The ACC Kickoff media event begins Thursday morning in Charlotte, N.C., a two-day interview barrage for the league’s coaches and players (two per team).
The line of questioning can cover a broad spectrum of topics, but the following five topics figure to get plenty of play.
1. ACC Network launch
On Thursday morning, ACC commissioner John Swofford is expected to make an announcement about the formation of an ACC network operated by ESPN. It has been a partnership years in the making and long anticipated by fans, schools and media. News of the launch, expected for August 2019, finally broke Monday.
The ACC becomes the fourth conference with its own network, following the Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC. ACC coaches have pushed for a network with the belief that it will provide more revenue for their schools and also greater exposure.
2. New faces in Coastal Division
The look of the Coastal Division has changed with the hires of three coaches in the division — Justin Fuente at Virginia Tech, Bronco Mendenhall at Virginia and Mark Richt at Miami. The Richt hire made the biggest splash, and the former Georgia coach being in the same division as Georgia Tech adds a layer of intrigue to the Coastal.
Fuente replaced Frank Beamer, who after 29 seasons had become an iconic figure at Virginia Tech, the ACC and college football but whose offenses in recent seasons were a wreck. Mendenhall will be the third coach at Virginia, following Al Groh and Mike London, to try to achieve the level of success maintained by George Welsh.
Words and phrases such as “change the culture” and “buy-in” likely will be uttered often.
3. Deshaun Watson for the Heisman
The event might be considered the official kickoff for the Heisman Trophy campaign for the Tigers quarterback. Watson, a junior from Gainesville, finished third in Heisman balloting in 2015 and was last seen playing off his feet in a losing effort against Alabama in the national championship game.
The betting website vegasinsider.com has made Watson the preseason favorite to win the Heisman at 5-to-1 odds. He’ll be in Charlotte and presumably will entertain many questions about his candidacy for the award. Clemson has never had a Heisman winner.
Another Heisman candidate also will be in attendance, Florida State running back Dalvin Cook, who has 12-to-1 odds.
4. Preseason media poll
Clemson likely will be a heavy favorite to repeat as ACC champions in the media poll at the event. Besides Watson, the Tigers also return All-ACC running back Wayne Gallman (from Grayson High) and six other offensive starters.
Tigers coach Dabo Swinney and Watson will field more than a few questions about the possibility of winning the second national championship in school history.
On the other side, North Carolina probably will be picked as the favorite to win the Coastal. The Tar Heels return 13 starters off their team that finished 11-3 and 8-0 in league play.
With Florida State a potential preseason top-10 pick, another topic of conversation will be the Atlantic being the stronger division. Clemson and FSU have shared the past five ACC championships. The Coastal won the four before that.
5. Georgia Tech’s recovery
Coach Paul Johnson, quarterback Justin Thomas and defensive tackle Patrick Gamble will face questions about how the Yellow Jackets can bounce back from their 3-9 season. It’s a change from last preseason, when they were voted the Coastal favorite and queried on the possibility of an ACC title.
Johnson likely will have updates on summer workouts and the depth chart.
Tech will probably be picked around fifth in the Coastal, which, coincidentally, is where the Jackets were projected to finish before their 11-win season in 2014.
A prediction: If Johnson is asked about the supposed imbalance between divisions, he’ll happily offer his record against FSU and Clemson (3-2 against the Seminoles and 5-4 against the Tigers).
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