Greensboro, N.C.—A total of 51 players from Atlantic Coast Conference schools have signed free agent contracts or received invitations to attend free agent camps from teams in the National Football League.
Combined with the 31 ACC players drafted by the NFL, a total of 82 players from ACC schools will head to NFL training camps this year.
When draftees (3) and free agents (10) from Pittsburgh and Syracuse are included, teams which will join the ACC this July 1, the number of players headed to the NFL grows to a total of 95 players.
ACC NFL Free Agent Signees (as of May 9)
Boston College (5)
Nick Clancy LB Atlanta Falcons
Emmett Cleary T Indianapolis Colts
Jim Noel DB Seattle Seahawks
Chris Pantale TE New York Jets
John Wetzel T Oakland Raiders
Clemson (6)
Dalton Freeman C New York Jets
Xavier Brewer DB Dallas Cowboys
Spencer Benton PK Dallas Cowboys
Tig Willard LB Tennessee Titans
Brandon Ford TE New England Patriots
Jaron Brown WR Arizona Cardinals
Duke (3)
Jackson Anderson LS Houston Texans
Tony Foster DB Kansas City Chiefs
Conner Vernon WR Oakland Raiders
Florida State (3)
Anthony McCloud DT Minnesota Vikings
Lonnie Pryor FB-RB Jacksonville Jaguars
Rodney Smith WR Minnesota Vikings
Georgia Tech (5)
T.J. Barnes DT Jacksonville Jaguars
Izaan Cross DE Buffalo Bills
Rod Sweeting CB New Orleans Saints
Orwin Smith RB Tampa Bay Buccaneers (invited to free agent camp)
Tyler Morgan LS Carolina Panthers
Maryland (5)
Devonte Campbell TE Atlanta Falcons
Darin Drakeford LB Kansas City Chiefs
A.J. Francis DE-DT Miami Dolphins
Matt Furstenburg TE Baltimore Ravens
Joe Vellano DE-DT New England Patriots
Miami (3)
Dalton Botts P (Tryouts with Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints)
Ramon Buchanan LB Seattle Seahawks
Jeremy Lewis OL Tampa Bay Buccaneers
North Carolina (4)
Casey Barth PK Atlanta Falcons
Jheranie Boyd WR Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Erik Highsmith WR Minnesota Vikings
Kevin Reddick LB New Orleans Saints
NC State (6)
Zach Allen G Carolina Panthers
Brandan Bishop S Minnesota Vikings
R.J. Mattes OL New England Patriots
Tobais Palmer WR Jacksonville Jaguars
Cameron Wentz C Minnesota Vikings
C.J. Wilson CB Chicago Bears
Pittsburgh (4)
Ray Graham RB Houston Texans
Hubie Graham TE Tamp Bay Buccaneers
Mike Shanahan WR New York Jets
Ryan Turnley C New York Giants
Syracuse (6)
Lou Alexander T New Orleans Saints
Zack Chibane G Buffalo Bills
Dean Goggins DE Atlanta Falcons
Alec Lemon WR Houston Texans
Marcuse Sales WR Atlanta Falcons
Brandon Sharpe DE Washington Redskins
Virginia (5)
Paul Freedman TE Dallas Cowboys
Steve Greer LB Washington Redskins
Perry Jones RB Baltimore Ravens
Colter Phillips TE Tampa Bay Buccaneers
La’Roy Reynolds LB Jacksonville Jaguars
Virginia Tech (5)
Nick Becton T San Diego Chargers
Marcus Davis WR New York Giants
Antoine Hopkins DT Pittsburgh Steelers
Bruce Taylor LB Cincinnati Bengals
Alonzo Tweedy LB New York Giants
Wake Forest (1)
Kenny Okoro DB San Diego Chargers
Thursday, May 9, 2013
ACC releases list of 51 undrafted players getting NFL shots
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Tar Heels, Gamecocks to play in Charlotte in '15
Monday, May 6, 2013
ACC announces schedule for its bowl game tie-ins
2013 Atlantic Coast Conference Football Bowl Schedule
(Chronological Order, All Times Eastern)
Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman
Friday, Dec. 27, 2013 2:30 p.m. ESPN
Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (conditional)
Friday, Dec. 27, 2013 9:30 p.m. ESPN
Russell Athletic Bowl
Saturday, Dec. 28, 2013 6:45 p.m. ESPN
Belk Bowl
Saturday, Dec. 28, 2013 3:20 p.m. ESPN
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
Monday, Dec. 30, 2013 3:15 p.m. ESPN
AdvoCare V100 Bowl
Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013 12:30 p.m. ESPN
Hyundai Sun Bowl
Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013 2 p.m. CBS
Chick-fil-A Bowl
Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013 8 p.m. ESPN
Discover Orange Bowl
Friday, Jan. 3, 2014 8 p.m. ESPN
Friday, May 3, 2013
Injured Gamecocks player: School abandoned me
Former South Carolina defensive tackle Stanley Doughty is the key figure in this Atlantic story taking the NCAA to task for not better regulating healthcare for student-athletes.
