Tag Archives: North Carolina

ACC Football Standout Senior 2013: North Carolina

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UNC Quarterback Bryn Renner Appears Poised for a Breakout Senior Campaign

North Carolina Quarterback Bryn Renner Appears Poised for a Breakout Senior Campaign

Last season’s juniors are now this season’s seniors, and with that comes extra responsibility and expectations. In the ACC, while there were plenty of players selected in the NFL Draft, the conference still returns a strong group of seniors — many of whom are set to make a strong impact in their final seasons of eligibility.

Over these few weeks, we’re going team-by-team in the ACC to identify the “standout senior” that’s key to his respective squad, and why he’s so important. Think we should’ve featured another player, though? Feel free to weigh in with your own thoughts in the comments.

North Carolina Tar Heels: Bryn Renner, QB

Last season, all the focus was on Giovani Bernard, and rightfully so. The now-Cincinnati Bengals running back put in one of the best seasons in UNC history at his position, and was a large part of the program’s eight wins last season. But by focusing in on Bernard, the team’s quarterback — Renner — ended up shuffled into the background; something that could end up being a blessing for him in his senior season. For those who may not be aware, Renner’s thrown for nearly 6,500 yards over the past two seasons, to go with 54 touchdowns and just 20 picks. While his accuracy may have taken a slight dip in 2012 (from 68-percent completion to 65), he’s still throwing better than most starters in the game. And all this while running a Larry Fedora offense that’s entirely based off of calling as many plays as possible, while worrying about efficiency later. While Renner was not a natural for the spread style Fedora installed upon coming to Chapel Hill, he sure looked like one by the end 2012, completing 81 of 110 passes (74 percent) for 970 yards and 10 scores over his final three games.

The biggest key for Renner, right off the bat, is the advantage he gains from a quick release. In 2011, he took 26 sacks in 13 games, but in 2012, he had just 11 all season. o course, some of that is due to the fact that he had a top-10 draft pick in front of him (Jonathan Cooper), but Cooper was there in 2011 as well. Even better, that quick release hasn’t created a huge discrepancy in yards-per-attempt either, as is typical. Throwing 72 less balls in 2012 (in one less game), he averaged nearly eight yards per attempt — versus nearly nine yards per throw in 2011. While “efficiency” isn’t the right word here, as he did complete a lower percentage of throws, I think it is safe to say that Renner was more effective as a passer in 2012 than the season before. And this year, despite some turnover on the line, we may see even more improvement.

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ACC Football Standout Senior 2013: Georgia Tech

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Will Jeremiah Attaochu's Switch to Defensive End Make a Big Dent in the Tech Pass Rush?

Will Jeremiah Attaochu’s Switch to Defensive End Make a Big Dent in the Tech Pass Rush in 2013?

As schools’ academic years are wrapping up, last season’s juniors are about to become this season’s seniors, and with that comes extra responsibility and expectations. In the ACC, while there were plenty of players selected in the NFL Draft, the conference still returns a strong group of seniors — many of whom are set to make a strong impact in their final seasons of eligibility.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be going team-by-team in the ACC to identify the “standout senior” that’s key to his respective squad, and why he’s so important. Think we should’ve featured another player, though? Feel free to weigh in with your own thoughts in the comments.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: Jeremiah Attaochu, DE

Right off the bat, you’ll notice the new position Attaochu’s playing — defensive end — after spending his first three seasons at linebacker in a 3-4 scheme. Considering Attaochu managed 10 sacks in 13 games from that linebacker spot last year, the expectation has already been raised for what should be a breakout senior season. As the most notable of a nice collection of seniors on this year’s Tech defense, it’ll be up to the much-beleagured Attaochu to come up big for a unit that could use a boost.

One might recall the incident near the end of the 2011 season when the then-sophomore Attaochu punched Virginia Tech QB Logan Thomas, resulting in a suspension for the former. Since then, he’s done nothing but try to redeem himself in the eyes of coaches, teammates, the media and scouts, but at times, the moment still manages to mar what has otherwise been a productive career in Atlanta; even after the two players publicly showed the event’s behind them. Punch or not, however, both he and the Tech defense can no longer allow it — or anything else — to be a distraction.

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ACC Football Recruiting Class of 2014 Rankings Update

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Virginia-Commit Quin Blanding is the ACC's Top Recruit So Far for 2014

Virginia-Commit Quin Blanding is the ACC’s Top Recruit So Far for 2014

Sure, we’re still more than three months from the start of the 2013 college football season, but since teams are currently recruiting for 2014, there are actually things to keep track of on that front. Like always, recruiting rankings mean absolutely nothing, especially when they’re compiled with nine months remaining in the recruiting period and no hard, binding letters signed yet. Still, it’s fun to see where teams stand, and if your school’s doing well, you get to give yourself a badge of pride for an afternoon (or whatever else you might do to get enjoyment out of this).

