Dying for football season

It's about that time of year where many sports fans sit around waiting for the long doldrums to end. Basketball season has been over for more than a month, baseball is in the midst of a long stretch where the games don't seem to mean as much and there's just not much else going on. At least there's the Olympics this year. But there is light at the end of the tunnel for football fans.

NFL teams are slowly trickling into training camp, a couple of teams a day, while college conferences around the country are having their media days where we can see what the press prognosticates for the season, meaning we're very near the start of fall practice.

Now is the time for football fans across the country to have hope for their team because the phrase "there's always next year" is about to come into action. Even fans of the long-suffering Duke Blue Devils can crack a smile knowing that there's a little glimmer of possibility with David Cutcliffe on board as the new head honcho.

For now, let's look at the Atlantic Coast Conference, who just finished up their media session

At the ACC's Kickoff down on Lake Oconee, the media were quick to say that Clemson will be the team of destiny this year, with a date in the Orange Bowl after knocking off Virginia Tech in the conference championship game in Tampa. After years and years hype because of overwhelmingly talented teams, maybe it will finally be the Tigers' year.

I'm not sure if I'm ready to believe that hype.

The way I see it, there are three teams who look like they have the potential to take home the conference crown: the previously mentioned two and my beloved Wake Forest Demon Deacons, no longer the doormats of the conference.

There's no question that Clemson has all of the talent in the world needed to win the conference and maybe more. Alpharetta's own Cullen Harper is certainly the class of the conference when it comes to signal callers now that Matt Ryan will be busy making his name down at the Georgia Dome. But then, it's not saying much because the ACC as a whole has been pretty awful when it comes to its quarterbacks, and it's been that way for a while, save Ryan and Philip Rivers from a few years ago.

Harper was supposed to be the guy keeping the seat warm for wunderkind Willy Korn, who played a little in the first few games last year as a true freshman, but once it became apparent that Harper is actually pretty good, Korn rode the pine. Maybe he can redshirt.

With James Davis deciding to forego the draft, the Tigers will once again have their potent "thunder and lightning" attack at running back with CJ Spiller as well. These guys are extremely fun to watch, and even harder to stop.

The only question mark still, is coaching, as Tommy Bowden has been an enigma for years. One second fans are calling for his head, the next minute he's a saint. Can he finally live up to the hype this year?

When it comes to ACC QBs, the only other guy that can compete with Harper for the top job is Wake's Riley Skinner, an unlikely hero. The phrase "Skinner is a winner" has really been apropos at Wake as the former third stringer who was thrust into action after starter Ben Mauk went down for the count in the first game of 2006 and the second stringer was also injured, now can claim 20 wins in his two years at the helm.

He led the nation last season in completion percentage at 72.4 and looks to be ready to lead the Deacs to another winning season, and hopefully their third bowl berth in a row—unprecedented at a school that until a few seasons ago was near last all time in career win percentage.

What Jim Grobe has done in his seven years so far with the program is incredible and shows that he knows how to mine talent out of people who are overlooked by many of the bigger programs. Take a guy like linebacker Aaron Curry, who couldn't get offers from other in-state institutions like UNC. They said he was too small and slow. Last year, the man hauled in three interceptions for touchdowns and tied the NCAA record for his position in the process.

He's the anchor of what should be the best defense in school history, one that was among the leaders in takeaways last season. Curry and cornerback Alphonso Smith (who led the nation with eight picks of his own a year ago, three for scores) are there to help ensure that the Deacs can be powerful in stopping opponents' scoring attempts.

The saying goes that if you have two quarterbacks, then you don't have a quarterback, and this is the biggest hindrance for the Hokies this season. Tyrod Taylor and Sean Glennon will once again take turns under center until maybe Frank Beamer figures out who is guy is (though, surely he wants Taylor to be the guy sooner rather than later). Beamer knows how to win and if the quarterback issue is resolved, I see no way these guys don't come out of the Coastal Division and go to Tampa for the championship.

Teams like UNC and NC State may still be a season or two away but they've had significant upgrades in the coaching staff, so they'll be back soon. BC lost virtually everybody and it's time for Jeff Jagodzinski to prove his worth as a head coach without Ryan and crew. Miami and Florida State are both teams without quarterbacks, and in the case of the latter, a coach.

But despite their penchant for choking, I'll go ahead and say it: this will be Clemson's year.

I'm an ACC guy and that's what I mainly follow, but I'll admit it's not the cream of the college football world. I have tons of respect for the SEC and love watching everything that conference has to offer, so we'll look at them a little later as they've got a couple of national championship contenders and a slew of great squads.
- www.gwinnettherald.com

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