ACC Spotlight: Stacking up the starting lineups by star ranking
The college football season is right around the corner, so Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney took the lists of projected starters for each Power Five conference from the Lindy’s preseason magazine and broke them down by star ranking coming out of high school.
Today, we move on to the ACC.
Note: Five-star players are allotted five points, four-stars get four points and so on for each of the 22 starters on every team.
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RELATED: Stacking up the starting lineups in the SEC by star ranking
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1. CLEMSON
Total points: 92
Overview: Clemson has two five-stars on offense in QB DJ Uiagalelei and WR Joseph Ngata but the Tigers are even more ridiculously loaded on defense with three five-stars on the defensive line alone in Myles Murphy, Bryan Bresee and Xavier Thomas. Linebackers Trenton Simpson and Barrett Carter were also five-star recruits. Based on star rankings alone, Clemson should run roughshod through the ACC as every other projected starter was a four-star except for three players.
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2. MIAMI
Total points: 80
Overview: There is only one former five-star in safety James Williams on the projected list of starters for Miami but there is plenty of talent with 13 four-stars on both sides of the ball. After his showing this year and what’s expected this season, quarterback Tyler Van Dyke could have made an argument for a five-star ranking. Mario Cristobal has to play the cards he was dealt this season but his recruiting class for 2023 is loaded and more elite players could be coming as well.
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3. NOTRE DAME
Total points: 80
Overview: The star potential for Notre Dame is across the offense where there is one five-star in OL Blake Fisher and only three three-stars projected to start and one was ranked incorrectly in center Jarrett Patterson. The Irish are also loaded with four-star on the defensive front but there could be some question marks in the secondary as all four projected players - cornerbacks Cam Hart and Tariq Bracy along with safeties Ramon Henderson and Brandon Joseph - were three-star recruits.
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4. NORTH CAROLINA
Total points: 73
Overview: Based solely on star power, the Tar Heels should be loaded on defense especially in the secondary where North Carolina is led by former five-star cornerback Tony Grimes. Safeties Cam’Ron Kelly and Ja’Qurious Conley were also four-stars and then defensive linemen Chris Collins and Myles Murphy were also four-star prospects. Of course, four-star Josh Downs is one of the top receivers in college football and if North Carolina goes with four-star QB Jacolby Criswell to take over for Sam Howell then the Tar Heels should be in good hands.
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5. DUKE
Total points: 71
Overview: There is something to be said about consistency and if star rankings translate to on-field play (like they’re supposed to) then Duke might surprise some in the ACC this season. Every single projected starter on both offense and defense for the Blue Devils was a three-star coming out of high school except for safety Jaylen Stinson, the lone two-star prospect. There is no four-star firepower to speak of but collectively, there is talent on both sides of the ball from quarterback Jordan Moore and running back Jordan Waters to the defensive front four of Ahmad Craig, Christian Rorie, DeWayne Carter and R.J. Oben.
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6. FLORIDA STATE
Total points: 71
Overview: There are a significant amount of transfers dotting the expected starters list for Florida State but any way one cuts it there is a lot of star power on both sides of the ball. Five-star safety Akeem Dent leads the way and then defensive lineman Robert Cooper, linebacker Kalen DeLoach and safety Jammie Robinson were all four-stars. On offense, four-star receivers Mycah Pittman and Malik McClain should be weapons. Four-star OL Kayden Lyles is a big boy. Can this be coach Mike Norvell's first winning season in Tallahassee? The star power says yes.
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7. NC STATE
Total points: 70
Overview: Receiver Thayer Thomas had 51 catches for 596 yards and a team-high eight touchdowns last season but he was unranked coming out of high school so that hurts NC State’s total number here. QB Devin Leary, WR Porter Rooks and center Grant Gibson were ranked as four-stars on the offensive side. Four players including LB Payton Wilson and CB Shyheim Battle were four-star recruits on the Wolfpack’s defense.
