CFB Forum

ACC Notes, etc.

Posted By: Ben Dover
Date: 10 Aug 03, 5:32 am

Duke: Although you'd be hard-pressed to find many who would subscribe to it, there's a theory Duke might actually win this fall. The Blue Devils open at Virginia, where 2002 ACC player of the year Matt Schaub -- who threw for 315 yards in Durham last season -- is pictured on the cover of the 2003 Cavs media guide and labeled a Heisman Trophy candidate. "Anybody could be put on the cover of a media guide," Zielinski said. "He's not the top quarterback who stands out in my mind. He might have picked it up toward the end of the year." Running back Douglas: "This is the best team we've had in a very long time," Douglas said. "We're very close as a team and we're very dedicated to each other.

Clemson: Projected starter Linebacker Brandon Jamison, who is academically ineligible for this season, is not likely to return for 2004, Bowden said. 2002 starter returns Linebacker Eric Sampson, whom coach Tommy Bowden "permanently dismissed" from the Clemson football team on Dec. 3, has returned to the Tigers for the 2003 season. Clemson plans to develop a group of plays to highlight backup quarterback Chansi Stuckey, quarterbacks coach Mike O'Cain said. Stuckey is a better runner than starter Charlie Whitehurst, so the Clemson staff will put together a package designed to get Stuckey out of the pocket. O'Cain said Clemson might use some of those plays in short-yardage or goal-line situations. Defensive ends J.J. Howard and Khaleed Vaughn have dominated drills early as pass rushers. Clemson's offense has yet to find a way to block them, Bowden said... .

Florida State: TB Greg Jones, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in a Nov. 2 game at Wake Forest and had subsequent reconstructive surgery, made his first official return to the practice field, and it looks as if he hasn't lost any speed. Jones offered an encouraging sign during a 7-on-7 inside-running drill. After receiving a handoff, Jones ran toward a hole that rover Jerome Carter quickly plugged. Though Carter slowed, Jones spun 360 degrees and away from Carter. Jones then hurdled DE Kevin Emanuel, who had just been blocked halfway to the turf. Starting noseguard Travis Johnson participated in Wednesday's practice. He has a court hearing scheduled for this morning at the Leon County Courthouse related to a felony sexual-assault charge. School rules prohibit student-athletes who have an unresolved felony charge from playing games for FSU. Here's the first-team offensive line, as it stands at this early stage, moving from split tackle to tight tackle: Alex Barron, Matt Meinrod, David Castillo, Eric Broe and Ray Willis. The second-team offensive line: Mario Henderson, Cory Niblock, John Frady, Bobby Meeks and Ron Lunford. Henderson and Frady are both true freshmen. Bobby Bowden gained a little weight during the off-season. He said he's now approximately 184 pounds, and he'd like to get back down to 174 pounds, his weight last year.

Georgia Tech: Georgia Tech moved Damarius Bilbo from No. 1 quarterback to tailback on Friday, opening the door for Reggie Ball to become the first freshman to start at quarterback for the Yellow Jackets in more than two decades. "It just didn't work out for Damarius at quarterback for us," Tech coach Chan Gailey said after Bilbo went from taking two-thirds of the snaps at quarterback on Thursday to running zero plays at tailback during Friday's seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 drills. "We felt if we were going to do right by our football team and do right by Damarius, now was the time to make the decision," Gailey added. Georgia Tech lost six more players to academic ineligibility, including starting DT Alfred Malone. Coach Chan Gailey also announced that DE Greg Gathers, who missed most of last season with a kidney disorder, has yet to be cleared for full-contact drills. . . . Gailey prefers to redshirt all freshmen so that they might become acclimated to school life and the rigors of playing Division I football. That plan changed when 10 Tech players failed out of school this past spring, leaving Gailey with little choice other than to count on about 15 freshmen to contribute "fairly significantly." That's just what defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta had in mind. Stacking the line of scrimmage with defensive backs like Landry is one way for Tech to compensate for an inexperienced and depleted defensive line. Many teams start preseason practice with a basic defense and then add blitzes as they get closer to their season opener. Tech blitzed from the first weekend of practice. Tenuta is known for blitzing, but necessity could make this his most aggressive defense yet. Defensive line starters Tony Hargrove and Alfred Malone flunked out in the spring. Another starting lineman, Greg Gathers, has not been cleared to play. That leaves Tech relying on some true freshmen and other young players. Reggie Ball was impressive at quarterback Monday during Georgia Tech's practice at Rose Bowl Field. The 6-foot, 180-pound former Stephenson High star consistently made good decisions, and his shiftiness in the open field was readily apparent. "He can make a lot of things happen and doesn't make bad decisions," coach Chan Gailey said. A lack of athleticism certainly shouldn't be a problem for this year's defensive secondary. Cornerbacks Reuben Houston, Dennis Davis and I-Perfection Harris were all standout performers for the school's indoor track team last winter. Perhaps Tech's fastest player, Davis earned all-ACC accolades after finishing second in the 200 meters at the league conference indoor meet.

