ESPN College Football

Now that spring practices are over, it’s time to re-evaluate the ACC pecking order for 2012. There wasn’t much change at the top from the pre-spring power rankings, but Georgia Tech did get a slight bump, along with two teams on Tobacco Road. Here’s a look at the latest ACC power rankings:

1. Florida State: The Noles’ defensive line should be one of the deepest and best in the conference, if not the country, and they’ve got an outstanding quarterback in EJ Manuel. If the young offensive line can mature quickly and the running game improves from 2011, there’s no reason the Seminoles shouldn’t be contending for the ACC title.

2. Clemson: The Tigers could open the season without star receiver Sammy Watkins, who is awaiting his punishment after he was arrested on misdemeanor drug charges, but as long as he’s in the lineup and the offensive line is playing well, Clemson has enough talent to defend its 2011 ACC title.

3. Virginia Tech: It’s hard to forget how the Hokies fared against Clemson in two meetings last season, but they enter this season with the better defense. The question is how quickly the revamped offensive line can come together, and who will emerge as the next star running back.

4. NC State: This team is quietly preparing a championship-caliber roster. Quarterback Mike Glennon is still under the radar, and he’s got an experienced offensive line to work with. This is a team that could surprise some people.

5. Georgia Tech: The Jackets had a promising spring, but the defensive line has to replace two of three starters, and last season’s atrocious special teams still have a lot to prove. One thing is for sure: These guys will be able to run the ball on just about anyone.

6. Wake Forest: Much like the rest of its division, Wake Forest’s success will hinge in part on how quickly the new starters on the offensive line come together. The Demon Deacons have an experienced and much-improved quarterback in Tanner Price, and last year they made a statement that they’re not to be overlooked in the ACC race.

7. North Carolina: The two biggest questions for the Tar Heels are how quickly they can adapt to and execute a new system under first-year coach Larry Fedora, and where they will find their motivation now that the NCAA has banned them from the postseason. This spring revealed a positive outlook for the new offense, which should give quarterback Bryn Renner a chance to shine.

8. Virginia: The ACC’s 2011 Coach of the Year has quickly raised expectations, but they should be tempered because seven starters have to be replaced on defense. Michael Rocco is the undisputed starting quarterback -- unless Alabama transfer Phillip Sims has something to say about it.

9. Miami: With Stephen Morris out this spring with a back injury, quarterback transfer Ryan Williams had a chance to impress the coaches. The position is one of many questions still looming for the Canes, a young team still waiting for closure from an NCAA investigation.

10. Maryland: The Terps had a good spring and were able to move forward with players who wanted to be there. It was a positive vibe, but coach Randy Edsall is still tangled in the shadow of last year’s two-win season. He’ll have to improve upon it without the services of former quarterback Danny O’Brien.

11. Boston College: Several offseason staff changes were embraced this spring, and quarterback Chase Rettig made strides under yet another offensive coordinator, Doug Martin. The Eagles have to find a way to win without two of their most valuable players in running back Montel Harris, who was dismissed from the team, and linebacker Luke Kuechly, who left early for the NFL.

12. Duke: The Blue Devils had a good spring and are still buying into the philosophies of coach David Cutcliffe. They’ve been on the verge of making the postseason before, but fans are looking for them to finally break through in Year 5 under Cutcliffe. Quarterback Sean Renfree can get them there if they minimize the turnovers and play better defense.

2011 overall record: 2-10
2011 conference record: 1-7 (6th, Atlantic)
Returning starters: Offense: 5; defense: 10; kicker/punter: 2

Top returners
LG Pete White, RG Josh Cary, C Bennett Fulper, TE Matt Furstenburg, WR Kevin Dorsey, DE Marcus Whittifield, DE Keith Bowers, NG Andre Monroe, DT Joe Vellano, LB Demetrius Hartsfield, LB Darrin Drakeford, LB Lorne Goree, LB Kenny Tate, CB Dexter McDougle, S Eric Franklin, S A.J. Hendy

Key losses
LT R.J. Dill, RT Max Garcia, LG Andre Donnella, QB Danny O'Brien, RB Davin Meggett, WR Quintin McCree, CB Cameron Chism

2011 statistical leaders (* returners)

Rushing: Davin Meggett (896 yards)
Passing: Danny O'Brien (1,648 yards)
Receiving: Kevin Dorsey* (573 yards)
Tackles: Demetrius Hartsfield* (108)
Sacks: Andre Monroe* (5)
Interceptions: Dexter McDougle*/Cameron Chism (3)

Spring answers

1. Defense has come a long way: The unit passed with flying colors in its first public test under new coordinator Brian Stewart and his 3-4 scheme. It overpowered the offense in the squad's spring game despite missing Joe Vellano and Kenny Tate. Both players should be back for the fall, giving the defense 10 returning starters.