Specifically, Doughty says he was abandoned by the Gamecocks after NFL doctors discovered he had a spine injury he thinks was suffered during his South Carolina playing days.
Now, he says he is disabled and unable to afford surgery or to return to school to complete his degree.
Another example in the story is former Oklahoma basketball player Kyle Hardrick, who says the Sooners, under then-coach Jeff Capel (now a Duke assistant), pushed him out after he suffered a knee injury, and wouldn't pay for his medical care.
Capel, to his credit, wrote a letter on Hardrick's behalf after Capel had left Oklahoma, but the school declined to declare Hardrick a medical hardship case.
From the Atlantic's story:
Stories like Doughty's and Hardrick's speak to the larger paradox of college sports, wherein players are treated like employees of their institutions—but don't get paid or receive the same benefits as recognized workers. Let's say the athletic director walks through the stands, slips on spilled soda and breaks his leg. Because he is considered an employee of the university, worker's compensation will cover any costs, short and long-term. But if a player 15 feet away breaks his leg on the field, running a play at the coach's request, the school has no legal or financial obligations since he is considered a student-athlete, not an employee.
Few of these stories come to light, and the Atlantic points at that some, and perhaps most, schools treat their athletes' medical needs fairly. But few athletes ask about medical care when they are being recruited, and are left to take the school's word.
An interesting, if long, read, but worth your time.
-- Mike Persinger
Which schools best turned recruits into NFL talent in 2013?
A sports marketing professor at Emory University studied the 2013 NFL draft through the lens of which teams did the best at turning recruiting talent into draft picks.
ACC winners? Florida State, North Carolina and N.C. State.
Tops in the SEC were South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
There were also rankings for the Big Ten, Pac-12, and an overall ranking.
Interesting look at the power conferences in college football.
Surprised by anything you read?
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Friday, April 19, 2013
UNC's Holden Thorp: Athletic administrators - not presidents - should run athletics
Holden Thorp won't be the chancellor at North Carolina for long. He's leaving on June 30 to become the provost at Washington University in St. Louis. Thorp's imminent departure is one of the reasons why he has become outspoken against the idea - a flawed idea, according to him - that university presidents and chancellors should be responsible for running college athletics.
That's not to say that Thorp wants to absolve chancellors and presidents from the responsibilities related to athletics. But he believes athletic department matters are best left to the athletic department, and he'd like to chancellors and presidents to have a much less visible role when it comes to leading athletics and the myriad issues that surround them at places like UNC and other universities with high-profile athletic programs.
Thorp said some of this during an interview with News & Observer's Jane Stancill, who wrote a story today that touched on Thorp's reluctance to play a large role in leading athletics. And Thorp was even more outspoken earlier today during a panel discussion that UNC hosted about the role of athletics in college life. Given all the problems in recent years at UNC related to athletics and academics, Thorp convened a five-person panel to explore some of this.
