ESPN College Football

Remember how the Big 12 dominated the first part of the 2010 NFL draft? The ACC may be poised to do the same thing in 2011, at least according to Todd McShay.

The ESPN and Scouts Inc. analyst has released his ridiculously early 2011 mock draft , and it's dotted with ACC players. A whopping nine ACC stars are projected among the first 30 picks, including five of the first 12.

And McShay thinks it could be a huge year for Tar Heels to go pro. He lists four North Carolina products as first-rounders.

Here is the list from that mock:

No. 3: Anthony Castonzo, OT, Boston College

No. 8: Robert Quinn, DE, North Carolina

No. 10: Bruce Carter, OLB, North Carolina

No. 11: DeAndre McDaniel, S, Clemson

No. 12: Ras-I Dowling, CB, Virginia

No. 17: Marvin Austin, DT, North Carolina

No. 26: Deunta Williams, S, North Carolina

No. 28: Ryan Williams, RB, Virginia Tech

No. 30: Allen Bailey, DT, Miami

McShay also includes Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder, Clemson defensive end Da'Quan Bowers, North Carolina linebacker Quan Sturdivant and Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich among his 10 top remaining prospects.

So with all this talent, at least in McShay's eyes, shouldn't the Tar Heels be ready for a huge 2010 season?

It's no secret North Carolina's defense was good last fall. Just look at the numbers: sixth in total defense (270 yards per game) and 13th in scoring defense (17 ppg).

And those numbers were piled up with a terrible offense that kept giving the ball away.

Not surprisingly, with nine starters back on defense, the 2010 hype machine is starting to roll.

Not only does ESPN draft guru Todd McShay rank two Tar Heels among his top-10 defensive prospects for the 2011 NFL draft -- tackle Marvin Austin at No. 5 and end Robert Quinn at No. 6 -- he has this to say at the end of Quinn's blurb: "Don't be surprised if Quinn emerges as the top prospect on a Tar Heels defense that will draw comparisons to the USC Trojans group from 2008."

The 2008 Trojans yielded 222 yards and nine points per game. They surrendered just six touchdown passes all season. That squad finished 12-1 and ranked third in the nation (No. 2 in the final USA Today poll).

That defense featured eight picks in the 2009 draft, four of whom went in the first two rounds.

It was a pretty fancy crew.

But McShay makes a completely reasonable comparison.

This list of the top-32 2011 NFL draft prospects includes four Tar Heels defenders: Austin, Quinn -- at Nos. 3 and 7 overall -- as well as safety Deunta Williams and linebacker Bruce Carter, at Nos. 28 and 31. What about linebacker Quan Sturdivant? He made the list of "just missed" prospects.

Moreover, UNC's 2009 numbers look a lot like USC's 2007 numbers: The Trojans gave up 273 yards and 16 points per game -- with a much better offense than the Heels in 2009.

On the ACC spring conference call last week, coach Butch Davis said the emphasis this spring was building depth at linebacker and in the secondary. But you want to know what could cause the UNC defense to really put up stunning numbers?

The offense cutting its turnovers in half and consistently moving the ball, which is why the quarterback competition between maligned senior T.J. Yates and strong-armed freshman Bryn Renner figures to be one of the hottest items of the ACC preseason.

Posted by ESPN.com's Heather Dinich

I heard a rumor some NC State fans were a little disgruntled because I didn't mention Philip Rivers in connection with a segment of Tuesday's blog post that referenced the ACC and the NFL.

There's a reason for that.

I wanted to mention the league's highest picks. 

I was looking at this chart in the ACC media guide to find out the top NFL draft pick at each school, which would in turn reveal the quarterbacks selected highest. 

Take a look:

NFL Draft Top Selections for Each Current ACC Team School Player Overall Pick Year NFL Team Boston College Matt Ryan, QB 3 2008 Atlanta Falcons Clemson Banks McFadden, HB 4 1940 Brooklyn Dodgers Clemson Gaines Adams, DE 4 2007 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Duke George McAfee, RB 2 1940 Philadelphia Eagles Florida State Andre Wadsworth, DE 3 1998 Phoenix Cardinals Georgia Tech Calvin Johnson, WR 2 2007 Detroit Lions Maryand Randy White, DE 2 1975 Dallas Cowboys Miami Vinny Testaverde, QB 1 1987 Tampa Bay Buccaneers North Carolina Ken Willard, RB 2 1965 San Francisco 49ers North Carolina Lawrence Taylor, LB 2 1981 New York Giants North Carolina Julius Peppers, DE 2 2002 Carolina Panthers NC State Mario Williams, DE 1 2006 Houston Texans NC State Roman Gabriel, QB 1 1962 Oakland Raiders (AFL) Virginia Bill Dudley, RB 1 1942 Pittsburgh Steelers Virginia Tech Bruce Smith, DE 1 1985 Buffalo Bills Virginia Tech Michael Vick, QB 1 2001 Atlanta Falcons Wake Forest Norm Snead, QB 2 1961 Washington Redskins

The whole point is that the ACC has earned a reputation as a defensive league, and it's reflected in the NFL draft.

Check out these numbers:

• Of the ACC's 114 NFL draft picks from 2006-2008, 63 or 55.2 percent have been defenders.
•  73 percent have been defenders and offensive linemen.
•  There have been two quarterbacks.
•  8 wide receivers/tight ends
•  7 running backs
•  4 punters/kickers

Is this league loaded with talent? No question. Just not at the offensive skill positions. Does that translate into winning? Ask Frank Beamer. His team had the most players drafted over the past three years -- 20 -- and five of them were receivers/tight ends, four were in the secondary, and one was a running back. No wonder he's won two ACC titles in the past four seasons.