2. Who is there and who isn't: Spring No. 2 is in the books and the remaining players are on board with Randy Edsall, giving the program a chance to push forward with less doubt regarding those who may not be all-in. After the Terrapins' spring game, senior Justin Gilbert told the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star: "I hate saying it, but now that the guys who don't want to be here are gone, we can really focus on next season. We don't have any distractions anymore. Everybody who's here wants to be here. I really saw that this spring with guys. The chemistry was better. There was no cancers on the team. Everybody was all together."

3. C.J. Brown holding steady: Brown was the only quarterback this spring who had any actual game experience, so he received most of the attention. With five starts under his belt, Brown, whom colleague Heather Dinich has labeled the conference's most indispensable signal-caller, survived the spring and enters the fall as the No. 1 guy.

Fall questions

1. Will anyone challenge Brown? Despite said strengths, Brown, who rushed for more than 500 yards last season, is switching from a spread attack to new coordinator Mike Locksley's pro-style system. Recruits Perry Hills and Caleb Rowe enter this summer and, depending on Brown's transition, could challenge for some snaps.

2. How will the new coordinators transition? We said this earlier with Wake Forest: Things have gone smoothly this spring, but the ultimate test comes in game action this fall. How Locksley, Stewart and Andre Powell (special teams) adjust in-season will ultimately affect the ruling on the reshuffled staff.

3. Everything else … It would appear, at this moment, that the defections have subsided. Two dozen players have left Maryland since Edsall arrived, none bigger than quarterback Danny O'Brien. Some were calling for Edsall's job after Year 1, and a debut season that featured just one win over an FBS team didn't do the program any favors. The spotlight is on College Park this season for the wrong reasons, and how the program adjusts this fall can possibly dictate its fate.

Former Maryland left tackle Max Garcia is transferring to Florida, becoming the final of the Terrapins' three announced transfers from Feb. 13 to land on their feet at other schools.

"Yes, I have committed to the University of Florida," Garcia said, according to GatorNation's Derek Tyson. "I'm a Florida Gator."

Maryland announced more than two months ago that Garcia, quarterback Danny O'Brien and linebacker Mario Rowson were granted releases from the football program. O'Brien ended up at Wisconsin and Rowson at Delaware.

"Max showed great promise," Maryland coach Randy Edsall said when the releases were announced. "But after two seasons in College Park, Max is still homesick. He wants to transfer to a school closer to home (Norcross, Ga.) so his family can see him play."

One of 13 players with remaining eligibility to leave Maryland following the 2011 season, the 6-foot-4, 290-pound Garcia started 12 games last season as a sophomore. He will sit out the 2012 season with the Gators and have two years of eligibility remaining afterward.

Up next: "One Shining Moment."

• Peyton Manning's Duke visit has paid dividends in recruiting, Brady Buck writes in The Chronicle.
• Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has had quite the path from Miami to WWE to the big screen, Hal Habib writes in the Palm Beach Post.
• SportingNews.com's Steve Greenberg says Danny O'Brien, unlike Russell Wilson, is no sure thing.
• AthlonSports.com's Mark Ross previews Virginia Tech's spring.
• Georgia Tech's Synjyn Days and Vad Lee have begun their push on Tevin Washington, Ken Sugiura writes in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Anchorman 2?!

• Colleague Adam Rittenberg says Wisconsin's recent rise lured former Terps QB Danny O'Brien to Madison. Here is what O'Brien had to say about the move.
• The Hokies are searching for Logan Thomas' supporting cast, Mike Barber writes in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
• Miami is hoping Rashawn Scott catches on at receiver, Susan Miller Degnan writes in the Miami Herald.
• UNC's T.J. Thorpe is a finalist for college football's newest award.
• Former Georgia Tech great Calvin Johnson is still alive in the vote for the next Madden cover.

On the day the 24th player to leave Maryland under Randy Edsall found a new destination, a 25th player is now on his way out the door.

Defensive back Avery Graham quit the Terrapins, the schools announced Wednesday. Edsall said Graham will be given his unconditional release should he decide to transfer.

"I'm disappointed that Avery has decided to leave us, but he didn't feel he was going to be a starter in the fall," Edsall said in a statement. "Avery was a hard worker during his time here and we wish him well."

A redshirt junior, Graham entered the spring as a reserve cornerback. He has 17 tackles in 13 career games, playing corner, linebacker and special teams. Graham's 2011 season came to an end after suffering a knee injury Oct. 15 against Clemson, and a groin injury in 2010 limited him to just seven games during that campaign.

