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AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. -- The Big Ten has mandated it would no longer play FCS competition as a way to boost its strength of scheduling.

There is no such mandate in the ACC, where league coaches and athletic directors said during spring meetings they have no issues with playing one FCS game per season. Georgia Tech athletic director Mike Bobinski said discussions about eliminating all FCS games went nowhere during the meetings.

"Geographically the Big Ten has a different set up. They have a relationship with the Mid-American Conference, which works philosophically, geographically, competitively on a lot of levels. We live in an area where there’s an awful lot of FCS football. We have some responsibility, and I think the SEC will do the same thing. I don’t think they’re going to do what the Big Ten has done, either. We feel like we have a responsibility to the sport in our region to continue to play some of those games."

Because if these games go away, many of these FCS programs will not have the money to support themselves. Payouts from these guarantee games support the entire athletic department.

"I just think it’s not something we would feel good about as a league," Bobinski said. "There’s a lot of FCS teams that are important to the sport of college football and we don’t necessarily want to cut them out."

The ACC has gotten some backlash, though, because some teams have had two FCS teams on the schedule. It happened to Florida State last year, though that was out of the Seminoles' control. When West Virginia backed out of their game last season with only months to spare, the Seminoles couldn't find an FBS team to fill the open slot.

"I don’t necessarily want to play them, either, but you go find four nonconference games, it’s a lot harder than finding three," Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said. "I would rather play all Division I-A schools but that goes back to finding opponents that are willing to do it. You hate to get in a lot of home and homes because you do lose revenue, but at the same time you don’t want to pay an arm and a leg for what they price them out. Those situations will all determine how you schedule games. It’s harder scheduling than people think it is.

"A year ago for us we get punished but here’s the thing, whoever wrote the contract 10 years ago. We (get blamed) for getting out of it but we had nothing to do with it. There was a buyout, so West Virginia bought it out to do what’s best for them."

Clemson is in a similar situation this season, having to play two FCS teams. When the league decided to move to a nine-game league schedule, Clemson jettisoned Kent State for this season. But when Notre Dame agreed to a scheduling partnership, the league went back to eight conference games. It was too late for Clemson to get Kent State back, so it had to add a second FCS team. Georgia Tech also has two FCS teams on the schedule this year for the same reason.

Neither is ideal, and nobody supports playing two FCS games per year.

"Everybody is OK with one," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. "There’s a lot of positives that come from it. Duke, it’s important to them to play North Carolina (Central). I think it’s great for us to play somebody in our state, a Furman, a Citadel and really create that revenue for our state and the opportunities for those student-athletes."

Miami athletic director Blake James also said the preference is to keep FCS teams on the schedule.

"You have to always be looking at what puts your program in the best position," James said. "If there were structures put in place by the league, we’d be in line with those parameters. With that said, we’ve scheduled a number of FCS opponents going out and we have a number of commitments to those institutions and we plan on honoring those commitments moving forward."

Andrea Adelson and Brett McMurphy wrap up ACC spring meetings on Wednesday, focusing on how the league can earn some respect and the coaches' idea for the selection committee.

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. -- Though league scheduling was not a major topic on the spring meetings agenda, ACC coaches unanimously support an eight-game conference slate.

And they told the athletic directors as much.

The ACC scaled back from a nine-game league slate to an eight-game league slate last October after Notre Dame entered into a football scheduling partnership with the schools as part of their membership in all other sports. Notre Dame essentially takes up one nonconference spot every three years. For those teams with long-standing rivalry games like Florida State, Clemson and Georgia Tech, playing nine league games, plus Notre Dame, plus a rivalry game is untenable.

"When you’re a school like us, when you’re playing Notre Dame, South Carolina plus nine conference games, it limits you in what you can do in our out of conference scheduling," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. "We like the flexibility that comes with being able to do a Clemson-Georgia. We’re all comfortable with eight."

And if the SEC goes to nine league games? Would the philosophy change then?