Hunter Rawlings, the president of the Association of American Universities, is the chairman of the panel. It also includes Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany and Amy Perko, the executive director of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics.
Here's Thorp, in his own words, about his experience working with athletics at the major-college level, and what role university chancellors and presidents should have in athletic leadership ...
"Most of us were working in the lab or library, teaching, publishing, until we moved into administrative jobs where we did things like ran tenure, start new degree programs and work on accreditation. ... And then one day I woke up and Roy Williams, Anson Dorrance, Sylvia Hatchell, Mike Fox and so many other great coaches were all working for me."
"And after five years and all that I've been through, I know enough to run college sports now. But I think we can all agree that it wasn't exactly a smooth road to enlightenment. And I certainly didn't know enough to run college sports five years ago. The search committee asked me one question about it."
"(Chancellors and presidents) don't have time to do what is asked of us by this presidential control idea ... We go to conference or NCAA meetings to discuss new rules and when we get home, our ADs tell us we were crazy to agree to these changes. And they're usually right."
"The presidential retreat that Mark Emmert had was a good idea, but it has a lousy record in terms of coming up with ideas that were ultimately approved by the membership. This is because presidents are fighting political battles, fundraising, dealing with the hospital and trying to help the governing boards understand the inner-workings of higher education."
"People ask me all the time why I didn't let the AD do more of the public relations during the problems that we have had at North Carolina. This is what most good public relations consultants will tell you to do. And the answer is that the governing boards and this concept of presidential control didn't give me much of a choice. Every time I appeared to discuss athletics at a board meeting, which in North Carolina is always with the media there, was at the request of the board had specifically wanted me to come talk to them. That's not their fault. This presidential control idea has created the impression that the president or chancellor should be the one to speak to the governing boards about athletics."
"The third problem is that making the president or chancellor the only academic administrator accountable for athletics allows the rest administration to check out. Oh, that's the chancellor's problem."
"Many of the governing boards include at least some, but by no means all, people who sought the appointment precisely so that they could get close to athletics. So we have a bunch of college professors working for boards that have a lot of sports fans. And we wonder why it isn't working.
"The upshot of it is that college presidents are capable of doing really smart things. And usually get most crises handled well. But a sports crisis reduces really smart people into people who appear inept and sound incapable. The reason is that there's no place to hide."
"You have the sports fans going crazy if they don't get their players in the game, and media and much of the faculty expecting, because of this presidential control idea, that the president or chancellor can wave a wand and somehow make it all go away."
"A very smart sports person told me that the best you can hope for is a tie. So that's what people play for. This concept of playing for a tie is a very good way of understanding why our controversy at North Carolina went on for such a long time."
"I'm saying a lot more today than I would say if I wasn't going to Division III to be a provost. My successor will be here soon. But hopefully, my saying these things will make it easier for her."
"You hear all the time that the presidents of the universities have the power to fix this. I don't agree. We can't fix the NCAA or the conferences, because we have to get a huge number of our colleagues to agree with us at the same time. And we can't fix our own situations because the alumni and the governing boards want their victories, and they want the agony of disagreement over college athletics to end as soon as possible. So to me that leaves us with two choices. Either we put the ADs back in charge, and hold them accountable when things don't work ... Or, let's be honest, and tell everyone when we select them to run institutions that have big-time sports that athletics is the most important part of the job."
"I'm not saying (my office) isn't where the buck should stop. I'm saying we have taken on this aura that says that presidential control is this magical thing that pervades college sports. And we need to be more realistic about what powers we do and don't have. And part of that is our own fault, because we insist on governing conferences and governing the NCAA - and it's just not as simple as that."
"I'm not talking about changing the reporting structure. I'm just saying that we need to develop this thing that says if something goes wrong in athletics, it's an athletics problem - just the same way we would about other things that go wrong in the university, or go right."