Below you’ll find a breakdown of ACC recruiting rankings from Rivals, 247Sports and Scout, as well as a breakdown of ACC players currently ranked in the ESPN 150 (there is no ESPN 300 for 2014 yet).

ACC Football 2014 Recruiting Rankings (May 9)

Each service compiles rankings with a different scoring system, using the total number of points accumulated per school to decide their rank compared to all other classes. However, this also provides an unfair advantage to larger classes, emphasizing quantity over quality. With that in mind, we also included averages, to account for high-quality, smaller classes. For school with large classes right now, like Florida State and Louisville, the overall rankings are an advantageous figure. But for schools with just one recruit thus far, like Pittsburgh and Wake Forest, it hurts — which is where the averages come in. Also note that while Scout and Rivals use the standard “stars” system (1-5), 247Sports has an algorithm out of 100 that they explain on their site. Under “composite” below, you’ll find the average ranking score for each school (using both total score and average score), so we can get a much fuller picture on the quality of respective classes using a variety of methods.

TEAM Total Players Scout (pts) Scout (avg) Rivals (pts) Rivals (avg) 247 (pts) 247 (avg) Composite
Miami 7 10 13 (3.43) 12 12 (3.67) 13 11 (90.71) 11.83
Clemson 5 22 15 (3.4) 17 6 (3.8) 27 20 (89.6) 17.83
Florida State 9 12 35 (2.89) 7 24  (3.44) 9 22 (89.44) 18.17
Virginia Tech 8 21 48 (2.14) 16 35 (3.29) 16 38 (87.63) 29.00
Louisville 11 28 47 (2.18) 11 42 (3.09) 11 47 (85.64) 31.00
Virginia 4 27 60 (1.75) 25 2 (4) 36 28 (88.25) 31.33
North Carolina 7 31 50 (2) 21 43 (3) 24 49 (85.14) 36.33
Maryland 3 55 30 (3) 42 33 (3.33) 51 43 (86.33) 42.33
Duke 6 35 45 (2.33) 63 46 (3) 29 45 (85.83) 43.83
Boston College 8 54 77 (.25) 28 63 (2.83) 21 57 (84.13) 50.00
Pittsburgh 1 60 31 (3) 63 58 (3) 71 36 (88) 53.17
Syracuse 2 64 57 (2) 56 52 (3) 75 78 (78) 63.67
Georgia Tech 2 67 68 (1) 63 55 (3) 67 65 (81.50) 64.17
NC State 3 69 62 (1.67) 63 70 (2.5) 60 71 (80.67) 65.83
Wake Forest 1 88 88 (-1) 74 77 (2) 82 74 (79) 80.50

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Way-Too-Early 2013 ACC Football Power Rankings (May 6)

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Do Vic Beasley and the Clemson D Decide Whether or Not the Tigers Contend for a Title?

Will Vic Beasley & the Clemson D Decide Whether or Not the Tigers Contend for a Title?

As SB Nation so aptly pointed out today, we are halfway through college football’s offseason; which means that as of right now, it’s just 115 days ’till kickoff, one of the most magical days on the sporting calendar. For the ACC, hope springs eternal at the moment, with at least one real national title contender and a collection of up-and-comers looking to crack the polls, too. Obviously, it’s all speculation, but what else do we have to get us through the next few months?

1. Clemson Tigers (Last: 1): We’ll know all we need to about Clemson after the first game against Georgia — a matchup that’s likely to pit two top-10 teams against one another in a national showcase. The Tigers offense will be fine, but were the glimmers of hope the defense provided come the end of 2012 a flash in the pan, or an indication of better things to come? I’m tempted to think the latter, actually.

2. Louisville Cardinals (Last: 2): The Cardinals’ schedule is a joke consisting of the depleted Big East American Athletic Conference, so running through it with 11 or 12 wins should not be a problem at all. What observers will find truly intriguing about Louisville this year will mostly revolve around whether voters will give the Cards enough credit in the national title conversation, and/or how much Heisman hype Teddy Bridgewater can amass.

3. Florida State Seminoles (Last: 3): New starting quarterback Jameis Winston appears to be the real deal, but we won’t know the extent of the young passer’s growing pains until the real games begin. Though the ‘Noles lost plenty to the draft (11 players in all), the last few recruiting classes still leave plenty of talent to keep this team hovering among the top 15-20, nationally.

