of the national conversation. Take Auburn, which is just 15-11 under Gus Malzahn since losing the BCS National Championship Game to Florida State in early 2014.
Clemson aims to buck the trend. The Tigers will do so as the frontrunners in the ACC, continuing a recent trend that has found two teams — Clemson and Florida State — dominating one of the deepest if least competitive leagues in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
It’s a familiar hierarchy. If Clemson leads, the Seminoles aren’t far behind; if the Seminoles are the favorites, it’s by only a hair in front of the Tigers.
Yet there are still drastic changes afoot. With the exception of the Southeastern Conference West Division — led by Nick Saban, Hugh Freeze and the rest — no division in the country can match the ACC Coastal’s collection of coaches. There are the holdovers: Duke’s David Cutcliffe, North Carolina’s Larry Fedora, Pittsburgh’s Pat Narduzzi and Georgia Tech’s Paul Johnson.
There’s a new face at Miami, where Mark Richt brings more than a decade of experience from his previous stint at Georgia. Former Memphis coach Justin Fuente replaces a legend, Frank Beamer, at Virginia Tech. The Hokies’ in-state rival, Virginia, hired Bronco Mendenhall away from Brigham Young.
These additions might not alter the standings in 2016, but the coaching moves in the Coastal Division could lead to long-term changes to the league’s pecking order. For now, however, the ACC’s path toward the College Football Playoff circles around two familiar faces: Clemson and Florida State.
Three spring storylines
1. Florida State's quarterback competition. After throwing for 1,520 yards and 11 touchdowns as the Seminoles' off-and-on starter a year ago, senior Sean Maguire will miss spring drills while recovering from an ankle injury suffered in a Peach Bowl loss to Houston.
Maguire’s absence makes it official: FSU has a quarterback battle. It may be easy to center the competition on redshirt freshman Deondre Francois and sophomore J.J. Cosentino, but there’s still time for Maguire to make his mark once the Seminoles return to the field in August. In the interim, keep an eye on incoming freshman Malik Henry, a five-star recruit who enrolled in January.
2. Clemson's defensive rebuild. The Tigers' offense should hum, thanks to junior quarterback Deshaun Watson, sophomore left tackle Mitch Hyatt and the return of wide receiver Mike Williams from injury.
The defense is riddled with holes, on the other hand, from the gap left by All-America defensive end Shaq Lawson to the troubling vacancy at cornerback left by Mackensie Alexander’s early entry into the NFL draft. No positional grouping seems in flux more than linebacker, where the Tigers return Ben Boulware on the weak side but need starters and depth elsewhere.
Trust in coordinator Brent Venables, but Clemson has work to do on defense during spring drills.
3. Parity in the Coastal Division. After going unbeaten in league play until the ACC title game, North Carolina should be the early favorite to repeat atop the Coastal Division. Yet there are a handful of teams with the wherewithal to take home the division title, particularly if those first-year coaches have an immediate impact.
The spring will be vital for those teams in particular: Miami needs to learn Richt’s style, Virginia Tech’s offense must grasp Fuente’s system and Virginia starts from the bottom under Mendenhall. And what about Georgia Tech? After a disastrous 2015 season, the Yellow Jackets will embrace a return to underdog status.
Five impact newcomers
1. Clemson LB Rahshaun Smith. The five-star recruit could quickly slide into a starting or key reserve role at either middle linebacker or on the strong side.
2. Virginia Tech QB Jerod Evans. It would be totally unsurprising to see the junior-college transfer grab the Hokies' starting job.
3. North Carolina DB Myles Dorn. An already impressive defensive backfield adds another talented piece in the four-star prospect, who joined the Tar Heels for the spring semester.
4. Miami WR Ahmmon Richards. Of the five wide receivers signed in February, Richards seems the most likely to eventually develop into the Hurricanes' go-to target. Another incoming receiver, Sam Bruce, could make an immediate impact in the return game.
5. Louisville WR Desmond Fitzpatrick. Adding this four-star receiver will give sophomore quarterback Lamar Jackson the sort of options he needs to develop greater passing skills to go with his game-breaking ability as a runner.
Spring game schedule
April 2, Syracuse; April 9, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, North Carolina State, Wake Forest; April 16, Boston College, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, Pittsburgh; April 23, Georgia Tech, Virginia, Virginia Tech.
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