"They don’t have Notre Dame," he said. "If they had a lock-in with Michigan for five games then it might be a little different. Everybody has to pave their own way. That’s the consensus of the ACC coaches. A lot of us already have really quality nonconference opponents, plus you’re adding Notre Dame in there. If we were playing Notre Dame this year and you’ve got eight conference games, Notre Dame, Georgia and South Carolina, nobody in the SEC is playing a schedule like that."

Given the strength of schedule that is going to be a component in the College Football Playoff, the Big Ten decided to move to nine league games. But there is a delicate balancing act that schools must follow.

"You can overschedule, too," Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe said. "If your schedule’s too tough it may give you two or three losses. You may be a heck of a team but you’re not getting in at the end if you have 2 or 3 losses. There’s a balance. You want to have strength of schedule, but you don’t want your schedule so strong that throughout the course of 12 games you’re not going to win but eight or 9."

Though Georgia Tech athletic director Mike Bobinski is not in favor of a nine-game league schedule, he wants to hear more about the possibilities. And not every single AD is in favor of eight league games. Virginia Tech athletic director Jim Weaver, for one, remains in favor of a nine-game league schedule.

Athletic directors are the ones with a final say, not the coaches. But it doesn't seem like there will be any movement for now.

"I wouldn't necessarily be in favor of the nine-game model although I’d like to hear more conversation about it, and there are several of us in that room with the same dynamic as us," he said. "We haven’t gotten together as a group and talked through that yet."

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. -- ACC coaches are in favor of having the coaches' poll be a part of the criteria used by the selection committee to determine the four teams in the College Football Playoff.

Duke coach David Cutcliffe, serving as league coaches' chair, told ESPN.com on Wednesday during the league's spring meetings that his group also is in favor of having every single coach have a vote in the poll and complete transparency in the voting. They also favor doing away with a preseason poll, and releasing their first poll at some point during the season -- much in the way the BCS standings are released.

League coaches also favor the model used by the NCAA basketball selection committee, with either current athletic directors or conference representatives serving on the committee, as opposed to retired coaches.

"For the most part, we wanted to see conference representation and institutional representation rotated to some degree but the biggest item for us is the criteria of selecting those four teams. We want our coaches’ poll to matter," Cutcliffe said. "In another sense, all the coaches have a vote on the committee, and we think that’s good for the game, for the coaches to be good stewards of who’s in that national championship picture.

"All of us having a vote, the vote becoming transparent and the vote being conscientiously done. We think we’re qualified. We’re not watching every game on the East Coast, on the West Coast, but no one else is, either. We see a lot of film of a lot of people. We know who’s good, and who’s best -- maybe moreso than anybody else is looking at the game."

The one key piece to the College Football Playoff puzzle that remains unresolved is how the selection committee will look, and how they will go about selecting the four teams to make the playoff. Conference commissioners left meetings last month without any clear consensus, though it appears unlikely the committee will feature a representative from all 10 FBS leagues.

Cutliffe said there was no consensus from the coaches on who should serve on the committee, only that they favored having various leagues represented.

The coaches' poll is currently used in the BCS formula, but those with a vote have come under some heavy criticism in the past for their final votes. Some have shown bias in favoring their own conference in their final rankings. Others have pointed out that some coaches do not even do their own voting.

The BCS standings are being eliminated this year.

"Part of our concern was when you start naming individual coaches, it’s so hard to not have bias by coaches that have coached in certain leagues so the way we looked at it is if we allowed all the coaches to vote in the coaches poll and the coaches poll was looked at as a major contributing factor to the selection process, then all college coaches would have some input into the selection process," Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe said. "We’re just throwing things out right now because I don’t think anybody has a firm grasp of things.

"Will you have some bias from each coach? Absolutely you will, but through the country if it got balanced out, you’d probably still have a pretty legitimate idea of at least who the coaches thought the top four teams were."

Coaches agree bias cannot be completely eliminated in this process. That is why they are hopeful football adopts the basketball committee model. Ten members serve on the NCAA Division I basketball committee, and the group is balanced geographically. Georgia Tech athletic director Mike Bobinski served as committee chair for the last two tournaments.