Maryland: The Maryland Terrapins were hit with their first major injury of the preaseason as nose tackle C.J. Feldheim, who missed the last six games last year with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, tore the meniscus cartilage in that same knee. Friedgen said the team received good news on Feldheim's status yesterday. The nose tackle had surgery Thursday to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, but shouldn't miss more than a week. Friedgen said that freshman Rob Armstrong, 6 feet 4 and 295 pounds out of Fork Union Military Academy, will take Feldheim's place with the starting unit. Feldheim had 36 tackles and 1 1/2 sacks last year.

NC State: Does N.C. State deserve to be ranked as a national championship contender? Well, Amato pointed out that a year ago, Ohio State was coming off a 7-5 season.

"Not even Coach [Rick] Neuheisel would put down a bet on that one," he said. After the laughter died down -- Neuheisel was fired at Washington for betting in an NCAA Basketball Tournament pool -- Amato added, "I say that just to make a point that it can happen." The Wolfpack, which led the ACC in total defense last year, must rebuild its defensive line, and quickly. NCSU has early games against Wake Forest, with its deceptive offense, and defending national champion Ohio State. Freshman end Mario Williams entered NCSU in the spring semester and looks like an NFL player in the making, but senior tackle Alan Halloway, freshman tackle John McCargo and senior end Terrance Chapman, back after sitting out last year for academic reasons, must play well in preseason to ease coach Chuck Amato's anxiety.

North Carolina: UNC starting defensive tackle Donti Coats has received a medical hardship and will no longer play football. True freshmen will figure prominently , filling holes at receiver, linebacker and on the defensive line, where UNC was hurt last year by inexperience. True freshman Kendall High and sophomore Chase Page played in every game on the line , and Page had been an offensive guard as a freshman.
With an equally young corps of linebackers, the team struggled to stop the run, which Bunting considers the Heels' top priority. "That's been our whole emphasis," Page said. "[Defensive coordinator Dave] Huxtable says we'll stop the run, no matter what, even if we have to put 11 guys in the box. " "Great defensive players like to go out and win 9-7 or 10-3. I've been part of those defenses as a coach and as a player," Bunting said. "We don't have that kind of defense right now. We're going toward that goal. We will be better than we were last year. I hope by the end of the season that it's dramatic."

Wake Forest: As he enters his third, and potentially most challenging season, however, the Deacons' bread remains half-baked and the butter has yet to be fully churned. So building an offensive line was the first item on his list of things to do as he greeted his 2003 team that reported to practice yesterday afternoon.
'You would think with the losses we had on the defensive line, that would be our biggest concern,' Grobe said. 'At the end of spring I was more concerned, really, with our offensive line than our defensive line, only because some of the young offensive linemen really didn't step up and show us they were ready to play.' Unfortunately, guard Blake Henry, tackle Tim Bennett and tight end Ray Thomas haven't been so easy to replace. Their graduations have left Grobe with three known quantities, senior guard Tyson Clabo, senior tackle Mark Moroz and junior center Blake Lingruen, and a whole lot of question marks in his goal of forging a solid eight-man rotation. 'The problem we've got is our offensive line is just really thin,' Grobe said. 'We've got three kids who are no-brainers. I think we can win with Moroz and Clabo and Lingruen. But the rest of those guys have not done it yet.

Navy: Navy coach Paul Johnson is facing numerous decisions - particularly about who will provide the depth on his team's offensive and defensive lines - before the season opener Aug. 30, but there is one position that is not a bit worrisome. The biggest concern is the offensive line, which is thin on experience. "We have a bunch of guys that didn't play last year who are going to have to step up and play," Johnson said. "It's a big luxury if you can be a solid two-deep anywhere, but especially on the offensive line."

UCF: DL Even without star E Rashad Jeanty (who flunked out), this is a solid unit for the Golden Knights. UCF has five good tackles who will see time -- led by Larry Brown and DeMarcus Johnson -- and if sophomore E Paul Carrington emerges, this will be the best line in the Mid-American Conference. Central Florida running back P.J. Smith has been barred from the team following his arrest last week on sexual battery charges. Smith, a freshman transfer from Dodge City (Kan.) Community College.

Miami Fla: Miami: DL There will be four new starters and six new faces in the two-deep. But T Vince Wilfork is an All-American candidate and headlines a solid group of tackles that includes Santonio Thomas and future star Orien Harris. End is a huge concern, though, especially considering the talent UM rolled out at end last season. The top four ends are gone, and the injury to projected starter John Square doesn't help.

South Florida. DL The Bulls are looking for four new starters. The ends spots look to be in better shape than the tackles, as Tim Jones and Terrence Royal combined for seven sacks as reserves last season. But the projected starting tackles combined for two tackles last season. At least there are some tackles to choose from; depth is mighty dicey at end.

Florida: DL UF lost its top four tackles from last season and both starting ends, and none of the DTs expected to play this season had any tackles last season. Yikes. Junior college transfer Eric Holcombe better produce right away. Junior Kenny Parker can be a good one, but back problems have limited him to three plays the past two seasons. It's the final go-round for senior Es Bobby McCray and Darrell Lee, who haven't done much in their careers (111 combined tackles). Plus, their backups are untested.

Messages In This Thread

ACC Notes, etc. -- Ben Dover -- 10 Aug 03, 5:32 am

Duke returns mucho starters. Worth a look at Virginia? (nt) -- Bob Milo -- 10 Aug 03, 6:24 am

Why Virginia? -- Ben Dover -- 10 Aug 03, 6:29 am

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