2006 ACC Football Season Preview: All-ACC Offense and Defense

Even after having 51 players selected in the 2006 NFL Draft, including 12 in
the first round, the ACC will have a lot of talented players in 2006. So many,
in fact, that it’s very hard to decide on an All-ACC team. No matter how many
lists you see, you can always make a case for a number of players who deserved
to be included. That being said, TSL still decided to take a stab at it.

The ACC is very much a defensive conference, but there are still a number of
good players on the offensive side of the ball. Here’s a look at the All-ACC
offense.

Noticed Clemson’s name a lot, didn’t you? That’s why they could possibly
have the top offense in the ACC this year. They have a very good runner, a
prolific receiver and an outstanding offensive line. Their only question mark on
offense is at quarterback, and if Will Proctor can just play within the system
and minimize his mistakes, the Tigers should be able to put some points on the
board.

To
us, Kyle Wright was the obvious pick for All-ACC at quarterback, but the ACC
admittedly doesn’t have a lot of good quarterbacks returning. Wright is
talented, but he didn’t play that great against top competition last year. But
I don’t think anyone else deserves the honor, either. There are a lot of
quarterbacks in the ACC that have to prove themselves this year. Other
possibilities include Drew Weatherford (Florida State), Matt Ryan (Boston
College) and Sam Hollenbach (Maryland). Georgia Tech’s Reggie Ball also has a
chance, if he can play consistently.

There are a lot of good running backs in the conference. James Davis gets the
most hype, but Micah Andrews should have a huge season for Wake Forest. Branden
Ore (Virginia Tech), Tyrone Moss (Miami), Lance Ball (Maryland) and Andre Brown
(NC State) could have big years as well. But I chose Davis because he is getting
the most preseason hype, while Andrews is in the perfect system. The big sleeper
of this group is Ore, who not many are talking about because he missed spring
practice. But he could be the most talented of the group.

At wide receiver, Calvin Johnson is the best player in the ACC without
question. Chansi Stuckey is very good for Clemson. Greg Olsen is clearly the
best tight end. Other candidates include Chris Davis (Florida State), Greg Carr
(Florida State), Deyon Williams (UVA), Jesse Holley (UNC), Josh Morgan (Virginia
Tech), Eddie Royal (Virginia Tech) and David Clowney (Virginia Tech). Whichever
Tech receiver leads the team in receiving will have a chance. You can scratch
the other two off the list.

Clemson’s offensive line is experienced and is expected to be the best in
the ACC this year. Most preseason magazines give the Tigers two or three
offensive linemen on the All-ACC team, and so did TSL. With all five starters
returning, four of them being seniors, Clemson will be very formidable up front.
Jared Gaither (Maryland), Leroy Harris (NC State), Anthony Wollschlager (Miami),
Duane Brown (Virginia Tech) and Mario Henderson (Florida State) were other
candidates.

Despite having some good offenses, the ACC is still known for being a
defensive conference, and rightfully so. Here’s a look at the All-ACC
Defensive team.

There are a lot of defensive players in the ACC who deserve to be on this list
but didn’t make it. The defensive line is very athletic, and all of those
players are capable of putting pressure on the quarterback. Other players
considered were Baraka Atkins (Miami), Andre Fluellen (Florida State), Chris
Long (UVA), DeMario Pressley (NC State) and Tank Tyler (NC State).

Linebacker
was even more difficult, but Vince Hall, KaMichael Hall and Anthony Waters stand
out as the best of the bunch. Of course, some guys were left off who arguably
deserved to be listed; Brian Toal (Boston College), Buster Davis (Florida
State), Jon Abbate (Wake Forest), Xavier Adibi (Virginia Tech), Philip Wheeler
(Georgia Tech), Lawrence Timmons (Florida State) Jon Beason (Miami) and Larry
Edwards (UNC) were also considered.

Cornerback was the hardest position to choose from. I ultimately went with
John Talley because he is the NCAA’s active leader in interceptions, with 11
for his career. I also chose Marcus Hamilton, because his six interceptions in
2005 led the ACC. But I also think there are other corners in the league who
could be better than those guys, and a couple of them are in Blacksburg. Others
considered included Brandon Flowers (Virginia Tech), Alphonso Smith (Wake
Forest), Josh Wilson (Maryland) and A.J. Davis (NC State). I’d also rank Tech’s
Macho Harris and Roland Minor highly as well.

At safety, I chose Brandon Merriweather and Aaron Rouse. Merriweather is
probably the most natural and instinctive safety in the conference, despite
being a little under prototypical safety size at 6-0, 188. Aaron Rouse has great
size (6-4, 227) and is one of the fastest players on Tech’s team. He is
already near the top of some NFL scouts’ boards. Other safeties considered
include Kenny Phillips (Miami), Garland Heath (NC State), Kareen Taylor (UNC),
Jamie Silva (Boston College), Michael Hamlin (Clemson) and Josh Gattis (Wake
Forest).