http://www.richmond.com/sports/article_42738351-c2c3-5935-bf13-d31553208085.html
Five things to watch for at ACC media days
BY ANDY BITTER The Roanoke Times Richmond Times-Dispatch
Move over, SEC. Take your glitz and glam, formal ballroom setting and round-the-clock coverage of media days and make room for the laid-back stylings of the ACC.
It’s a golf outing disguised as a media opportunity at the Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina. Casual attire is recommended. Please, no ties.
Want to interview a player or coach? Just mosey on up to a table, grab a seat and ask away. No need for formality. Microphones and a dais aren’t necessary, except for the commissioner.
But rest assured, though, that in between the food and golf, there’ll be some football discussed. It’s the ACC’s turn to grab some national attention with its quick two-day media event Monday and Tuesday, an appetizer to whet your football appetite, since players don’t report to practice for a few weeks.
What’ll be discussed? Here are five storylines for the next few days:
1. Will Florida State and Georgia Tech be picked to repeat as division champs?
The ‘Noles and Jackets certainly can make a case to be considered the favorites in their respective divisions, although they’ll have challengers.
Clemson needs to reload on defense, particularly the front seven, but has all the offensive pieces necessary, including quarterback Deshaun Watson, to perhaps eclipse Florida State as the favorites in the Atlantic Division. The Seminoles, after all, lost quarterback Jameis Winston and a host of offensive linemen to the NFL Draft.
The Coastal might not be nearly as muddled as last year, what with Georgia Tech bringing back quite a bit from a team that won 11 games last year and finished in the top 10 of the polls. But the Yellow Jackets have a tough schedule, catching both Florida State and Clemson as crossover opponents.
A team like Virginia Tech is gaining some steam. The Hokies return a stout defense and hope for improvement on offense. Missing FSU and Clemson on the schedule might be enough of a boost for them to challenge Georgia Tech for preseason favorite status.
2. What will Jimbo Fisher say about Florida State’s offseason arrests?
In the wake of quarterback De’Andre Johnson’s dismissal and running back Dalvin Cook’s suspension after being arrested and charged for punching women, Fisher has reportedly banned his players from going to bars.
It’s a move that hardly gets at the root of the problem, something that he’s sure to be grilled about by the dozens of reporters who can manage to wedge themselves into earshot of his table.
Winston was the spotlight last year after his crab legs debacle. This year’s issue isn’t specific to one player. Fisher himself will face the tough questions regarding what many think is a program run amok. This, more than anything else said at Pinehurst, should garner national interest.
3. Does the league have a group of quarterbacks that rivals any conference in the country?
Four of the league’s top five touchdown producing quarterbacks last year — Georgia Tech’s Justin Thomas, Miami’s Brad Kaaya, North Carolina’s Marquise Williams and N.C. State’s Jacoby Brissett — will be in attendance this week, so the question is certain to be parsed.
The ACC’s quarterback crop is as healthy as it has been in recent years, even with losing Winston to the NFL. It also includes Clemson’s Watson, a legit Heisman contender if healthy, and Florida State’s Everett Golson, whose transfer from Notre Dame in the offseason drew plenty of headlines.
Six quarterbacks in all will be at Pinehurst, with Syracuse’s Terrel Hunt and Virginia Tech’s Michael Brewer joining the mix.
4. What will coaches starting to feel a little heat have to say about their teams?
The Coastal Division is littered with coaches whose situation is getting a little uncomfortable.
That group includes Virginia’s Mike London, whose schedule isn’t helping his case, Miami’s Al Golden, who has underachieved at a school with lofty expectations, North Carolina’s Larry Fedora, whose defense and slow starts are starting to wear thin, and yes, even Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer, the venerable coach who has endured three straight mediocre seasons and recent health problems.
Spoiler alert: Each of the four will like his team’s outlook. This is the preseason, after all. But how they respond to a little grilling is always interesting.
5. Will John Swofford make any announcements?
Here’s guessing that after the conference commissioner goes through his brag bag, which will surely include mentions of the recent national championships won by Duke men’s basketball and Virginia baseball, that there’s not much breaking news.
Anyone expecting a firm update on an ACC channel might be disappointed. Swofford has routinely spoken vaguely and guardedly about the prospect of a league network, one that may not be such a sure thing given ESPN’s recent mandate to cut its budget.
Conference realignment and the ACC’s survival isn’t a hot topic for the first time in a few years and there aren’t any nationwide issues on par with the historic autonomy push last year.
He might remark on the recruiting debate, getting the ACC on record again on such issues as satellite camps and an early signing date, a conversation that’ll continue among the Power 5 conferences over the next year. But overall, the commissioner’s forum has the chance to be much like everything was at the league’s spring meetings: relatively quiet.
