Comments on: After down year, ACC finishes off a surprisingly successful bowl season

By: I'm in DC

I'm in DC — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 03:57:49 +0000

To heck with Stanford’s OC, how about Louisvilles OC?!? They’re making it look pretty easy against a top SEC D.

By: Tom L

Tom L — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 18:52:40 +0000

ACC was 4-2 and let’s not forget that Duke fumbled twice at the goal line and NC state turned it over 5 times. Tighten that up and it could have easily been 6-0. As VTRed pointed out, VA has turned out a bumper crop of QB’s the last few years. In addition to the bowl QB’s, many VA players dotted bowl team rosters. We just need to develop programs that will attract the top players in the state. Tech has done pretty good and UVA is starting but improvement needs to be made to attract the more gifted athletes. Some will leave the state regardless but we need to improve on making the 4&5 star athletes want to stay home.

By: Bert Hubbard

Bert Hubbard — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 17:55:55 +0000

As a Clemson Tiger alum and fan, I hope Boyd & Hopkins stay, but would not blame either for leaving. Hopkins had breakout season, but with a healthy Watkins next year, his numbers will likely go down. Boyd could use another year to learn to better read defenses, but with the beating he took with so much running in the Chik-Fil-A, I would not at all blame him for turning pro. He can make all the throws (short and long).

By: Joe V

Joe V — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 16:28:28 +0000

Boyd will return. His draft stock can and should improve with another year of college ball. While TB is an outstanding college player his future in the NFL is not at all certain. Hopkins is gone unless Boyd and Watkins talk him into staying. As Andy stated, Watkins has no choice at this point as he is only a sophomore.

By: Andy Bitter

Andy Bitter — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 16:15:31 +0000

Watkins can’t go pro yet. Only a true sophomore.

By: VTRedwolf

VTRedwolf — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 16:14:14 +0000

I can’t imagine that Boyd, Hopkins and Watkins draft stock could improve that much. In a year when LT is still not out of the 1st/2nd round conversation due to a high demand/low supply NFL draft – he would quickly move to the top. His play against LSU was unbelievable. Hopkins is NFL ready and Watkins is also a top prospect despite some injury problems this year. While I’m sure Clemson fans and coaches want them to hang around (as much as ACC opponents hope they go), it’s not in their best interest. Still it’s possible they will all stay and more probable their decisions are deeply connected to one another. I don’t know how, but perrenial underacheiver Clemson has returned to the Clemson of 20+ years ago and even a loss of all three might do little to slow them down considering how well they’ve been recruiting.

Which makes me consider the opposite path of VT. No offense to LT, but how is it possible that we have missed out on ALL of this QB talent? I mean the list is as long as your arm of the top programs taking all of the best VA QB talent including Clemson, FSU, NCSTATE, Stanford, Penn State, Alabama (although he transferred to UVA), UNC and I’m sure a few more I’m missing. These last few years VA has produced a quantity of QB talent the likes of which we associate with Texas, California and Florida. And yet VT has been unable to grab it. Not that Tyrod Taylor and Logan Thomas are chopped liver, but let’s face the fact that we turned to LT when there were no other top options.

Well good for the ACC regardless of who they played. Let’s admit we’re just as likely to have lost to lesser talent – let’s just be happy they won. At least perhaps we can avoid a few months of the “poor ACC” talk while the media focuses on the dismantling of the Big East.

Unfortunately, after that the microscope will focus on the other weak sister – the ACC.

By: Zman

Zman — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 14:54:45 +0000

I listened to Urban Meyer on M&M this morning and was interested in his view that rcruiting is a totally “different animal” than Conference strength. One would think that an SEC team would have an advantage over a non-SEC team but Meyer says it isn’t so.

Now I can understand that some will say his remark is self-serving, and maybe so. However, Colin Cowturd says recruiting is about location, tradition and facilities, hence Miami and L.A. have star-power advantages that can’t be matched in today’s South Bend or Kalamazoo.

I suspect that they are more correct than those of us who think that which conference is seen as top dog is important. Fans work on bragging rights. Athletes have a different view. Fans ought to remember that.

By: jay

jay — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 14:44:24 +0000

I think #15 Northern Illinois was both overrated and not a good match against Fla. State, nonetheless, it is still a win for the ACC….

However, Clemson’s stunner against #8 LSU and even Ga Tech’s unexpected dismantling over USC were TWO quality wins on the national stage for the ACC……….Even though the ACC is still a paltry “3-13″ in BCS games, it is progress………

I hope DeAndre Hopkins, Sammy Watkins and Hampton’s own “ACC Player-Of-The-Year”, quarterback Tahj Boyd all return next year!!………..I really think they could be a national title contender and should easily be a preseason Top 10 pick!!!

I think Tahj Boyd will resist the temptation of the NFL and would raise his draft stock next year if he comes back……..Besides, the NFL money will be there, but, you only get so many chances to earn a NCAA National Championship ring!

With the talent that could return in 2013 for Clemson, I hope this is incentive enough for Boyd to come back for his senior season.

By: scott whitaker

scott whitaker — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 12:50:17 +0000

Good news indeed. The naysayers will, and believe me they will, say yeah but look at who they played, No. Illinois and Rutgers. To which I reply, in bowls you play the team you’re picked to play. Going into last night’s Orange Bowl only one ACC team had won a BCS Bowl during the VT era and of course we know who that was. I’m very much a conference supporter a I feel a strong conference benefits each team so I’m happy for each team which won.

By: tom

tom — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 12:31:26 +0000

I have had the chance to watch a few games over the last few days, and while I saw similar issues with some other bowl team offenses, I also saw a lot more creativity, whether it was really basic trick plays, like fake punts or multiple passers in a game, or even the use of a D tackle as a fullback on occasion. Some of this stuff isn’t that complicated, and in the case of our offense, we could have easily involved two quarterbacks (LT and Leal) at the same time in a game for misdirection purposes, and we definitely might have wanted to try a DT as a battering ram once in while- could this have resulted in a YPC average of over 1 foot a carry? Just wondering.

I really doubt that the Stanford OC would give up his job to come to VT. Wait a week, and Shaw might be picked up to coach an NFL team, and then the OC might gain consideration for Stanford HC. VT OC would most likely be a regression as this point.