National Signing Day Wrap: ACC

Another National Signing Day is in the books, so Adam Friedman now looks back at the good and bad for each ACC team's 2017 class.

2017 NSD WRAP: Big Ten | SEC

MORE ACC: Commit Fit | Team Standings

Florida State rallied down the stretch of this 2017 recruiting cycle to finish inside the top five of the team rankings for the fourth straight year. The Seminoles have also won the ACC every year since 2009. Their run up to Nationals Signing Day started by flipping Rivals100 safety Hamsah Nasirildeen from South Carolina. Jimbo Fisher and his staff closed out this recruiting class by landing commitments from Rivals250 linebacker Leonard Warner, three-star running back Deonte Sheffield and upsetting LSU to get a commitment from defensive tackle Marvin Wilson, the No. 2 player in the Rivals100.

Louisville hasn't finished inside the top 30 of the team rankings since 2011, but a big addition on National Signing Day helped boost this class into impressive company. The Cardinals were able to pull Rivals250 offensive lineman Mekhi Becton out of Virginia and beat the Hokies for his commitment. Becton leads a strong offensive line class that desperately needed to improve for Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson. Bobby Petrino and his staff also brought in a good group of receivers and lots of defensive backs.

The Tar Heels haven't had a worse finish in the team rankings since 2013. That year they finished No. 39 in the nation and eighth in the ACC - they checked in at No. 30 overall and sixth in the ACC. North Carolina missed out on some of the top players in the state in Rivals100 defensive back Hamsah Nasirildeen, Rivals250 offensive lineman TJ Moore, and four-star Brelin Faison-Walden. Only five four-stars signed with North Carolina this cycle, and it missed out on a few targets down the stretch.

1. FLORIDA STATE

The Good: The Seminoles closed very well with the additions of five-star Marvin Wilson and four-star linebacker Leonard Warner. Along with two five-star defensive linemen and two five-star running backs, Florida State also signed three Rivals100 defensive backs.

The Bad: Whether it was by design or not, signing only one offensive lineman, three-star Brady Scott, is not ideal for building depth.

2. MIAMI

The Good: Miami needed to get better up front and did so pulling in a good offensive line class led by Navaughn Donaldson and Kai-Leon Herbert. Wide receivers Jeff Thomas and Mike Harley should help the offense keep the pedal to the medal.

The Bad: The Hurricanes missed on Rivals250 running back Anthony McFarland and this class is a bit top heavy.

3. CLEMSON

The Good: Five-stars Hunter Johnson, Tee Higgins, and AJ Terrell lead Clemson's small but phenomenally talented 2017 class. Nearly every player in this class could be a difference maker.

The Bad: Clemson is going to need young depth, and this small class/scholarship bind doesn't help. Having to cut ties with four-star Cordarrian Richardson earlier in the process will make things interesting at running back.

4. VIRGINIA TECH

The Good: Led by Rivals100 defensive back Devon Hunter, the Hokies went heavy on defense. They brought in a lot of pass rushers like Rivals250 defensive end TyJuan Garbutt, linebacker Nathan Proctor, and defensive end Zion Debose. Head coach Justin Fuente also got his quarterback of the future in Hendon Hooker.

The Bad: Virginia Tech needed help on the offensive line but brought in a relatively thin group and missed on Rivals250 tackle Mekhi Becton.

5. LOUISVILLE

The Good: Louisville has a very good class of offensive linemen coming in led by Rivals250 prospect Mekhi Becton and 6-foot-7 Ronald Rudd. CJ Avery headlined a large group of defensive backs in this class that should help solidify the secondary.

The Bad: The Cardinals are trying to get over the hump but didn't sign many highly rated prospects that would've helped them get there. They had a good shot at flipping four-star Guy Thomas from Nebraska and failed to sign Rivals250 defensive back Brian Edwards and four-star defensive tackle Elijah Conliffe.

6. NORTH CAROLINA

The Good: Larry Fedora's squad got a lot better on both the offensive and defensive lines with this 2017 class. The Tar Heels are depending on Rivals250 guard Jonah Melton to come back strong from a knee injury and looking for development out of massive tackle Marcus McKethan. Defensive linemen Jake Lawler and Jordon Riley should help North Carolina's pass rush down the road.

The Bad: North Carolina missed on some highly rated in-state prospects, like Rivals100 defensive back Hamsah Nasirildeen, Rivals250 offensive lineman TJ Moore, and four-star linebacker Brelin Faison-Walden, and only landed five four-star prospects in this class.