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8. GEORGIA TECH
Total points: 69
Overview: The first three seasons under Geoff Collins - as he’s looked to transform the program especially on offense - have been difficult with a 9-25 record. But there is reason for hope by looking at the star ranking of the projected starters as a bunch of transfers like Pierce Quick, Paul Tchio, Myles Sims and Derrik Allen make up a good amount of four-stars along with QB Jeff Sims and Kaleb Edwards. Georgia Tech’s overall score would be even higher as there are a majority of three-stars on both sides of the ball as well but tight end Dylan Leonard contributed no points because he wasn’t ranked coming out of high school.
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9. BOSTON COLLEGE
Total points: 68
Overview: Boston College’s offense is loaded with former four-stars from quarterback Phil Jurkovec to running back Pat Garwo to receiver Jaelen Gill and across the offensive line with left guard Finn Dirstine, center Drew Kendall and right tackle Ozzy Trapilo leading the way. Leading receiver Zay Flowers was a three-star prospect coming out of Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) University. The Eagles’ defense is not as loaded based on star rankings but in the back end former five-star Jaiden Woodbey and four-star CJ Burton lead the way.
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10. VIRGINIA TECH
Total points: 65
Overview: If star ratings are the indicator then Virginia Tech is going to have to lean more on its defense to win games although an argument could be made that many of the two-stars on offense have been under-ranked. Still, there are four four-stars on the Hokies’ defense in DE TyJuan Garbutt, linebackers Dax Hollifield and Alan Tisdale and cornerback Armani Chatman. For first-year coach Brent Pry, there are a lot of transfers projected to start on the offensive side but not a single four-star at this point.
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11. PITT
Total points: 64
Overview: Every projected starter on Pitt’s defense was a three-star prospect except for leading tackling linebacker SirVocea Dennis, who was a two-star out of Highstown (N.J.) Peddie School and who had no other Power Five offers. On offense, the only four-star among the players expected to start is four-star offensive guard Marcus Minor as three-star WR Jared Wayne and three-star TE Gavin Bartholomew could have breakout seasons after star receiver Jordan Addison (100 catches for 1,593 yards and 17 TDs) left for USC.
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12. SYRACUSE
Total points: 64
Overview: There are a lot of talented three-stars across the board on Syracuse’s projected roster with running back Sean Tucker leading the way as he was talented in high school but has certainly exceeded expectations with the Orange. The lone four-star on offense is Mississippi State QB transfer Garrett Shrader. On defense, four-star linebacker Mikel Jones and four-star Darian Chestnut lead the way. The front three of Steve Linton, Terry Lockett and Caleb Okechukwu were all three-star prospects.
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13. VIRGINIA
Total points: 62
Overview: There is a four-star quarterback on Virginia’s offense but it’s not Brennan Armstrong, who was a three-star coming out of Shelby, Ohio. Instead, it’s Keytaon Thompson, a four-star dual-threat who was ranked No. 4 at the position in the 2017 class before transferring to Virginia and moving to receiver. Thompson and right guard Noah Josey are the only former four-stars on offense. Linebacker Hunter Stewart is the lone four-star on defense and while the Cavaliers defense struggled mightily last season, some players like two-star Aaron Faumui and unranked safety Coen King were under-ranked.
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14. LOUISVILLE
Total points: 61
Overview: Quarterback Malik Cunningham and center Bryan Hudson were the lone four-stars on offense as the projected starters although Tennessee running back transfer Tiyon Evans could certainly outplay his three-star ranking. On defense, there are some interesting transfers including four-star linebacker Momo Sango but others received two-star rankings from their previous, non-Power Five programs. Other than Sanogo and four-star cornerback Chandler Jones, the rest of Louisville expected starters on defense were three- or two-stars.
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15. WAKE FOREST
Total points: 52
Overview: Dave Clawson deserves an immense amount of credit for rebuilding the Demon Deacons into not only a tough-out but also a conference contender. The second part of this is that many of Wake Forest’s starters were wildly under-ranked during the recruiting process. Quarterback Sam Hartman was a three-star and receiver A.T. Perry, who had 71 catches for 1,293 yards and 15 touchdowns, was a two-star with only one other Power Five offer. Every projected starter for what could be a division contender was either a two- or three-star prospect. The coaching staff deserves a lot of credit but there were definitely misses in the rankings process as well.