ACC Spotlight: Four teams with work to do before NSD
The spring wave of commitments has brought the ACC’s average class size up to 15.2 prospects per team, but some programs within the conference are lagging behind that mark. Here are four ACC teams that need to do the most work with their time remaining in the class of 2021.
RELATED: Big Ten teams with work to do | SEC
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022: Top 100
MORE: Rivals Transfer Tracker
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FLORIDA STATE
New Florida State coach Mike Norvell was placed directly behind the eight-ball when a global pandemic halted recruiting visits prior to his first season at the helm. Face-to-face contact is valuable currency in recruiting, and Norvell's inability to meet with prospects, parents and high school coaches has certainly taken a toll. Currently, FSU has commitments from 13 prospects, with just three of them ranking higher than three stars. There’s still plenty out there for FSU, however, as the Noles are in the running for four-star prospects like safety Terrion Arnold and defensive lineman Shambre Jackson, among others. Florida State currently sits at No. 28 nationally, which isn’t awful when you consider the circumstances.
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VIRGINIA TECH
Virginia Tech’s venture into recruiting Texas started off with a bang, but that effort has really fizzled. The decommitments of Dematrius Davis and Latrell Neville were big blows to Justin Fuente’s 2021 recruiting class, and the Hokies are still trying to recover. They’ve also struggled with in-state recruiting, something that has drawn the ire of the movers and shakers in Virginia. With just 12 commitments in this class and a team ranking in the 50s, the most disappointing indicator at this point is the 2.75 average star rating per commit. Not only is Virginia Tech having a hard time attracting many players, they’re having a hard time attracting the type of talent that the Hokies will need to compete in the steadily improving ACC.
Quarterback Tahjamell Bullock and athlete DJ Harvey are the two highest-rated prospects in this class so far, but there will be many more additions before signing day. Virginia Tech is going to end up signing at least 22 players this year and it could end up being as many as 25. Most of the next additions will likely come on the offensive and defensive lines. The Hokies only have one commitment from a lineman right now, but they have a lot of targets on the board. There could be a couple more additions at linebacker as well.
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SYRACUSE
Head coach Dino Babers has a chance to bring in a pretty good recruiting class this year, but the Orange need to finish strong. Syracuse has 14 commitments so far with a good balance across the board but the unimpressive 2.64 average stars per commit doesn’t bode well for the Orange. Some of their two-star commits could find themselves in three-star territory if they show development in the coming season. Syracuse has scoured the nation for prospects and currently holds commitments from players in ten different states.
Currently second to last in the ACC team rankings and with a national team ranking in the 50s, Syracuse should have a better class. With their last few spots in this recruiting class, Babers and his staff could close out with some impressive recruits. Rivals250 defensive lineman George Rooks is a legacy prospect and someone the Syracuse coaching staff has been after for a long time. Cornerback Darian Chestnut is also a four-star prospect and recently put the Orange in his top group. Look for a few more offensive linemen to join this recruiting class as well.
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VIRGINIA
Remember when Virginia played in the Orange Bowl this past season? It doesn’t seem like recruits do. This will be a recruiting class of about 21 or 22 prospects and with 15 already in the fold, Bronco Mendenhall and his staff have some work to do. Their average stars per commit is under three and their national recruiting ranking is outside the top 35. The Cavs seem to keep coming in second or third for highly rated prospects and they haven’t done a great job recruiting in-state talent this year either, something that has been a work in progress since this staff arrived at Virginia.
Nearly all of Virginia’s focus with the time remaining in the 2021 recruiting cycle will be on the offensive line, tight end and defensive line. UVA missed on offensive tackle Tristan Bounds and things aren’t trending their way with highly rated prospect Tristan Leigh, either. Look for the Cavs to add two or three more to this recruiting class along with one tight end and possibly one more defensive lineman.