"There is a model because basketball’s had a committee for a long time," North Carolina coach Larry Fedora said. "You’re going to have some of that. There’s nobody going to be out there that’s an expert on football that doesn’t have some affiliation somewhere in the past with a league or a team or anything so I don’t think you can do away with that."

Ingrained biases or perceptions do not concern at least one league coach.

"With the schedule that Clemson plays every year, if we take care of our business, all that stuff takes care of itself," Tigers coach Dabo Swinney said. "All I can tell you is Clemson worries about Clemson. We go and handle our business on the field, if we’re a one-loss team or no-loss team, Clemson with the brand we have, we’re right there."

Clemson took a big hit when it lost starting tight end Sam Cooper with a knee injury in the spring game, most especially from an experience standpoint.

Without him, the Tigers are pretty green at the position.

On the post-spring depth chart released Wednesday, the Tigers had sophomore Stanton Seckinger listed with the first team. He is the only tight end on the depth chart with any game experience, having played in eight contests last season as a freshman. Jordan Leggett, who had an outstanding spring game with seven catches for 97 yards and a score, just enrolled in January. Jay Jay McCullough is a redshirt freshman.

Neither one can match Cooper's size, either. Leggett is the biggest one, at 6-foot-6, 235 pounds. Seckinger is listed at 210 pounds.

"The biggest loss with Coop is just that veteran leadership, that savviness that comes with playing," coach Dabo Swinney said on the ACC coaches call Thursday. "And then also, he’s a 250-something pound thumper at the point of attack. So we’ve got to develop those guys in a hurry. We’ve got to ramp their development up. We were bringing them along because we had the luxury of doing that with a guy like Coop, but now their development is going to have to speed up and we’ve got to force feed them a little more than we would have. Athletically, they’re talented and capable of making plays, but we’re going to have to challenge them and grow them up in the run game."

Here are a few other quick notes from the post-spring depth chart:

• The competition continues at left guard between Kalon Davis and David Beasley, the returning starter from last season. Coaches have been eager for Davis to live up to his potential.
• Corey Crawford and Tavaris Barnes are still competing for a starting defensive end job.
• And the starting cornerback spots are both open, as the Tigers list Garry Peters or Bashaud Breeland and Darius Robinson or Martin Jenkins atop the depth chart.

So many questions, so little time ...

• Is Dabo Swinney the best coach in the ACC?
• Is he the 25th-best coach in the country?
• Should Paul Johnson really be ranked so low?
• Hahaha. Bryn Renner got pranked. Nice job, Heels. Love it. Sorry, Bryn.
• Will former Clemson receiver DeAndre Hopkins be taken in the first round?
• BC has a few long shots hoping their names are called in the draft.
• Virginia still doesn't have an answer at QB.
• BOOM. FSU is back. At least in the NFL draft.
• For former UNC guard Jonathan Cooper, a lifelong dream will come to fruition tonight.
• UNC's Sylvester Williams got a little help from Warren Sapp.
• Will former Cuse coach Doug Marrone be "stuck" with his former QB?
• Giovani Bernard's goal is simple -- get picked as early as possible.
• Virginia Tech recruiting continues to keep it in the family.
• Oday Aboushi will be at home watching the draft with his family.

The question many are wondering this offseason is whether Clemson can take the next step and be a factor in the national championship race.

ESPN Insider Travis Haney weighs in with his thoughts on that topic in a new piece, noting two key areas the Tigers must address to get there. He writes:

For one, the Tigers' yards-per-rush number -- 4.2, 69th in FBS -- was low. And that was with veteran back Andre Ellington and quarterback Tajh Boyd developing a run element to his game. ...

Secondly, coordinator Brent Venables' defense needs to continue its upward trend. Through the first six games in 2012, the Tigers were 112th out of 120 FBS teams in yards per play allowed (6.56). In the final seven games, however, the Tigers were 22nd in the country (4.91), demonstrating marked improvement under the first-year coordinator.

