ACC spotlight: Ranking teams on 2018 QB recruiting

The recruitment of quarterbacks runs at a different pace that every other position. Very few quarterbacks wait to commit until this late in the process. Highly rated quarterback prospects, with the exception of Justin Fields this year, end up committing in the spring of their junior year or in the summer before their senior season. With that in mind, let’s rank the ACC schools based on their 2018 quarterback recruiting classes.

MORE: SEC QB recruiting spotlight

Commitment: Trevor Lawrence

The situation: Clemson doesn’t just have the strongest quarterback class in the ACC this recruiting cycle, the Tigers arguably have the best QB situation in all of college football. Lawrence is one of the best prospects to come out of high school in the last few years, and he should challenge for playing time his freshman year at Clemson. That speaks volumes about his abilities, considering Kelly Bryant will have another year of eligibility, Zerrick Cooper will be a redshirt sophomore, and 2017 five-star quarterback Hunter Johnson as well as 2017 Rivals250 quarterback Chase Brice will both be in their second years on campus.

Commitments: Tyler Shough & Jace Ruder

The situation: Two Rivals250 signees at the quarterback position is relatively rare, but it’s fairly obvious that the Tar Heels need to reload at the position. Shough picked North Carolina over Cal, Michigan, Indiana, and South Carolina the day after doing a camp in Chapel Hill. Ruder committed to the Tar Heels after Shough, but neither is afraid of competing with the other. Both will be involved in early playing time conversations, but they’ll have to compete with incumbent Chazz Surratt.

Commitment: Artur Sitkowski

The situation: Sitkowski is a highly-ranked prospect with nice upside. He was one of Miami’s top targets and the staff is happy with his commitment. His senior season has been a bit uneven, but the fact that he plays on the country’s best high school team has masked some mistakes. That said, Sitkowski has the build and the skill set of a high-level ACC quarterback and projects as a nice piece.

Commitment: Devin Leary

The situation: Leary is one of the most prolific passers in the nation, and N.C. State has been searching for a consistent signal caller for a long time. There are a lot of young quarterbacks on N.C. State’s roster, but Leary is the highest rated of all of them. He has a chance to pass all of them if he can pick up the system fast enough. Leary also already has a good relationship with rising N.C. State star receiver Kelvin Harmon because they both played together in the offseason when Harmon was in high school in southern New Jersey.

Commitment: Quincy Patterson

The situation: Justin Fuente is a proven quarterback whisperer, and Patterson might be the most talented one he’s gotten to work with since Andy Dalton at TCU. The bad news for Patterson is that current starter Josh Jackson is just a redshirt freshman and talented true freshman Hendon Hooker is right there, too. Also on the Virginia Tech roster are redshirt freshman Chase Mummau and transfers Ryan Willis, A.J. Bush and Jack Click. Patterson will have his work cut out for him, but his talent should shine through if he can absorb Fuente’s offense at a fast pace.

Commitments: Johnny Langan & Matt Valecce

The situation: Steve Addazio and his staff brought in a ton of youth at the quarterback position and are hoping somebody emerges down the line to bring some stability. Darius Wade, a redshirt junior, lost the starting job to redshirt freshman Anthony Brown, but there are four other freshman quarterbacks listed on the Boston College roster. Langan and Valecce both bring a unique skillset to Chestnut Hill. Valecce is more of a pocket passer that can pick defenses apart, but Langan has more athleticism and can throw well under duress.

Commitment: Wyatt Rector

The situation: Rector is a project, but he’s an interesting one to say the least. He has impressive size and can run the ball as well as pass it. He won’t blow anyone away with any one attribute, but his versatility and size make him a good get for Virginia, which may have a steal here. You can’t coach size and athleticism, after all.

Commitment: Gunnar Holmberg

The situation: David Cutcliffe is a proven quarterback guru and is one of the most underrated and overlooked coaches in America. He picked his 2018 quarterback early, and Holmberg has a chance to really shine in this Duke offense. The Blue Devils currently have a pair of redshirt sophomore quarterbacks in Daniel Jones and Quentin Harris that seem like they are really getting the job done. Current freshmen Daniel Karlin and Chris Katrenick will be Hoklmberg’s main competition once he gets on campus in Durham.

Commitment: Sam Hartman

The situation: Hartman is exactly what Wake Forest needs at the quarterback position. He’s a smart, accurate quarterback with the ability to extend the play if necessary. He won’t be the most physically gifted quarterback on the Demon Deacon roster, but he will have a lot of time to develop in the Wake Forest system. Redshirt sophomore Kendall Hinton is in good position to start next year, and freshmen Jamie Newman and Tayvone Bowers will be stiff competition for Hartman.

Commitment: Nick Patti

The situation: Patti is playing lights out this season and, with the current quarterback situation in Pittsburgh, he will likely get some work with the first team offense if he picks up the system quick enough. Max Browne won’t be around next season, and redshirt sophomore Ben DiNucci has already gotten a lot of game experience this season. He will likely head into the offseason as next season’s starter, but guys like redshirt freshman Thomas MacVittie, freshman Kenny Pickett and sophomore Jake Zilinskas will certainly get a look.

Commitment: Jordan Travis

The situation: Travis has decent size and is starting to make noise as senior. He’s a prospect that could be in line for a slight rankings bump should his senior season go well. The 6-foot-2 quarterback lacked exposure prior to this year but is starting to get traction thanks to a big arm.

Commitment: N/A

Top target: Justin Fields

The situation: Florida State needs to land Fields, and it needs to land him badly. The fact that the Seminoles don’t have a quarterback in the fold this late in the process will become a problem should they fail to land him. These days, it’s clear that FSU’s quarterback situation behind the inured Deondre Francois is, well, less than ideal.

Commitment: N/A

Top target: James Graham

The situation: Georgia Tech has a deep quarterback depth chart that includes five scholarships players, none of which are seniors. They are in Graham’s top five and will be in it until the end, as a lot of other schools are after him as an athlete. The Yellow Jackets may or may not land him. If they don’t, it’s not an end-of-the-world situation.

Commitment: N/A

Top targets: Carter Bradley and Steven Krajewski

The situation: Bradley and Krajewski are the only two uncommitted quarterbacks Syracuse is chasing at this point. They need a quarterback in this class, but the targets are few and far between at this juncture. Expect more targets to emerge as the season goes on. Whichever quarterback ends up in Syracuse’s 2018 recruiting class will have time to develop before being forced into the fire. Starter Eric Dungey has another year of eligibility and sophomore Clayton Welch, redshirt freshman Rex Culpepper and freshman Tommy DeVito will all be there next year.