Earlier Wednesday, Danny O'Brien — until today, the most recent player to exit Maryland — transferred to Wisconsin.

Graham is the 25th player with eligibility remaining to leave Maryland since Edsall was hired last Jan. 24, and he is the 13th player to leave following this past season.

The Danny O'Brien saga ended Wednesday, 44 days after Maryland announced the quarterback would leave the Terrapins.

And for ACC fans, the landing spot may look a bit familiar.

O'Brien will join coach Bret Bielema at Wisconsin, marking the second straight year the Badgers notched a signal-caller from an ACC school through the graduate student exception rule. Former NC State quarterback Russell Wilson had great success in taking advantage of the rule last season, leading Wisconsin to a Big Ten title and the program's second straight appearance in the Rose Bowl.

The circumstances surrounding each transfer were different, but Wisconsin could reap more benefits in the short-term from O'Brien than it did from Wilson, as O'Brien is set to graduate this spring and will have two years of eligibility upon immediate arrival in Madison, Wis.

Yes, there are certain stereotypes that may plague a program that repeatedly uses the rule to bring in someone at the game's most important position year after year, and Wisconsin will have to overcome that through recruiting in the years to follow. But that shouldn't diminish the importance of the rule, as it is one of the few that truly rewards the student-athlete for taking care of business in the "student" part of that label.

O'Brien did just that, and it was clear that his marriage with Terps coach Randy Edsall was not going to last. So, despite earlier well-documented obstacles after the decision to transfer, O'Brien found a new home, an opportunity that was well-deserved. Now, both he and his former school can officially move on from this complicated chapter.

Happy March Madness!

• Penn State coach Bill O'Brien confirmed that former Maryland QB Danny O'Brien has reached out to the Lions.
• Colleague Robbi Pickeral has UNC hoops coach Roy Williams' thoughts on the football team's sanctions.
• FoxSportsSouth.com's Andrew Jones previews the Atlantic division for this spring.
• Here's the second part of Andy Bitter's Q&A with Virginia Tech secondary coach Torrian Gray in the Virginian-Pilot.
• Clemson OC Chad Morris visited Oklahoma State to learn how Sammy Watkins could be used like Justin Blackmon, Travis Sawchik writes in the Charleston Post and Courier.

Our series continues today with Maryland, which opened spring practice Saturday with one scholarship quarterback. You can probably guess where we're going with this one ...

OUT: QB Danny O’Brien. The third-year sophomore will graduate this spring and have two years of eligibility remaining at a school to be determined. O'Brien completed better than 56 percent of his passes last season for 1,648 yards, tossing seven touchdowns and 10 picks. For his career, the North Carolina native has thrown for 4,086 yards, with 29 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. O'Brien's 22-touchdown campaign in 2010 earned him ACC rookie of the year honors as a redshirt freshman. His 2011 season -- and Terrapins career, at least on the playing field -- came to a close in a Nov. 12 loss to Notre Dame, when the signal caller broke a bone in his left arm.

IN: C.J. Brown. Colleague Heather Dinch has called Brown the ACC's most indispensable quarterback, and with good reason. Brown, a redshirt junior, has five starts under his belt and is the Terrapins' only scholarship quarterback this spring. Maryland has two quarterback recruits on the way for the fall, but until then, Brown has the car keys to the offense, with little insurance behind him. Brown completed just under 50 percent of his throws last season, totaling 842 yards with seven touchdowns and six interceptions. But he proved most dangerous on the ground, rushing for 574 yards, a school record for a quarterback.

• More in this series

When Maryland announced this morning that former quarterback Danny O'Brien and two other players would be granted a "full release" from the program with "no transfer restrictions," it failed to mention that on Tuesday Maryland filed a formal complaint with the ACC against Vanderbilt alleging improper contact with O'Brien.

The timing of Maryland’s announcement is somewhat perplexing. If Maryland is still hung up on the allegations against Vanderbilt, is O'Brien really free to take an official visit there?

Until the rules are clear, O’Brien’s high school coach, Todd Willert, said neither of them will be talking to Vanderbilt.

“As of right now, we can’t talk to Vanderbilt at all, or we’re not going to because we don’t really know what the whole process is,” Willert said. “We won’t contact Vanderbilt until we’re sure about what’s going on.”

Right now, Vanderbilt isn't sure, either.

“We have been informed by the Southeastern Conference that the Atlantic Coast Conference has filed a formal complaint involving Vanderbilt University football on behalf of one of its members," Vanderbilt chancellor David Williams said in a prepared statement. "We are complying with SEC and Vanderbilt procedures and are conducting an investigation on the matter.”

It’s time to back off. Lay off. Leave the man breathe for a moment.

