The ACC might have the most interesting collection of quarterbacks in the “Power 5.” There are 2 quarterbacks who transferred within the conference, 2 transfers from other P5 schools and 3 quarterbacks with a legitimate chance to be in the Heisman Trophy conversation.

That’s a lot going on the most important position. Let’s catch you up on the changes and the upside and downside for each team:

Boston College

Upside: BC coach Jeff Hafley went into the 2022 season thinking he would have a proven, veteran starter in Phil Jurkovec. And for 8 games, he did. Then Jurkovec got injured and Hafley had to turn to Emmitt Morehead, a raw, redshirt freshman, to finish the final 4 games of the season.

Morehead, a classic dropback passer at 6-5 and 235 pounds, showed real promise in 3 of those games with 330 passing yards in his first 2 starts and 9 TDs to 2 INTs in the 3 good games. The 4th game, a 44-0 loss at Notre Dame, was the kind of clunker to be expected from an inexperienced quarterback. The way Morehead handled himself in a 21-20 win at NC State in November showed Hafley that he has a building block in Morehead.

Downside: As good as Morehead was in throwing for 912 yards against Duke, State and Syracuse, 305 of those yards went to receiver Zay Flowers. With Flowers off to the NFL, as a 1st-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens, will Morehead still be good without him?

Flowers was a force last year, leading the ACC in TD catches (12) and ranking 2nd in receiving yards (1,077). It will take more than 1 player to replace Flowers’ production. Joseph Griffin, a big target (6-4) on the outside, will help. So will UCF transfer Ryan O’Keefe, who caught 157 passes the previous 2 seasons for the Knights. If it was more Flowers than Morehead that revived the offense after Jurkovec’s injury, then Hafley will have to go back to the drawing board.

Clemson

Upside: When Cade Klubnik came off the bench to lead the Tigers to a runaway 39-10 win over UNC in the ACC title game, the most common refrain from Clemson fans was: “Finally!” Just about everyone waited all season for the 5-star freshman to overtake DJ Uiagalelei for the starting job. He broke through with a 20-of-24 performance in the romp of UNC, where he ran for a score and threw for another as the Tigers won their 7th ACC title in 8 years.

The biggest addition for Klubnik this year will be new offensive coordinator Garrett Riley. TCU quarterback Max Duggan was a Heisman Trophy finalist last year with Riley calling the plays. The Horned Frogs ranked 9th nationally in scoring.

Downside: In his first college start in the Orange Bowl, Klubnik ran into some of the same problems that plagued Uiagalelei. The Tigers’ receivers have fallen off from their championship run with Tee Higgins, Hunter Renfrow and Justyn Ross. Without major additions from the transfer portal, will the group be significantly better this season?

The popular thinking is that Klubnik will be an upgrade from Uiagalelei. That will likely be true but he might not be ready to jump up into the class of Tigers greats Trevor Lawrence or Deshaun Watson. Those QBs had a much better supporting cast than Klubnik and that might hold him back, even while expectations soar.

Duke

Upside: Riley Leonard was a revelation last year as a 1st-time starter. He threw for 20 TDs, with only 6 INTs, and then ran for 13 more scores. He was the primary reason Duke jumped from 3-9 in 2021 to 9-4 in 2022.

It stands to reason, a year older and a year wiser in coordinator Kevin Johns’ system will only make Leonard better. Factor in he has so many of the same skill players back from last year’s group and it easy to be bullish on Leonard’s potential in 2023. It’s also easy to predict that NFL scouts will be paying attention to an athletic, 6-4 quarterback who is a threat as a passer and runner.

Downside: The same questions about Duke, in Year 2 under coach Mike Elko, are the same ones for Leonard. How will a much more difficult schedule affect Leonard?

Last year’s first 3 games were against Temple, Northwestern and an FCS team (North Carolina A&T). This year, the Devils swap out Clemson for Temple (in the opener).

Of the ranked ACC teams to start the season, Duke gets all of them (the Tigers, Florida State, UNC) plus Notre Dame. There aren’t many layups on deck for Duke or Leonard.

Florida State

Upside: If FSU is really “back,” then Jordan Travis will have to continue his upward trajectory and he will have to stay healthy. Travis showed he was more than just an effective runner last season by throwing for 3,214 yards. That was more than double the ’21 season total when Travis was in and out of the lineup and didn’t have the fulltime job. He’s clearly the face of the program now. If the Noles can win the ACC and get back to the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2014, Travis will be squarely in the Heisman Trophy conversation.

