No. 2. David Amerson, CB, NC State

2011 stats: Amerson started all 13 games last year, played 866 snaps, and finished with 59 tackles, five pass breakups, and 13 interceptions.

Previous ranking: No. 2

Making the case for Amerson: In 2010, Amerson was a little-known true freshman boundary corner who finished the season with one pass breakup in 640 plays. Last year, Amerson made a quantum leap. He set the ACC and school single-season record for interceptions with 13, a mark that led the nation by five and tied for second in FBS history. He had a pair of picks in four different games, and all were wins for NC State. It’s naïve to think Amerson is going to put up similar numbers this year, but it’s even more naïve for offenses to continue to throw his way.

• No. 3 Logan Thomas, QB, Virginia Tech
• No. 4 Brandon Jenkins, DE, Florida State
• No. 5 Mike Glennon, QB, NC State
• No. 6 Tajh Boyd, QB, Clemson
• No. 7 (tie) Jonathan Cooper, OL, North Carolina; Oday Aboushi, OL, Virginia
• No. 8 Joe Vellano, DL, Maryland
• No. 9 EJ Manuel, QB, Florida State
• No. 10 Kyle Fuller, DB, Virginia Tech
• No. 11 Bjoern Werner, DE, Florida State
• No. 12 Xavier Rhodes, CB, Florida State
• No. 13 James Gayle, DE, Virginia Tech
• No. 14 Bryn Renner, QB, North Carolina
• No. 15 Conner Vernon, WR, Duke
• No. 16 Giovani Bernard, RB, UNC
• No. 17 Dalton Freeman, C, Clemson
• No. 18 Andre Ellington, RB, Clemson
• No. 19 Lamarcus Joyner, S, Florida State
• No. 20 Michael Campanaro, WR, Wake Forest
• No. 21 Jeremiah Attaochu, LB, Georgia Tech
• No. 22 Omoregie Uzzi, OG, Georgia Tech
• No. 23 Bruce Taylor, LB, Virginia Tech
• No. 24 Bud Noel, DB, Wake Forest
• No. 25 Nikita Whitlock, NG, Wake Forest