"Ideally it'd be like all the other functions. You'd have the people reporting to you, telling you what's going on and you'd make the decisions you'd need to make and it would become a function of the university just like the hospital and the endowment and the academic parts - student affairs and all those things. It wouldn't create this giant pressure every time you had to do something."
"And of course there were lots of things that I could have done differently that would have made it a little better. But in terms of whether I really had the power to fix all the things that people thought I could, I decided I really didn't have that."
- Andrew Carter
Friday, April 5, 2013
Duke football: Q&A with offensive coordinator Kurt Roper
Duke football has one more week of spring practice before the April 13 spring game in Wallace Wade at 4 p.m. (open to the public, by the way). In anticipation of that event, I chatted briefly with offensive coordinator Kurt Roper about what's been happening with the offense.
What have you guys been doing on the offensive side of the ball this spring?
The whole cliche on how it's about players and not plays is obviously somewhat true. We're trying to figure out who can really help us on Saturday next year. That's the biggest thing. You have guys like Jamison Crowder, who you know can help you win on Saturday. But is (WR)Max McCaffrey there yet? We've had (OL)Perry Simmons play really good football for a long time, and we know he can help us win, but can we bring somebody along, like Lucas Patrick or Matt Skura, that we can say at the end of Spring that they can help us win? That's really what we've been focusing on. Who else can we develop--is it one player, two players, five players--that are ready for Saturday? And we've done it with several guys.
At the same time, you're trying to figure out what works. What are our guys capable of scheme wise? We're working on different schemes and things like that. We have a different quarterback, plain and simple. The guy is different, let's figure out what his strengths are going to be and how to implement it and use it to, again, win on Saturday.
Which young guys have shown a lot of promise?
Max McCraffrey is game-ready. He's had an outstanding spring. And that needed to be a huge area of development for us, losing the guys that we lost. With Issac (Blakeney) playing in the slot and Eric (Schneider) playing in the slot, those guys are close. They've had good springs and could be guys that are capable of making plays for us on Saturday.
Replacing (center) Brian Moore has been a nervous area for me. Matt Skura has done an outstanding job. He's a guy that I'm going to like as the center, especially has he grows and grows and grows.
Those are guys that can say right now on Saturday, 'hey, I'm ready to go play.' Shaq Powell kind of fits in that same category. He was really kind of there last year, for the most part. But he's a guy that can go play for us on Saturday right now.
I know the coaching staff talked about getting Shaq reps at safety last year for the bowl game. Was there any thought about him staying on defense?
Well, Coach Cut makes all the personnel decisions. I wasn't in favor of that (laughs). Shaq has a chance to be an outstanding running back. Obviously, we all get selfish in our areas of responsibility.
That's only natural. How has Anthony Boone looked this spring at quarterback, and how has the transition from backup to starter gone?
It's going well. It's a continuous work, it's a continuous evolvement in becoming a starting quarterback. I told him that the biggest thing is you have to act like it, you have to walk like it, you have to talk like it and present yourself as the starting quarterback. He is wearing that hat right now. Work ethic and everything that goes into being a starting quarterback, everybody notices. He understands the responsibility, and he's doing that end of it well. The first part is carrying yourself like that starting quarterback, and he has tried to do that.
The second thing is that he's a charismatic guy. He really has a charisma about him that says starting quarterback. That's helped him carry himself that way. He's got a lot natural leadership skills and personality skills, and people just kind of gravitate toward his personality.
In the end, it's still about being productive on the field. He's understanding what we're doing, he's trying to play faster, he's trying to be a smart decision maker but still be aggressive and trying to make plays. He can all be good decision makers with the football and never turn it over if we go out there and take knees, things like that. He's got to be aggressive with opportunities when they arise. And you've got to know when to be aggressive and when not to be aggressive, and he's growing in that area.
He's playing well. The true test will come next year, but the best part is we've already seen it on Saturday. He's been put into those roles a little bit, and I'm excited about watching him play.
We haven't seen backup quarterback Thomas Sirk in game action. How has he looked this spring, and do you think he will get a few situational reps, like Anthony did under Sean Renfree?