Haney spent time in Clemson visiting with Dabo Swinney, Chad Morris and Brent Venables for the story and has plenty of good notes in there. It is an Insider piece and you can check it out here .

CLEMSON, S.C. -- There have been some mighty great accomplishments at Clemson the last two years, accomplishments that have placed the Tigers into early preseason national championship talk.

But there is one gaping hole, one accomplishment that has been missing four straight years. You do not need vandals spray painting Tiger paws up in Columbia to know what it is. South Carolina has had the Tigers' number of late. And the folks in Clemson know that has got to change.

"Not beating those guys since I’ve been here, it’s rough," quarterback Tajh Boyd said. "We have to get a win. That’s a while away but again that’s on our mind as well. If we win that game last year, I don’t know where we end up at. Could have been the Sugar Bowl. So after that game, it was a rough loss being that we had the team to win. We just didn’t perform to our level of capabilities. We didn’t come out ready to play. They went out and performed better than us, but I don’t think we played near where we’re capable of."

The turning point in that game happened in the fourth quarter, with Clemson driving for the go-ahead score. Boyd threw an interception and the Gamecocks ended up winning in Death Valley, 27-17. Offensive coordinator Chad Morris believes Boyd would have been a Heisman finalist had he thrown a touchdown pass instead of an interception to lead Clemson to the win.

"Woulda, shoulda couldas," coach Dabo Swinney said. "When the game is over, you've got to live with the results. We know the reality of where we are as a program and we know the reality of that game."

The reality: Getting a win in that game is a driving force, not just for players who have never beaten the Gamecocks, but for Swinney, too. Clemson leads the all-time series, but South Carolina has tied a school record with its four-game winning streak over Clemson.

"There's only two things you can ding us on the last four years. We have not won the national championship and we have not beaten South Carolina," Swinney said. "You have to give South Carolina a little credit. Never ever have they been top 10 in the history of their school. Coach [Steve] Spurrier and his staff have been as good as anybody. It's not like we've gotten beat by a bad football team. This is a team that's been better than us on that day. There’s nothing I can do about it. We have to live with it unfortunately, and trust me I live with it every day. Every day you wake up and put this hat on your head, you gotta deal with the result of that game.

"I grew up in that type of situation and it's no different here. It’s a huge game and it's one of those things we haven't done in four years. I probably don't have the job if we don't beat them when I was interim. That's a major goal. Because if you beat South Carolina, you just beat a top-10 team. This is not an unranked six-, seven-win team. This is a team that's beaten Alabama and everybody across the board, and I give them all the credit. My focus is Clemson, and my focus is getting this team competitive enough to where we've got a chance to win them all. Not just one game. We want to win them all. Nobody is going to be satisfied here until that happens."

The news got worse for Clemson on Monday, as the school announced starting tight end Sam Cooper and backup quarterback Chad Kelly had each torn their anterior crucial ligaments in the spring game this past weekend.

While the news on Kelly was expected, the news on Cooper came as more of a surprise. Following the game Saturday, coach Dabo Swinney did not believe the Cooper injury to be as serious. But further tests revealed the tear. Now, the Tigers go into 2013 short at both positions.

There is no timetable yet for their return.

“This is very difficult for both players," Swinney said in a statement. "Both had really worked hard and done well this spring. As far as Sam Cooper is concerned, this was certainly going to be his time at tight end. We have had quite a run of production at tight end the last few years with Michael Palmer, Dwayne Allen and Brandon Ford."

Cooper was injured after making a 5-yard yard reception from Kelly on the 11th play of the scrimmage. Kelly, who was competing for the backup quarterback job with Cole Stoudt, was hurt nine plays later at the end of a 17-yard run. Kelly finished the day 6-of-7 for 43 yards and a touchdown, and had four carries for 23 yards.

Clemson now has two scholarship quarterbacks for 2013 -- starter Tajh Boyd and Stoudt. Without Cooper, all eyes turn to true freshman Jordan Leggett, an early enrollee who turned some heads this spring. Leggett had seven catches for 97 yards and the game-winning touchdown catch in the spring game.