4. North Carolina Tar Heels (Last: 5): On paper, the Heels lost quite a bit with the departures of Giovani Bernard and Jonathan Cooper, but that discounts the extent of the offense’s evolution under coach Larry Fedora much too heavily. As a senior, QB Bryn Renner‘s poised for his best year yet, and after a strong part-time campaign last year, running back A.J. Blue could be one of the conference’s biggest surprises.

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“From Swofford to Delany”: A Romantic Comedy

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Yesterday, the Washington Post had a feature on the professional rivalry between ACC commissioner John Swofford and Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany, dating back to when the two attended North Carolina together. Obviously, this lent itself to one entertaining (and completely fictional) romantic comedy idea. Do with this preview what you will…

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Trailer starts with a panoramic view of Chapel Hill, and this song rising up:

 

Voice-over announcer: “Jim Delany was a star point guard, living in the moment.”

“John Swofford was a Southern academic… and a football player.”

lucas_corey_haim2

“But despite their differences, they both shared a common bond; one they’d battle over for the next 40 years…”

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Atlantic Coast Convos Far-Too-Early 2013 Top 25 (May 1)

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Could Stanford Challenge Alabama for the National Championship This Season? Stranger Things Have Happened

Could Stanford Challenge Alabama for the National Championship This Season?

College football has always been based in part upon random guessing about who’s better, so you’ll likely find little issue with this early top 25 poll based on nothing but speculation and a fear of Nick Saban. Who finishes below the terrifying Tide however, is largely up for debate, which is why we filled out the second through 24th spots to the best of our abilities. If nothing else, use this as a reminder that we’re getting closer to kickoff. Disagree with any (or all) of the below? Protest away in the comments.

Atlantic Coast Convos 2013 Top 25 (May 1)

1. Alabama Crimson Tide (Last: 1)

2. Stanford Cardinal (Last: 2)

3. Texas A&M Aggies (Last: 3)

4. Ohio State Buckeyes (Last: 8)

5. Oregon Ducks (Last: 4)

6. Georgia Bulldogs (Last: 5)

7. South Carolina Gamecocks (Last: 6)

8. Clemson Tigers (Last: 7)

9. Louisville Cardinals (Last: 10)

10. Texas Longhorns (Last: 9)

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ACC Football Divisional Realignment: What are the Most Important Factors for a Better Divisional Setup?

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If the ACC Considers Realigning its Divisions, the Florida State-Miami Rivalry is at the Focal Point

If the ACC Considers Realigning its Divisions, Talk Will  Revolve Around the Florida State-Miami Rivalry

Now that the ACC‘s no longer in imminent peril, everyone can shift away from realignment theories and focus on other things… like divisional realignment theories. While the ACC does effectively have a wall built around its borders, that doesn’t change the issue it’s been having with the on-field football product of late. Due to expansion (both the first and second round), rivalries have taken a backseat to a hackneyed divisional alignment solely meant to match up Florida State and Miami for the ACC championship. Eight years after the formation of the “Atlantic” and “Coastal” divisions, that title game has yet to occur and now, with 14 teams, this nonsensical setup has never appeared more pointless. For the sake of more compelling matchups, as well as improving the quality of all the league’s teams (theoretically, at least), the best solution seems to be realigning the divisions. But what makes the most sense?

First, you have to outline the most important factors for divisional realignment; what are the top priorities if we’re going to blow up the current model and start over? From my point of view, those priorities are as follows:

1. Geography: Rivalries are inherently built out of geographic proximity — something the current alignment largely misses out on. With a league that spans from Boston to Miami, travel costs should also be a consideration to re-work things along geographic lines.

2. Eliminate Crossover Opponents: Under the current setup, each school is locked into six games in their respective division, plus one permanent crossover and then a rotating crossover opponent. With just one flexible slot each year, many schools in opposite divisions end up playing each other just once every six years. While some small exceptions can be made, the rule that every team needs a crossover opponent (since many of these are forced “rivalries”) must go. By freeing up another spot in the schedule, teams face each other more frequently, which is something virtually every fan base wants.

3. Get Teams Exposure in Florida: This is where things get a bit tricky. Getting in front of Florida recruits is a big deal for every school, and a pure geographic realignment largely cuts off the northeast schools from that recruiting hot bed. But if Miami (tons of northeast alums, anyway) was put in a hypothetical “North” division, this largely solves that issue. Every “North” team would have Miami on the annual schedule, while every “South” team would have an annual tilt with Florida State.

“But, but, but WHAT ABOUT THE FLORIDA STATE-MIAMI RIVALRY?!” We’re getting to it…

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