Maryland coach Randy Edsall has made his share of mistakes, but this wasn’t one of them. On Wednesday morning, Edsall made things right.

Edsall’s decision to release former quarterback Danny O'Brien and two other players from the program without transfer restrictions shows Edsall does have the ability to concede he was wrong and put the program ahead of himself.

“While at first I thought it was important to limit the institutions to which they could transfer, I have since reconsidered my decision,” Edsall said in a prepared statement. “At the end of the day, I want what’s best for these guys and I wish them well in their futures.”

Was Edsall feeling the heat from all of the recent negative publicity? Probably. Pressured by his bosses to make the public relations nightmare go away? Maybe.

Here’s the thing, though: It doesn’t matter what prompted Edsall to change his mind, or why he did it because he’s not the story here. The players are. And not just O’Brien, Max Garcia and linebacker Mario Rowson -- or any of the other 21 players who have decided to leave the program -- but the ones who are currently on the team.

In order for Maryland to move on, those transfers have to move on, and it’s common sense to say they should be allowed to do that at whichever school they choose.

Edsall deserves credit for recognizing that and allowing it, even if it wasn’t his first choice.

Maryland coach Randy Edsall has changed his mind and is granting former quarterback Danny O'Brien and two other former players a full release from the program without transfer restrictions. Former offensive lineman Max Garcia and linebacker Mario Rowson were also released.

“While at first I thought it was important to limit the institutions to which they could transfer, I have since reconsidered my decision,” Edsall said in a prepared statement. “At the end of the day, I want what’s best for these guys and I wish them well in their futures."

“I am pleased to be able to move on and pursue a graduate degree and continue my athletic career at the school of my choosing.” O’Brien said in the release. “I would like to thank Coach Edsall for his support throughout this process.”

I'll have more on this in a bit.

Maryland coach Randy Edsall has become a punching bag for the national and local media recently.

From Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post:

Men, there are four ways of doing things aboard my ship: the right way, the wrong way, the Navy way and my way — the Randy Edsall way. Let me say this: We do things my way and no one else’s, because Randy Edsall is all about one thing, and one thing only. And that’s Randy Edsall.

From Gregg Doyel of CBSSports.com:

This is the sort of thing that should turn stomachs because it's so unfair to Danny O'Brien. And because it's so Randy Edsall. Edsall is a hypocrite of the highest order.

And Michael Rosenberg of SI.com didn't stop at Edsall ... he went after Maryland's entire administration:

A major university should do what is right, instead of what's convenient. The University of Maryland should be better than the people who have been hired to run it.

Edsall also got grilled recently by co-host Andy Pollin on WTEM’s “Sports Reporters:"

AP: This is the first time we’ve had a chance to talk to you since the season ended, so I wanna cover a couple things. One is, you’ve just completed one of the worst — if not the worst — seasons in Maryland history. You have replaced your offensive and defensive coordinator. Numerous players have left with eligibility remaining, including a three-year starting offensive tackle. And I gotta be honest with you, I’ve said this on the air, that I don’t think you should be returning as head coach, and I wonder how you respond to that and others who feel the same way.

And you thought it couldn't get worse after a 2-10 season? Edsall's record in his first season was just the beginning. The departure of quarterback Danny O'Brien has become a national story and a public relations nightmare for Maryland. Rosenberg of SI.com is absolutely right: This problem is bigger than Edsall and it goes straight to the top. Maryland AD Kevin Anderson can finally get something right by cutting O'Brien loose. Funny thing is, the perception lately seems to be that O'Brien isn't the one who should have to go.

Short n' sweet today, guys.

• It's possible UNC could have some closure from the NCAA in the coming weeks. Maybe.
• Can Clemson receiver Sammy Watkins avoid the sophomore slump?
• Georgia Tech doesn't have any plans on adding more players to its 2012 class.
• Stefon Diggs' attitude toward the game is as impressive as his ability to play it.
• Why won't Randy Edsall let Danny O'Brien go to Vandy? Because he can?

Former Maryland quarterback Danny O'Brien, who asked for and was granted his release from Maryland, released the following statement:

After careful thought, contemplation, prayer, and consultation with my family, we have come to a consensus that it is in my best interest to continue my educational and athletic endeavors elsewhere.

This was a very difficult decision, one which I did not take lightly. I will forever cherish the friendships of teammates, academic and athletic support staff, fellow students, professors, and of course Terp fans.

Playing at Byrd Stadium and experiencing college life in College Park will remain as unforgettable experiences for the rest of my life. I certainly wish nothing but the best to the team next season and for years to come.

I look forward to completing one of my established goals of graduating from the University of Maryland this spring and becoming a proud alumnus of this great institution.

Danny O’Brien