ACC: Drew Jarrett
Let's check in on the NCAA stats to see how players in the ACC stack up through the first three weeks of the season.
I have included players that rank in the Top 10 of every individual statistical category.
With seven field goal kickers still perfect on the year, the ACC leads all conferences nationally in field goal percentage and field goals made. Boston College junior Nate Freese leads the way, having made all seven of his field goal attempts this year, followed closely by Clemson’s Chandler Catanzaro, who has been perfect on six attempts. Catanzaro tied the Clemson school record for consecutive field goals against Furman, making his 14th straight. Jake Wieclaw of Miami, Ross Martin of Duke, Casey Barth of North Carolina, Drew Jarrett of Virginia and Dustin Hopkins of Florida State also are perfect so far.
The ACC has two players ranked in the Top 10 in the nation in total passing yards. One may be a little unexpected. Chase Rettig of Boston College ranks No. 8, with 951 yards on the season. The other is North Carolina quarterback Bryn Renner, who checks in at No. 10 with 870 yards.
Three league players rank in in the Top 10 in receptions per game: No.6 DeAndre Hopkins of Clemson (8.67), No. 8 Alex Amidon of Boston College (8.33) and No. 10 Michael Campanaro of Wake Forest (8). Amidon ranks No. 2 in the nation in total receiving yards with 366, while Hopkins ranks No. 8 with 319.
Miami freshman Duke Johnson is the only ACC player ranked in the Top 10 in all-purpose yards, checking in at No. 2 with an average of 212.7 yards per game. Johnson also ranks in a tie for No. 9 in scoring with an average of 12 points per game.
On defense, the ACC has three players ranked in the top 10 in total tackles -- including national leader Nick Clancy at Boston College with 43. His teammate, Kevin Pierre-Louis has 36 to rank No. 7 and Jack Tyler at Virginia Tech ranks No. 10 with 35.
Florida State defensive end Bjoern Werner leads the nation in sacks with 6.5, and tackles for loss (three pg).
Ross Cockrell of Duke is tied for No. 4 in the nation with three interceptions, and leads the nation in passes defended (nine). Teammate Will Monday checks in at No. 10 in the nation in punting with a 45.6-yard average.
Lee Butler of Duke is No. 3 in the nation in punt return average (23.8) and Khalek Shepherd of Virginia is No. 7 in kickoff return yardage (37.8).
Demetrius Hartsfield of Maryland, Anthony Chickillo of Miami and Rickey Dowdy of NC State have each recovered two fumbles to rank in a tie for No. 3.
I have included players that rank in the Top 10 of every individual statistical category.
With seven field goal kickers still perfect on the year, the ACC leads all conferences nationally in field goal percentage and field goals made. Boston College junior Nate Freese leads the way, having made all seven of his field goal attempts this year, followed closely by Clemson’s Chandler Catanzaro, who has been perfect on six attempts. Catanzaro tied the Clemson school record for consecutive field goals against Furman, making his 14th straight. Jake Wieclaw of Miami, Ross Martin of Duke, Casey Barth of North Carolina, Drew Jarrett of Virginia and Dustin Hopkins of Florida State also are perfect so far.
The ACC has two players ranked in the Top 10 in the nation in total passing yards. One may be a little unexpected. Chase Rettig of Boston College ranks No. 8, with 951 yards on the season. The other is North Carolina quarterback Bryn Renner, who checks in at No. 10 with 870 yards.
Three league players rank in in the Top 10 in receptions per game: No.6 DeAndre Hopkins of Clemson (8.67), No. 8 Alex Amidon of Boston College (8.33) and No. 10 Michael Campanaro of Wake Forest (8). Amidon ranks No. 2 in the nation in total receiving yards with 366, while Hopkins ranks No. 8 with 319.
Miami freshman Duke Johnson is the only ACC player ranked in the Top 10 in all-purpose yards, checking in at No. 2 with an average of 212.7 yards per game. Johnson also ranks in a tie for No. 9 in scoring with an average of 12 points per game.
On defense, the ACC has three players ranked in the top 10 in total tackles -- including national leader Nick Clancy at Boston College with 43. His teammate, Kevin Pierre-Louis has 36 to rank No. 7 and Jack Tyler at Virginia Tech ranks No. 10 with 35.
Florida State defensive end Bjoern Werner leads the nation in sacks with 6.5, and tackles for loss (three pg).