Other options include Darrell Smith, Stanton Seckinger and redshirt freshman Jay Jay McCullough.

Clemson tight ends have caught 218 passes for 2,474 yards and 32 touchdowns over the past four years. Clemson has had the first-team All-ACC tight end three of the last four years. Dwayne Allen won the John Mackey Award in 2011 as the nation’s top tight end.

"Sam is the most experienced tight end we have and this is a tough loss," Swinney said. "He was coming into his own. We have some young, talented tight ends who are now going to have to step up."

Offensive lineman Kalon Davis also suffered a knee injury in the first quarter, but his injury is not serious.

Seven ACC teams held their spring games this past weekend as practice begins to slowly wind down until August.

Heather provided her Pitt recap earlier this morning. Here is a quick look at the headlines from the other spring games across the league:

CLEMSON

The Tigers suffered a big hit during their spring game last Saturday, when the team lost backup quarterback Chad Kelly to an apparent torn ACL. Kelly was in a heated competition with Cole Stoudt for the backup job, but it now appears he could be lost for the season. Coach Dabo Swinney said Kelly was hurt while making a cut at the end of a run. Starter Tajh Boyd was held out of the game so the Tigers could get a good look at Kelly and Stoudt. The backup last season, Stoudt set a Clemson spring game record with 304 yards passing and threw four touchdown passes, but his White team lost to the Orange team 34-26 in front of a spring-game record crowd of 30,000.

Sammy Watkins led all receivers with seven catches for 156 yards and two scores, while Grady Jarrett had three sacks. Vic Beasley had two sacks, giving him 10 sacks in four scrimmages.

Tight end Sam Cooper and tackle Kalon Davis also sustained knee injuries in the game, but they are not believed to be as serious.

DUKE

Anthony Boone and Jamison Crowder were the stars of the spring game as the Blue Devils showed a glimpse of how good they can be on offense this season. Boone went 18-of-30 for 273 yards with two touchdown passes to Crowder, and two interceptions. Crowder finished with four catches for a team-high 71 yards as the Blue team beat the White 27-12.

Blue team end Britton Grier had two sacks and seven tackles, including three for loss. Lucas Fisher, Sam Marshall and Keilin Rayner each added sacks for the Blue team.

“I like where we’re headed,” coach David Cutcliffe said. “We’re building some depth. I think we can be a more energetic defense. The big thing is focusing on why we give up big plays, but trying to play defense, trying to force longer drives. It’s going to be interesting film to study. We got a lot out of this game.”

FLORIDA STATE

Coach Jimbo Fisher did not name a starting quarterback after the spring game, so the competition will go on into the offseason. But highly touted Jameis Winston sent jaws dropping with his standout performance, going 12-of-15 for 205 yards with two touchdown passes before leaving the game early to play in the Noles' baseball game against Duke.

"He came in there and he took advantage of opportunities," Fisher said. "That's what you got to do. You've got to go make plays and he's done a nice job of making plays. He took the opportunity to take the day with the stage he had and I thought he played pretty well for the most part."

Winston and Clint Trickett split time with the first team for most of the afternoon. Trickett was just 10-of-16 for 98 yards and an interception before switching to the second team, where he was 12-of-16 for 161 yards and a touchdown. Jacob Coker, also competing for the starting job, went 15-of-26 for 186 yards, a touchdown and two late interceptions.

MARYLAND

Running backs Brandon Ross and Albert Reid took center stage, as both ran for over 100 yards in a 13-13 tie between the White and Red teams on Friday night.

Ross had 123 yards on 10 carries, while Reid had 138 yards on 23 carries in the game. Wes Brown, who missed the spring with a shoulder/ankle injury, is expected to be healthy in the fall so the competition at this position is going to be an intriguing storyline during the offseason.

