It’s not just the Clemson football program that will possess top-tier talent at the quarterback position in the ACC this coming season.
While Clemson football fans will certainly miss Trevor Lawrence, who was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Tiger faithful are excited about the potential of former 5-star D.J. Uiagalelei and what he might bring to the offense through his arm talent.
Uiagalelei is overlooked in some circles while he is also heralded in others. No matter what you believe about Uiagalelei coming into the 2021 season, the fact is that he has the potential to be an elite gunslinger and a top-five pick in an NFL Draft just a couple of years from now.
It’s not just Clemson football that has quarterback talent in the ACC this year
This might be the deepest year at quarterback that the ACC has seen in quite some time.
The conference has several quarterbacks who are returning as starters and will undoubtedly be drafted at the next level. As a matter of fact, there are 10 quarterbacks outside of D.J. Uiagalelei in this conference who could potentially be draft picks:
- Sam Howell (UNC)
- D’Eriq King (Miami)
- Phil Jurkovec (Boston College)
- Kenny Pickett (Pittsburgh)
- Malik Cunningham (Louisville)
- McKenzie Milton (Florida State)
- Sam Hartman (Wake Forest)
- Brennan Armstrong (Virginia)
- Jeff Simms (Georgia Tech)
While some of those near the bottom of the list- like Brennan Armstrong and Jeff Simms- are still fringe draft prospects to say the least, you’ve got to admit when looking at this group that it’s one of the best we’ve seen in the recent history of the conference- at least on paper- and there are some legitimate NFL prospects in that group.
You’ve got Uiagalelei, Howell and King who all could be first-rounders. And then you’ve got Jurkovec, Pickett, Cunningham and Milton who all are drawing interest from NFL scouts and with a big year could vault themselves up draft boards in a big way.
Each quarterback has obstacles to overcome and skills that need to develop, but we can’t overstress the fact that the ACC boasts one of the deepest talent pools of starting quarterbacks in the nation this season and it should make for a nice ‘rebound year’ for the conference as a whole.