7. PITTSBURGH

The Good: Led by Rivals250 running back Anthony Davis, four-star tight end Charles Reeves, and a deep group of offensive linemen headlined by offensive tackle Carter Warren, this class should provide a major upgrade to Pittsburgh's offense in the next few seasons. Rivals100 safety Paris Ford will be a difference maker from day one along side current Panthers Jordan Whitehead and Damar Hamlin.

The Bad: The Panthers missed on a lot of important prospects from Western Pennsylvania who could have helped immediately. Players like five-star Lamont Wade (Penn State), Rivals100 guard CJ Thorpe (Penn State), Rivals250 offensive tackle Joshua Lugg (Notre Dame), four-star defensive lineman Donovan Jeter (Michigan), and others ended up going elsewhere.

8. GEORGIA TECH

The Good: Four-star defensive backs Genry Bonds, Tre Swilling, and Kaleb Oliver should provide immediate stability to shaky defense from a year ago.

The Bad: No program will have success without bringing in key in-state targets. Georgia Tech failed to sign any of the top 46 players from Georgia. Three-star Jaquan Henderson, at No. 47 in the state rankings, is its highest-rated signee from Georgia.

9. DUKE

The Good: The Blue Devils are clearly emphasizing protecting the quarterback by bringing in high three-star linemen Will Taylor, Jacob Rimmer, and Patrick Leitten. Four-star defensive end Drew Jordan highlights a deep group of defensive linemen for Duke.

The Bad: Wide receiver Damond Jackson, running back Marvin Hubbard and quarterback Chris Katrenick represent the only players Duke signed at each position. The Blue Devils needed more depth after all the injuries from last season. Losing long-time quarterback commit Jack Sears to USC could not have felt good either.

10. N.C. STATE

The Good: N.C. State's balanced class features a stacked defensive line group. Four-star defensive tackle Grant Gibson will be counted on early while three-stars Xavier Lyas, Larrell Muchison and others will need to develop more before seeing consistent playing time.

The Bad: The bad breaks N.C. State suffered this past season took a lot of momentum out of this recruiting class that was set up well to land some coveted prospects. It's always a fight to land in-state prospects for the Wolfpack but they only signed two of the top 20 prospects from North Carolina this season.

11. VIRGINIA

The Good: This class, especially the offensive players, should set up a good foundation for Bronco Mendenhall's tenure in Charlottesville. It all starts up front on offense and guys like three-stars Ryan Nelson, Chris Glaser, Tyler Fannin and Ryan Swoboda will help pave the way for UVA's offense.

The Bad: In addition to not landing many highly rated players, the Cavaliers lost Jeremiah Owusu, one of their best commitments, to Notre Dame.

12. SYRACUSE

The Good: Defense was the focus of this recruiting class for Syracuse, and it looks like it has paid off with big additions at defensive end, with high three-star Jonathan Kingsley, and in the secondary, with Kadeem Trotter and JUCO transfer MyKelti Williams. Quarterback Tommy DeVito will be a strong team leader and should help this team take some positive steps.

The Bad: Early impact offensive players are few and far between in this recruiting class after Syracuse suffered some big decommitments. Tennessee (Josh Palmer), Oregon (Daewood Davis) and Boston College (Isaiah McDuffie) are just a few of the schools that signed former Syracuse commitments.

13. BOSTON COLLEGE

The Good: The Eagles have a very good running back duo in AJ Dillon and Travis Levy and a lot of quarterbacks to help the offense take the next step. Steve Addazio is hoping wide receivers Caleb Stoneburner, Jahmin Muse, of tight end Patrick Brown can provide a spark to his offense.

The Bad: The defense let up a lot of points and too many explosive plays this season. Boston College failed to address that need and only signed one defensive back in three-star Ben Stewart.

14. WAKE FOREST

The Good: The Demon Deacons brought in a good haul of explosive and big wide receivers such as Sage Surratt, Waydale Jones and Jaquarii Roberson. The strong linebacker group of D.J. Taylor, Jeffery Burley, Chase Monroe and Jake Simpson will solidify the middle of the Wake Forest defense while the deep group of five offensive linemen will help the offense stay on schedule.

The Bad: Wake Forest didn't get much help on the defensive line with only two commitments and it only had five in-state signees in this 2017 class.