Ross Cockrell of Duke is tied for No. 4 in the nation with three interceptions, and leads the nation in passes defended (nine). Teammate Will Monday checks in at No. 10 in the nation in punting with a 45.6-yard average.
Lee Butler of Duke is No. 3 in the nation in punt return average (23.8) and Khalek Shepherd of Virginia is No. 7 in kickoff return yardage (37.8).
Demetrius Hartsfield of Maryland, Anthony Chickillo of Miami and Rickey Dowdy of NC State have each recovered two fumbles to rank in a tie for No. 3.
Virginia quarterback Michael Rocco has been able to hold on to his starting job despite competition from Alabama transfer Phillip Sims, coach Mike London announced Monday.
Rocco started all 13 games last season, throwing for 2,671 yards with 13 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. But London opened up the competition once Sims arrived and was granted his immediate eligibility. Rocco, Sims and David Watford were involved in an open quarterback competition during preseason practice, but London always maintained that Rocco had the edge over the other two quarterbacks in the race to win the job.
He confirmed that Monday.
"It just became apparent that Michael has the best grasp of the offense right now," London said during his weekly news conference. "He’s the guy that we feel most comfortable with right now because of what he knows, knowing the system and the schemes and knowing the players he’ll be throwing the ball to or handing the ball off to. He’s done nothing to lose his position. We talked about his leadership, his knowledge of the offense, and so he’s put himself in a position to be the guy right now and I’m quite sure he’ll work hard at it, he takes pride in it. That’s how it worked out."
"I believe that I was the starter throughout the spring and the summer," Rocco said. "It was my job to lose. I root for Phil and David as hard as I can. I would never want anything bad to happen in their career and their life. But I believe I’m here to play quarterback at a high level. I was excited when I heard Coach London was going with me, but in my mind I was preparing to be the starting quarterback. I was excited, but I had a confidence in my mind, too."
London added that he knew it would be a tall order for Sims to overtake Rocco while learning a new offensive system.
"With respect to Phillip, he has a big arm, strong arm, been in college games as well. He’s a guy that’s learning our offense," London said. "To expect him to know our whole offense by the time the season started, I don’t think that would be fair on him. He knows enough of the offense that we understand his situation will be on-the-job training as the season goes on, how much he picks up, the communication, all those things."
London also said he would try to redshirt Watford, who served as the backup to Rocco last season.
"With David, it was a tough call," London said. "David has done everything that we’ve asked and then some. He’s matured tremendously, his physical talents and skills improved greatly. They are three selfless players. They want what’s best for the team. My plan is to try to redshirt him."
A few other UVa notes:
Rocco started all 13 games last season, throwing for 2,671 yards with 13 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. But London opened up the competition once Sims arrived and was granted his immediate eligibility. Rocco, Sims and David Watford were involved in an open quarterback competition during preseason practice, but London always maintained that Rocco had the edge over the other two quarterbacks in the race to win the job.
He confirmed that Monday.
"It just became apparent that Michael has the best grasp of the offense right now," London said during his weekly news conference. "He’s the guy that we feel most comfortable with right now because of what he knows, knowing the system and the schemes and knowing the players he’ll be throwing the ball to or handing the ball off to. He’s done nothing to lose his position. We talked about his leadership, his knowledge of the offense, and so he’s put himself in a position to be the guy right now and I’m quite sure he’ll work hard at it, he takes pride in it. That’s how it worked out."
"I believe that I was the starter throughout the spring and the summer," Rocco said. "It was my job to lose. I root for Phil and David as hard as I can. I would never want anything bad to happen in their career and their life. But I believe I’m here to play quarterback at a high level. I was excited when I heard Coach London was going with me, but in my mind I was preparing to be the starting quarterback. I was excited, but I had a confidence in my mind, too."
London added that he knew it would be a tall order for Sims to overtake Rocco while learning a new offensive system.
"With respect to Phillip, he has a big arm, strong arm, been in college games as well. He’s a guy that’s learning our offense," London said. "To expect him to know our whole offense by the time the season started, I don’t think that would be fair on him. He knows enough of the offense that we understand his situation will be on-the-job training as the season goes on, how much he picks up, the communication, all those things."
London also said he would try to redshirt Watford, who served as the backup to Rocco last season.
"With David, it was a tough call," London said. "David has done everything that we’ve asked and then some. He’s matured tremendously, his physical talents and skills improved greatly. They are three selfless players. They want what’s best for the team. My plan is to try to redshirt him."
A few other UVa notes:
- Drequan Hoskey will start at cornerback over true freshman Maurice Canady. London said Canady will see plenty of playing time in nickel and dime packages and on special teams.