He's not quite as far along as Anthony, obviously, just because he hasn't been here as long. But he is a guy that's physically talented, he's really big, he's strong, he can run, he is accurate with the football for the most part. But he's still taking small steps right now. He's really just trying to learn step one. There are steps in the process of learning an offense.
Step one is just learning our plays, learning our terminology, learning our language. Step two is applying it to defensive schemes and things like that. Step three is applying it to game situations, score of the game, time in the game, down and distance, field position. Right now, we're really kind of on step one, but he's better and coming along. But who knows, if something happens to Anthony and he's got to play, we have to have a package to have him ready to go play.
What I'm trying to say is that he is a really talented quarterback who has a chance to be a really good player here. I hope he still gets to develop before everything is thrust on him.
There's your brief overview of the most pressing offensive questions for Duke this spring. Check back this weekend for more on McCaffrey and Boone, and early next week there will be a similar overview of the defensive side of the ball.
- Laura Keeley
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Kurt Roper instructs the Duke offense with quarterback Anthony Boone nearby. (TAKAAKI IWABU)
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Monday, March 4, 2013
Video: ACC Spring Football Primer
SI.com's Maggie Gray, Ben Glicksman and Gabriel Baumgaertner discuss the biggest storylines in the ACC as teams get prepped for the 2013 season.
Monday, February 25, 2013
2013 ACC football schedules
• 2013 ACC team-by-team schedules (PDF)
The 2013 ACC football schedules:
Clemson
Aug. 31 Georgia
Sept. 7 South Carolina State
Sept. 19 at NC State
Sept. 28 Wake Forest
Oct. 5 at Syracuse
Oct. 12 Boston College
Oct. 19 Florida State
Oct. 26 at Maryland
Nov. 2 at Virginia
Nov. 14 Georgia Tech
Nov. 23 The Citadel
Nov. 30 at South Carolina
Duke
Aug. 31 N.C. Central
Sept. 7 at Memphis
Sept. 14 Georgia Tech
Sept. 21 Pittsburgh
Sept. 28 Troy
Oct. 5 open
Oct. 12 Navy
Oct. 19 at Virginia
Oct. 26 at Virginia Tech
Nov. 2 open
Nov. 9 N.C. State
Nov. 16 Miami
Nov. 23 at Wake Forest
Nov. 30 at UNC
N.C. State
Aug. 31 Louisiana Tech
Sept. 7 Richmond
Sept. 14 open
Sept. 19 Clemson (ESPN)
Sept. 28 Central Michigan
Oct. 5 at Wake Forest
Oct. 12 Syracuse
Oct. 19 open
Oct. 26 at Florida State
Nov. 2 UNC
Nov. 9 at Duke
Nov. 16 at Boston College
Nov. 23 East Carolina
Nov. 30 Maryland
UNC
Aug. 29 at South Carolina (ESPN)
Sept. 7 Middle Tennessee
Sept. 14 open
Sept. 21 at Georgia Tech
Sept. 28 ECU
Oct. 5 at Virginia Tech
Oct. 12 open
Oct. 17 Miami (ESPN)
Oct. 26 Boston College
Nov. 2 at N.C. State
Nov. 9 Virginia
Nov. 16 at Pittsburgh
Nov. 23 Old Dominion
Nov. 30 Duke
Wake Forest
Aug. 29 Presbyterian
Sept. 6 at Boston College
Sept. 14 Louisiana-Monroe
Setp. 21 at Army
Setp. 28 at Clemson
Oct. 5 North Carolina State
Oct. 19 Maryland
Oct. 26 at Miami
Nov. 2 at Syracuse
Nov. 9 Florida State
Nov. 23 Duke
Nov. 30 at Vanderbilt
Composite ACC schedule
Thursday, Aug. 29
UNC at South Carolina, ESPN
Presbyterian at Wake Forest
Friday, Aug. 30
Florida Atlantic at Miami
Saturday, Aug. 31
Villanova at Boston College
Georgia at Clemson
N.C. Central at Duke
Elon at Georgia Tech
Florida International at Maryland
Louisiana Tech at N.C. State
Penn State vs. Syracuse at East Rutherford, N.J.