Downside: Travis’ slight frame (6-1, 212 pounds) isn’t considered as big of a hurdle as it was 20 or 30 years ago, but there are durability questions. He was in and out of the lineup in 2021. The way FSU has shopped in the portal, he will have plenty of support at receiver and running back. The loss receiver Mycah Pittman might sting and developing a rapport with some new parts might be an issue. Regardless, as long as Travis stays healthy, there isn’t much downside here.

Georgia Tech

Upside: There will be a lot of “Hey, didn’t that guy used to play for Texas A&M?” moments around college football this season. Haynes King will be the most prominent example in the ACC. Brent Key has hitched his wagon to King, who started 5 games for the Aggies last season. If the 4-star recruit who won the job in practice for Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M — and showed out in a close loss to Alabama last year — turns up in Atlanta, Key is going to quickly make a name for himself as a quarterback whisperer.

Downside: It’s hard to unsee how poorly Texas A&M’s offense, and King, played in a 17-14 home loss to Appalachian State last September. UNC scored 63 points against the same defense. King is not a runner, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing if you can offset it by being a proficient passer. You also need a really good offensive line to play without a mobile quarterback. The way Zach Pyron flashed in spots last year for Key, it’s slightly surprising that King is the choice. If King can’t find his form, this will be a situation where more than one quarterback is needed.

Louisville

Upside: Louisville is hoping Jack Plummer turns out to be a post-pandemic success story. Plummer couldn’t win the starting job in 4 years at Purdue, where Jeff Brohm was the coach. So he transferred to Cal last year, started for the Bears and put up perfectly acceptable numbers (3,095 yards, 21 TDs, 9 INTs) for a 4-8 team.

Now in Year 6, Plummer leaves Cal and joins the Cardinals, who hired Brohm from Purdue. At 6-5, Plummer is your classic dropback passer. His familiarity with Brohm’s offense will be a bonus. It’s fair to expect him to put up similar numbers to what he did at Cal and maybe even more because he will have better skill players around him and Louisville’s schedule is a cakewalk.

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Downside: It’s a red flag that Plummer couldn’t hold onto the starting job at Purdue, despite multiple chances over multiple years. But it says a lot about his relationship with Brohm that he was so eager to reunite with him.

Louisville’s schedule is so easy (no Clemson, FSU or UNC) it’s hard to see much of a real downside for a 6th-year quarterback. The return of running back Jawhar Jordan and addition of receiver Jamari Thrash from Georgia State should make Plummer’s final college season a smooth one for his old coach.

Miami

Upside: The version of Tyler Van Dyke from 2021 is the best version. He was confident, slung it around the yard and didn’t back down from anyone. He threw for 2,931 yards with 25 touchdowns and 6 interceptions in 10 games. He looked like the “Next Big Thing” at a program that used to regularly pump quarterbacks into the NFL. If he can find that ’21 form — he closed the season with 6 straight 300-yard games and 20 TDs in those games — then hiring new coordinator Shannon Dawson will look like a brilliant move for 2nd-year coach Mario Cristobal.

Downside: The version of Van Dyke from ’22 was just the opposite. He threw for just 1,836 yards with 10 TDs and 5 INTs and played in only 9 games. He fought through a shoulder injury, poor line play and the questionable play-calling of Josh Gattis. The Canes fumbled to 5-7 last year and the offense finished No. 97 in scoring. Miami has way too much talent to be falling that far down the national rankings.

The addition of Dawson, from Houston, should add a spark in creativity. Van Dyke’s health will go a long way, too. But Cristobal has to prove the growing pains from his first season were a fluke.

North Carolina

Upside: Drake Maye’s good enough to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft. He’s big, he can run, he’s accurate and he can make all the throws. What else is there? He’s from a family of national champions, so there’s that, too.

Inevitably, the NFL Draft Complex will get around to seriously discussing Maye as a possible top pick. He was that good last year (4,321 passing yards, 38 passing TDs, 698 rushing yards), his first as a starter.

Maye entered the Heisman Trophy conversation last year after UNC got off to a 9-1 start. He can do the same this year if the Tar Heels can recover from a poor finish in ’22 and get back on the winning track.

Downside: Maye lost his top receiver (Josh Downs) and his coordinator (Phil Longo went to Wisconsin). The potential is there to maybe start the season slow, especially with a feisty South Carolina out of the gate. But Maye’s talent is impossible to deny. A “down” year for him would be good year for just about every other quarterback in the league.

NC State

Upside: Like Van Dyke, Brennan Armstrong was outstanding in ’21 but struggled in ’22. Like Van Dyke, a coordinator change just might turn out to be the best thing for Armstrong. In this case, Armstrong is reuniting with the coach who helped him succeed in ’21.