- Offensive tackle Kelby Johnson has been suspended for the first two games of the season for a violation of team rules.
- Drew Jarrett has won the starting place-kicker job. Ian Frye will handle kickoffs, while Alec Vozenilek will be the punter.
- Khalek Shepherd is a little banged up, so he won't return kicks. Darius Jennings, Perry Jones and Kevin Parks are listed as kickoff returners, while Dominique Terrell and Demetrious Nicholson are listed as the punt returners.
Few PK questions in ACC headed into 2012
August, 22, 2012
8/22/12
4:00
PM ET
By
Andrea Adelson | ESPN.com
Placekicker is such a critical role on any team. To that end, ACC fans should be thrilled that there is little turnover among the starting kickers in the league this year.
As it stands today, only three teams will have new faces kicking field goals when the season opens. That ties the ACC with the Pac-12 and Big Ten for the smallest turnover ratio among the automatic qualifying conferences.
Virginia is the only school that remains undecided on a starter. Special teams coach Anthony Poindexter said earlier this week he hopes to soon make a decision between Drew Jarrett and Ian Frye to take over for the graduated Robert Randolph.
Duke and Georgia Tech are the only other teams with new kickers for this year. The Blue Devils will start freshman Ross Martin, while Georgia Tech is going with David Scully, who handled kickoff duties last season.
As for the returning kickers, the top five statistical leaders from a year ago return. Four of them made the Lou Groza Award preseason watch list -- Dustin Hopkins at Florida State; Chandler Catanzaro at Clemson; Jake Wieclaw at Miami; and Jimmy Newman at Wake Forest.
Cody Journell, who led all ACC kickers last year with an .824 field goal percentage, is back at Virginia Tech after serving a seven-month suspension following his arrest on breaking and entering charges last December. He pleaded guilty to reduced charges in May and was reinstated in July.
As for those on the Groza list, Hopkins clearly leads the way. Hopkins was a finalist for the award last year, and needs 68 points to become the conference’s all-time leading scorer. Given the 110 points he scored last year, it is reasonable to expect him to close in on the record around Week 8.
As it stands today, only three teams will have new faces kicking field goals when the season opens. That ties the ACC with the Pac-12 and Big Ten for the smallest turnover ratio among the automatic qualifying conferences.
Virginia is the only school that remains undecided on a starter. Special teams coach Anthony Poindexter said earlier this week he hopes to soon make a decision between Drew Jarrett and Ian Frye to take over for the graduated Robert Randolph.
Duke and Georgia Tech are the only other teams with new kickers for this year. The Blue Devils will start freshman Ross Martin, while Georgia Tech is going with David Scully, who handled kickoff duties last season.
As for the returning kickers, the top five statistical leaders from a year ago return. Four of them made the Lou Groza Award preseason watch list -- Dustin Hopkins at Florida State; Chandler Catanzaro at Clemson; Jake Wieclaw at Miami; and Jimmy Newman at Wake Forest.
Cody Journell, who led all ACC kickers last year with an .824 field goal percentage, is back at Virginia Tech after serving a seven-month suspension following his arrest on breaking and entering charges last December. He pleaded guilty to reduced charges in May and was reinstated in July.
As for those on the Groza list, Hopkins clearly leads the way. Hopkins was a finalist for the award last year, and needs 68 points to become the conference’s all-time leading scorer. Given the 110 points he scored last year, it is reasonable to expect him to close in on the record around Week 8.
2009 overall record: 3-9
2009 conference record: 2-6
Returning starters
Offense: 6, defense: 6, punter/kicker 2
Top returners
WR Kris Burd, QB Marc Verica, DE Matt Conrath, LB Steve Greer, CB Ras-I Dowling
Key losses
WR Vic Hall, T Will Barker, C Jack Shields, QB Jameel Sewell, FB Rashawn Jackson, NG Nate Collins, CB Chris Cook, LB Denzel Burrell, TB Mikell Simpson
2009 statistical leaders (* returners)
Rushing: Jackson (461 yards)
Passing: Sewell (1,848 yds)
Receiving: Burd* (413 yds)
Tackles: Greer* (92)
Sacks: Collins (6)
Interceptions: Cook (4)
Spring answers
1. Johnson’s move a hit. Cam Johnson’s move from linebacker to defensive end proved beneficial, as he returned an interception 51 yards in the Cavaliers’ spring game. Johnson, who started 10 of the 12 games he played in last year, showed he can transition to playing with his hand on the ground.