BYU at Virginia
Alabama vs. Virginia Tech at Atlanta
Monday, Sept. 2
Florida State at Pittsburgh, ESPN, 8 pm
Friday, Sept. 6
Wake Forest at Boston College, ESPN or ESPN2
Saturday, Sept. 7
South Carolina State at Clemson
Duke at Memphis
Old Dominion at Maryland
Florida at Miami
Middle Tennessee at UNC
Richmond at N.C. State
Syracuse at Northwestern
Oregon at Virginia
Western Carolina at Virginia Tech
Saturday, Sept.14
Boston College at USC
Georgia Tech at Duke
Nevada at Florida State
Maryland at Connecticut
New Mexico at Pittsburgh
Wagner at Syracuse
Virginia Tech at East Carolina
Louisiana-Monroe at Wake Forest
Thursday, Sept. 19
Clemson at N.C. State, ESPN
Saturday, Sept. 21
Pittsburgh at Duke
Bethune-Cookman at Florida State
UNC at Georgia Tech
West Virginia vs. Maryland at Baltimore
Savannah State at Miami
Tulane at Syracuse
VMI at Virginia
Marshall at Virginia Tech
Wake Forest at Army
Thursday, Sept. 26
Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech, ESPN
Saturday, Sept. 28
Florida State at Boston College
Wake Forest at Clemson
Troy at Duke
Miami at South Florida
East Carolina at UNC
Central Michigan at N.C. State
Virginia at Pittsburgh
Saturday, Oct. 5
Army at Boston College
Clemson at Syracuse
Maryland at Florida State
Georgia Tech at Miami
UNC at Virginia Tech
N.C. State at Wake Forest
Ball State at Virginia
Saturday, Oct. 12
Boston College at Clemson
Navy at Duke
Georgia Tech at BYU
Virginia at Maryland
Syracuse at N.C. State
Pittsburgh at Virginia Tech
Thursday, Oct. 17
Miami at UNC, ESPN
Saturday, Oct.19
Florida State at Clemson
Duke at Virginia
Syracuse at Georgia Tech
Maryland at Wake Forest
Old Dominion at Pittsburgh
Saturday, Oct. 26
Boston College at UNC
Clemson at Maryland
Duke at Virginia Tech
N.C. State at Florida State
Georgia Tech at Virginia
Wake Forest at Miami
Pittsburgh at Navy
Saturday, Nov. 2
Virginia Tech at Boston College
Clemson at Virginia
Miami at Florida State
Pittsburgh at Georgia Tech
UNC at NC State
Wake Forest at Syracuse
Saturday, Nov. 9
Boston College at New Mexico State
N.C. State at Duke
Florida State at Wake Forest
Syracuse at Maryland
Virginia Tech at Miami
Virginia at UNC
Notre Dame at Pittsburgh
Thursday, Nov. 14
Georgia Tech at Clemson, ESPN
Saturday, Nov. 16
N.C. State at Boston College
Miami at Duke
Syracuse at Florida State
Maryland at Virginia Tech
UNC at Pittsburgh
Saturday, Nov. 23
Boston College at Maryland
The Citadel at Clemson
Duke at Wake Forest
Idaho at Florida State
Alabama A&M at Georgia Tech
Virginia at Miami
Old Dominion at UNC
East Carolina at N.C. State
Pittsburgh at Syracuse
Friday, Nov. 29
Miami at Pittsburgh
Saturday, Nov. 30
Boston College at Syracuse
Clemson at South Carolina
Duke at UNC
Florida State at Florida
Georgia at Georgia Tech
Maryland at N.C. State
Virginia Tech at Virginia
Wake Forest at Vanderbilt
Saturday, Dec. 7
ACC Championship Game, at Charlotte
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