"I limited what the defense could do. It was still good to see them," coach Randy Edsall said. "That is what we have seen out of Brandon and Albert all spring along with how they run. The one thing we have to be able to do is run the ball efficiently. When we do that it opens up the passing game. With the skill guys we have at wide receiver it will make us more productive and a chance to get big plays. They ran the way they have been running all spring.”

MIAMI

Stephen Morris threw for a game-high 256 yards and four first-half touchdowns to lead the Orange team to a 35-20 win over the White team. Meanwhile, ACC freshman of the year Duke Johnson led all rushers with 120 yards on 10 carries as the Hurricanes showed how explosive they can be on offense this season.

“We’re pretty dominant,” receiver Rashawn Scott told local reporters. “Everyone is communicating and … no one is frustrated. If we mess up, we all talk instead of yelling at each other.”

At halftime, the Canes handed out four Spring awards to Nantambu-Akil Fentress (305 walk-on award), Olsen Pierre (defensive most improved player), Danny Isidora (offensive most improved player) and Herb Waters (special teams most improved player).

NORTH CAROLINA

Bryn Renner went 16-of-27 for 216 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Blue team to a 34-10 win over the White. The running back who took center stage in the game was not A.J. Blue or Romar Morris but true freshman Khris Francis, who ran 20 times for 101 yards to lead the White team. Blue had eight carries for 30 yards, and Morris had 15 carries for 80 yards to lead the Blue team as the Tar Heels work to replace Giovani Bernard. Blue added a 33-yard touchdown reception on a screen pass.

"I thought all three of our running backs played well," coach Larry Fedora said. "But Khris, for his first time out there in a game-type atmosphere, he did a good job. He hit some holes and exploded in them. One time I thought he got stood up. I said something to him and the next time he's got his shoulders down and he's running north-south. That's what he's got to do, so he did some nice things."

Defensively, end Kareem Martin had seven tackles, including four sacks. Travis Hughes added a team-high 14 tackles, including two sacks.

Clemson backup quarterback Chad Kelly was injured in Saturday's spring game, according to the school.

“It looks like a torn ACL," coach Dabo Swinney said in a statement. "We will see the MRI results to make sure. It was tough. We had a purple jersey on him, but he got hurt making a cut and the leg gave way. I am very disappointed and I know Chad is. Travis Blanks [who was involved in the play] did nothing wrong.

“Chad was so fired up to play in this game and compete," Swinney said. "He had a great start [6-of-7 passing, plus 14 yards rushing and a touchdown pass to Charone Peake] on the first drive. He is going to work hard and come back. It is in his DNA. I heard Jim Kelly [Chad’s uncle] speak recently and he was told his arm was through because of injury. But he came back and ended in the Hall of Fame.

“He will overcome it and come back. He could help us late this coming season. Look what Adrian Peterson did for the Minnesota Vikings this year after suffering a torn ACL."

Starting quarterback Tajh Boyd was held out of the spring game and the previous two scrimmages because the coaching staff wanted to see what Kelly and Cole Stoudt could do. Stoudt threw for 304 yards and four touchdowns, but his White team lost to the Orange team 34-26.

“Cole Stoudt was outstanding the entire game," Swinney said. "He was competitive and showed enthusiasm. He hit some big throws and that was good to see. I also thought the other quarterbacks played well. Nick Schuessler and Donny McElveen did not get a lot of reps in the spring, but they were prepared and showed it today."

Lots of spring games on the docket this weekend.

• Clemson coach Dabo Swinney is trying to push his offensive linemen past inconsistency.
• Here is a Q&A with Duke defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.
• Georgia Tech is expanding its recruiting efforts beyond Georgia.
• Here is more on Maryland quarterback C.J. Brown getting a sixth year of eligibility.
• Miami has picked up a commitment from ESPN Watch list offensive lineman Reilly Gibbons. Seantrel Henderson is determined to make the most of his senior season.
• The theme for North Carolina's spring game: familiarity.
• Pitt redshirt freshman Gabe Roberts makes the transition to center.
• Syracuse safety Wayne Morgan is trying to replace Shamarko Thomas.
• UVa picked up a commitment from the top-ranked kicker/punter in the nation.
• Athlon Sports has ranked all 125 FBS coaches. Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer makes the top 10, at No. 9.
• Hokies freshman cornerback Brandon Facyson is adjusting to life on the field and in the classroom.
• Wake Forest's depth chart is in flux.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney talks to Andrea Adelson about the continuity of his team coming back and why he doesn't like preseason hype.

