ACC - Offensive Talent Analysis

This piece digs a little deeper into the talent level on each Atlantic Coast Conference team by focusing on the offensive side on the ball. The raw data comes from Rival.com prospect ratings and is calculated as followed.

5.7 = 1.00 point
5.8 = 1.25 points
5.9 = 1.50 points
6.0 = 1.75 points
6.1 = 2.00 points

Players under 5.7 were not calculated into the raw data as a way to limit complexity.

The 2005, 2006, 2007 classes are weighted at 100% while the 2008 class is weighted at 75% and 2009 is weighted at 25% due to a lot of players redshirting. Important to note is that this data only includes current players on the roster, so attrition is factored into the equation in this data, but not factored in here.



Miami and Clemson have by far the most offensive talent in the ACC with North Carolina is a distance 3rd. The next six teams are all bunched together with pretty much the same amount of talent. Florida State jumped out as a team that didn't have as much talent on the offensive side of the ball as expected. This was primarily due to a lot of attrition. Fisher is definitely getting the most out of his players this year.Boston College, Duke and Wake Forest are at the bottom in terms of ACC talent level.



Quarterback talent is likely the most irrelevant statistic because a team really only needs 1 QB, it doesn't matter if the player is a 5-Star prospect like Tyrod Taylor or a 4-Star player like Jacory Harris or a 3-Star player like Thad Lewis and Christian Ponder or even a 2-Star player like Russell Wilson and Riley Skinner. A legit QB can make an marginally talented offense drastically better while a poor QB can cause the talented offense to sputter (cough, cough TJ Yates).


Christian Ponder

Clemson leads the ACC is QB talent with 3 former Elite 11 prospects on the roster, but I wouldn't put there QB play in the top half of the league thus far.



Offensive line play is the most important factor in making an offense success in my opinion, but is also the most hard to scout, which puts a lot of weight on the offensive line coach to scout and develop the talent that they recruit.

Clemson has the most talent on paper in the ACC, but the play of the OL has been average in comparison to the rest of the ACC. Miami is right there with Clemson in terms of talent, but produces at a higher level as does Virginia Tech.



- Miami has the most talent at the skill positions (RB, WR, TE) lead by running backs Craig Cooper and Javarris James and wide receivers Travis Benjamen, Aldrius Johnson and Leonard Hankerson.

- UNC has a lot of talent at the skill position, but nobody has really develop from the group yet outside of Greg Little.

- Clemson features the most eclectic player in College Football in CJ Spiller and with the blazing fast wide receiver Jacoby Ford.

- VT and GT feature the too best power running backs in the conference Ryan Williams and Jonathan Dwyer respectively.


C.J. Spiller

Potential biases in the data are noted in this blog and would also apply to this piece.

Coming on Wednesday will be a the "ACC - Defensive Talent Analysis" and on Friday the "ACC - NFL Draft Analysis" before moving on to the SEC.