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Euan McCreath - For the past six years the winner of the ACC Championship has come from the Atlantic Division and I think this year will make it seven. The Atlantic Division of the ACC is in my estimation the best division in all of college football this year. The Clemson Tigers are the defending National Champions while the Florida State Seminoles ended their season winning seven of their final eight games. Not to be overshadowed are the Louisville Cardinals who have the most exciting player in college football and just so happens to be the youngest winner of the Heisman Trophy ever, quarterback Lamar Jackson.
The ACC overall is the best conference in college football and the numbers prove it. Two of the last four National Champions have come from the ACC. The ACC has also amassed a 9-3 bowl record last year not to mention going 10-4 against the powerhouse SEC Conference as well. “We’ve have two Heisman winners the past two years and we have tremendous coaches in the ACC. We’re the best conference in college football,” remarked FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher. Jimbo Fisher is dying to get back to the ACC Championship game and he believes he has the quarterback that can lead him back there. When asked about the development about his signal caller Deondre Francois he offered these thoughts,“What I love about Deondre is that he allows himself to be coached. Last season he made plays with his legs and scored five rushing touchdowns. I feel he has to be more consistent and we have to help him get the ball out of his hands quicker. I feel very confident where we are up front as well.” The development of Francois will be magnified given the fact that All-American running back Dalvin Cook and his 173 all purpose yards per game are now in the NFL. Francois offered these thoughts when asked about what he has been focusing on in the offseason, “I’ve just been polishing up my game, polishing up my protections and where I call my hot reads.” The ACC Rookie of the Year will get a monumental test week one when the Noles face the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Classic on September 2nd. Challenging the Noles for the Atlantic Division will be the Louisville Cardinals who return arguably the most exciting player in college football, Lamar Jackson. He was clearly the focal point of ACC media day as his superstar status continues to grow while his upside is immeasurable. It was evident that Lamar had one thing on his mind when he addressed the media and that was winning. “My biggest goal is to win the National Championship. I want to win more games than we did last year and it starts with Purdue,” he stated. Head coach Bobby Petrino offered these thoughts when talking about his quarterback,“What we worked on the most is his ability to throw the ball and read coverages. He takes a lot of pride out on the practice field and understanding the coverages. He has worked real hard on his footwork and he’s a great deep ball thrower. The best thing about Lamar Jackson is his attitude and work ethic.” The charismatic 20-year old phenom is only going to get better and his humbleness has earned him a ton of respect not only on his own team but throughout college football. Clemson Tiger Head Coach Dabo Swinney addressed the media and hardly had the comments of a coach that had won the National Championship. In fact he spoke like a coach hungrier than ever to get the season underway and his swagger was one of a coach that had something to prove. He had a few key points of emphasis when talking about the many talented players that were lost that played an integral part of their championship run. “You go out and recruit and develop players. I think that’s one of the things we do best at Clemson. When your able to develop players then you can sustain consistency and that’s really what we want is to be a consistent program. We’ve got good players that are ready to emerge.” Although the Tigers have inexperience under center they do have the luxury of returning four of five on the offensive line including preseason All-ACC offensive guard Tyrone Crowder who passed up an opportunity to play in the NFL to return for his senior year. I asked him about the influences that ultimately lead him back to staying at Clemson.“Our offensive line is a brotherhood and their comments influenced my decision to come back. I was also only 11 credits away from graduating,” remarked the 6-3, 340-pound guard.“I feel like I’m a great run blocker but I have to work on my pass blocking. I feel like this is our best offensive line.” On the other side of the ball junior defensive tackle Christian Wilkins is back with his ferocious hitting and leadership. “We shouldn’t get complacent because we won one, there’s still more out there for us. We can never get satisfied with whatever we did and there’s always room to improve,” remarked the First Team Preseason All-American. The Tigers will open up against Kent State before getting really tested at home the following week against the Auburn Tigers. The Tigers just aren’t sure what they have at the quarterback position as of yet. Although the Noles have an ever improving quarterback, I think the loss of Cook will be to much to overcome. I believe the Louisville Cardinals are ready and primed to make a run at the college football playoff not just an ACC Championship. Behind Lamar Jackson and a potent offense that also boasts an explosive wide receiving group. All this and I haven’t even mentioned that the Cardinals have one of the best defensive backs in the country in Jaire Alexander who is also a game changer as a punt returner. I believe Bobby Petrino will be cashing in a ticket back to Charlotte to play in the ACC Championship game representing the Atlantic Division.
2 Comments
Simon
7/16/2017 06:08:01 pm
ACC is going to be a top notch conference this year. Great article
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ggrande
7/16/2017 06:31:44 pm
Great article, lots of good info. Amy pics with Lamar? Let's not count out the 'Noles!
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