Big night for hoops!

• Boston College got its running game going in its scrimmage this past weekend without Rolandan Finch, who has left the team for personal reasons.
• Clemson coach Dabo Swinney says the Tigers have plenty of depth up front this spring.
• Duke offensive coordinator Kurt Roper discusses some spring standouts as part of this Q&A with the News & Observer.
• Florida State picked up its a big commitment for the class of 2014 -- ESPN Watch List linebacker Kain Daub.
• Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Ted Roof gives his thoughts on this past weekend's scrimmage.
• Quotes and notes from Maryland's scrimmage.
• Miami running back Eduardo Clements says he will be ready for contact this fall. Dave Hyde of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel argues that Mark Emmert and Donna Shalala are fighting over whom Nevin Shapiro fooled more. Miami wants Kyle Wright's testimony tossed from the NCAA case.
• Notes from NC State's scrimmage.
• Pitt quarterback Chad Voytik is quickly learning. Isaac Bennett is leading the race to be the team's featured back.
• Syracuse quarterback Terrel Hunt has received the bulk of first-team reps lately.
• Virginia's quarterback race remains wide open.
• Virginia Tech's defense is looking for unity this spring.
• Wake Forest needs more takeaways in 2013.

CLEMSON, S.C. -- The talent has never been a question. Not for Clemson receiver Martavis Bryant.

He stands 6-foot-5, and weights 200 pounds, with great speed and an incredible ability to make plays. All you need to do is check out his yards-per-catch average from 2012: It's a ridiculous 30.5. Of his 10 receptions a season ago, four went for touchdowns.

The maturity? Well, that has been the biggest question, one that has kept him from becoming the breakout receiver most anticipated he would be as one of the top prospects out of high school. By his own admission, Bryant lacked focus, discipline and a proper work ethic.

He slacked off in practice. He slacked off in the classroom. Coach Dabo Swinney warned him to get his act together.

Bryant ignored him.

Until last December, when Swinney suspended him for the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Bryant was forced to watch from home, but more than that, he was forced to be honest with himself for perhaps the first time since arriving at Clemson. He had to change. He had to adjust his attitude and his focus. Or he would no longer have football.

"I was disappointed in myself, and I was disappointed in the fact that I let my team down, I let my coaches down," Bryant said. "I had a long time to think about it, about what I wanted to do and I changed everything around."

He had one more bit of inspiration: two young daughters.

"I can't have them looking back when they get older and saying that I didn't accomplish anything when I had my chance," he said.

So when he returned to school in January, Bryant was a changed man. Before, he was a loner with few friends on the team. He had a tough time trusting people. Now, he talks to all his teammates, and knows more about them. Though he is extremely quiet, he is being more vocal around them. For Bryant, that is a huge step.

Even bigger? He has not missed a class. He has not missed a study hall. In fact, he arrived for this interview 10 minutes early, something he would not have done in the past.

And he has shown up every day in practice, knowing he has a huge opportunity ahead of him in 2013, his junior season, with DeAndre Hopkins gone. In three months' time, Bryant has transformed himself. And the best part of all? He jokes: not getting text messages from Swinney keeping tabs on him.

"I know I'm on thin ice, that's why I don't get in any more trouble," Bryant said. "I just do what I'm supposed to do."

Swinney has noticed, speaking glowingly about Bryant during the spring. But this is only a start. Three months needs to turn into six months, and into 12 months.

Then, the results on the field will follow.

"I just have to keep working in practice and showing how I can do it consistently without messing up," Bryant said. "I'm working on it. I'll be perfect by the time camp comes around."