The Wolfpack hired Robert Anae to replace Tim Beck as the offensive coordinator this season. In ’21, Armstrong was Anae’s quarterback at Virginia. Armstrong threw for 4,449 yards with 31 passing TDs and 9 rushing TDs. Without Anae, Armstrong struggled at UVa last year. NC State coach Dave Doeren is banking on Anae to get the best out of Armstrong and that the 6th-year graduate transfer can close out his college career on the right note.

Downside: Last year was a struggle for Armstrong in a new system (Anae left for Syracuse after Bronco Mendenhall retired) and behind a rebuilt offensive line. The Cavaliers couldn’t run the ball and they could barely protect Armstrong. His numbers cratered to 2,210 passing yards with only 7 TDs and 12 INTs. The offense was a mess and so were the Cavaliers. How much of that was on Armstrong? He can’t be completely absolved of the falloff, but he has shown what he’s capable of in Anae’s system and with a strong supporting cast.

Pittsburgh

Upside: Armstrong isn’t the only quarterback switching schools within the ACC. Phil Jurkovec went from Boston College to Pittsburgh. The Panthers are hoping to get the healthy version of Jurkovec, who started his career at Notre Dame in 2018. He’s a big, pocket passer who can drive the ball down field.

In 2020 at BC, Jurkovec was at his best with a 17 TDs and 5 INTs. He battled injuries the past 2 seasons and wasn’t quite the same player he was in the pandemic season. When healthy, Jurkovec can be an effective quarterback who’s good enough to win games with his arm. The way Pitt won last year (with Kedon Slovis) was by trying to run. That has its limits.

Downside: Jurkovec has talent but he hasn’t been able to play a complete season. Even in ’20, he fought through an shoulder injury. It’s kind of difficult to predict he’s going to be able to start all 13 games when he’s never done it in his college career. He’s in Year 6. Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi doesn’t mind playing old-fashioned football. He won’t have to if Jurkovec can stay healthy. Jurkovec isn’t Kenny Pickett, but he should be an upgrade from Slovis.

Syracuse

Upside: Garrett Shrader has 23 TD runs the past 2 years as the primary starter for the Orange. His completion percentage improved from 52.6 to 64.7 last year. His passing TDs went from 9 to 17. He made great strides. There’s every reason to believe he can maintain that progress from ’22 as a 5th-year senior.

Downside: Shrader flourished under coordinator Robert Anae last season. Anae is off to NC State. Jason Beck, who coached with Anae at BYU and Virginia, takes over for Anae as the new coordinator. There will be plenty of continuity there for Shrader to continue his progress.

The loss of running back Sean Tucker, who posted back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, might tempt Shrader to pick up more of the slack in the ground game, but it’s difficult to see Shrader going to back his ’21 form.

Virginia

Upside: The Cavaliers hit the reset button after a lost season in 2022. Armstrong moved out, and Tony Muskett moved in. The grad transfer put up respectable numbers at Monmouth with 1,997 yards with 17 TDs and 8 INTs in 8 games before being sidelined with a knee injury. He was a 3-year starter at the FCS level, so he has plenty of experience.

Downside: There are questions any time a player “transfers up,” but it’s not an impossible jump. Muskett is not a runner and he’s not that big (6-2, 206 pounds), so he’ll have to find other ways to be effective. This could be another really long season for the Cavaliers, who ranked No. 103 in yards per play and No. 126 in scoring last season.

Virginia Tech

Upside: Grant Wells showed an aptitude to learn from his mistakes last year as the Hokies’ starter. He threw 4 interceptions in the season-opening loss to Old Dominion and then only 5 more the rest of the season.

The Marshall transfer finished the season with 9 TDs and 9 INTs. He only had 1 game (Wofford) with more than 1 TD pass. If Wells gets off to a slow start, you should expect to see Baylor transfer Kyron Drones get a look.

Downside: Coach Brent Pry signed new skill players from the transfer portal and that should help the offense, but Wells is a replacement level quarterback. If he doesn’t turn the ball over, he’s not going to hurt you. He’s also not really dynamic enough to help you.

Wake Forest

Upside: Wake Forest needed Mitch Griffis to start the opener last year after an emergency surgery sidelined Sam Hartman. Griffis completed 72% of his passes for 288 yards with 3 TDs in a 44-10 win over VMI. Fair enough, that was VMI, but Dave Clawson has a system offense and Griffis knows the system. A coach’s son, Griffis has been in the program for 3 years and understands the “slow mesh” and how Clawson wants to attack defenses.

Downside: Replacing the best quarterback in school history is never easy. Hartman was that before he transferred to Notre Dame. Griffis isn’t the biggest dude (5-11, 193 pounds) and he doesn’t have Hartman’s game experience, but he has help around him and a proven system.