2. Aboushi a boost up front. Offensive tackle Oday Aboushi could be Virginia’s next stellar lineman. He’ll only be a sophomore, but he showed this spring he can help plug up some holes in an offensive line that was rather porous last year. Aboushi played in late in the Clemson game and he held his own as a freshman last year.
3. Mending fences. First-year coach Mike London has been working the crowd and winning it over by making the staff more approachable. He held a scrimmage at Old Dominion, and had been rebuilding relationships with high school coaches and media throughout the state.
Fall questions
1. Which Verica will show this fall? The one who was pushed into duty without experience two years ago and performed well, or the one who last year struggled in mop-up duty? Verica said he avoided turnovers during every team drill this spring, but threw two interceptions in the spring game. Verica is the only player on the roster who has attempted a pass in a game.
2. Kicking competition. Last year, the kicking duties were done by committee. This year, London would like to find one player capable of PATs, field goals and kickoffs. Robert Randolph handled most of the field goal duties last year. Drew Jarrett handled the PATs at the end of the year and Chris Hinkebein did kickoffs. Hinkebein has the strongest but least accurate leg.
3. Defensive transition. How will the players adjust to their new roles in the transition from a 3-4 to a 4-3 scheme? London has moved a lot of players into positions where he’s trying to get speed on the field. LaRoy Reynolds and LoVante Battle moved from the secondary to strongside linebacker. Ausar Walcott moved from defensive back to whip linebacker, and other players -- like Conrath -- have moved from defensive end to tackle.
2009 conference record: 2-6
Returning starters
Offense: 6, defense: 6, punter/kicker 2
Top returners
WR Kris Burd, QB Marc Verica, DE Matt Conrath, LB Steve Greer, CB Ras-I Dowling
Key losses
WR Vic Hall, T Will Barker, C Jack Shields, QB Jameel Sewell, FB Rashawn Jackson, NG Nate Collins, CB Chris Cook, LB Denzel Burrell, TB Mikell Simpson
2009 statistical leaders (* returners)
Rushing: Jackson (461 yards)
Passing: Sewell (1,848 yds)
Receiving: Burd* (413 yds)
Tackles: Greer* (92)
Sacks: Collins (6)
Interceptions: Cook (4)
Spring answers
1. Johnson’s move a hit. Cam Johnson’s move from linebacker to defensive end proved beneficial, as he returned an interception 51 yards in the Cavaliers’ spring game. Johnson, who started 10 of the 12 games he played in last year, showed he can transition to playing with his hand on the ground.
2. Aboushi a boost up front. Offensive tackle Oday Aboushi could be Virginia’s next stellar lineman. He’ll only be a sophomore, but he showed this spring he can help plug up some holes in an offensive line that was rather porous last year. Aboushi played in late in the Clemson game and he held his own as a freshman last year.
3. Mending fences. First-year coach Mike London has been working the crowd and winning it over by making the staff more approachable. He held a scrimmage at Old Dominion, and had been rebuilding relationships with high school coaches and media throughout the state.
Fall questions
1. Which Verica will show this fall? The one who was pushed into duty without experience two years ago and performed well, or the one who last year struggled in mop-up duty? Verica said he avoided turnovers during every team drill this spring, but threw two interceptions in the spring game. Verica is the only player on the roster who has attempted a pass in a game.
2. Kicking competition. Last year, the kicking duties were done by committee. This year, London would like to find one player capable of PATs, field goals and kickoffs. Robert Randolph handled most of the field goal duties last year. Drew Jarrett handled the PATs at the end of the year and Chris Hinkebein did kickoffs. Hinkebein has the strongest but least accurate leg.
3. Defensive transition. How will the players adjust to their new roles in the transition from a 3-4 to a 4-3 scheme? London has moved a lot of players into positions where he’s trying to get speed on the field. LaRoy Reynolds and LoVante Battle moved from the secondary to strongside linebacker. Ausar Walcott moved from defensive back to whip linebacker, and other players -- like Conrath -- have moved from defensive end to tackle.
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
Heather Dinich
Dinich covered ACC and Big Ten football for five seasons before joining ESPN.com in November 2007. She's an Indiana grad but somehow her favorite day of the week is Saturday.
Andrea Adelson
Adelson joined ESPN.com in 2010 after spending time as a college football columnist at The Orlando Sentinel. She has covered college football since her days as a University of Florida student, and lives in Orlando, Fla.
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