Year School Conf Class Pos G Solo Ast Tot Loss Sk Int Yds Avg TD PD FR Yds TD FF
2013 Duke ACC FR DB 14 37 27 64 0.5 0.0 3 78 26.0 2 6 0 0 0 0
2014 Duke ACC SO DB 13 77 56 133 7.5 4.5 1 13 13.0 0 9 0 0 0 5
Career Duke 114 83 197 8.0 4.5 4 91 22.8 2 15 0 0 0 5
Year School Conf Class Pos G KR Yds Avg TD
2013 Duke ACC FR DB 14 19 574 30.2 2
2014 Duke ACC SO DB 13 29 745 25.7 1
Career Duke 48 1319 27.5 3
DeVon Edwards tied for 2nd in sacks last season for Duke. 119 tackles ranked 2nd. 1 interception, and 5 Forced Fumbles, ranking 1st in the ACC in that category. Edwards is an all-american Kick Returner. In his 2 seasons at Duke so far, Edwards has 3 Kick Return TD's, and 4 interceptions. He is an all around beast with speed, explosion, and skill.
Edwards is strong, and very fast despite his small size. In the Holiday Bowl, watch the clip where in the first quarter, Edwards blitzes late and takes down Arizona State QB Taylor Kelly by himself. You'll see speed, strength and pure explosion.
Edwards is a beast everytime he touches the ball. He has a chance to take it back for a score. Look at his Kick Return average. As a freshman, Edwards placed 4th in the nation, 2nd in the ACC, in kickoff return average per return, and his 2 TD's were a national high. His quickness and acceleration are his key points when bringing back kicks, and even in the NFL, he'll have a skill that no one else has.
Edwards may be a little undersized when he makes his run for the NFL, but here in the ACC, he will be just fine. Edwards is looking to be a beast in this upcoming season, so watch for him to make even more big defensive plays in 2015.
Anthony Boone has led Duke to 2 nine-plus win seasons, their first time doing so since 1941, so who whoever takes Boone's spot has big shoes to fill.
No, Boone did not put up big stats and set Duke records for passing yards and passing TD's, but he knew how to lead a team to win more then they were suppose to both seasons he took over as the starting QB. The next man preparing to step up isn't being asked to throw for 4000 yards this season and 30 TD's, he's being asked to win.
QB's Parker Boehme and Thomas Sirk are the returning lettermen on the squad. Boehme is a redshirt sophomore, Sirk a redshirt junior.
Thomas Sirk
6-4, 215 lbs
Sirk entered Spring Practice as the starting QB, appearing last season in 12 games, only missing the Miami game due to illness. He was used primarily as a wildcat QB last season, scoring the TD that won Duke a 2 OT win over Pittsburgh 51-48. He had suffered a Achilles tendon injury that forced him to miss all of 2013, but he came back and was he fun to watch!
Sirk passed 14 times last season, completing 10 of those passes, including 3 for TD's. Out of the Wildcat, he ran for 238 yards and a team high 8 TD's, being a powerful threat in the Red Zone where he was used the most. His size is helpful, but his speed is the killer. Coming out of High School, Sirk ran a 40 yard dash in 4.51 seconds, and he runs with a ton of power.
Parker Boehme
6-2, 220 lbs
Boehme played a total of 12 snaps last season, passing on 2 of those plays and running it himself on 3 (all of the action being week 1 against Elon), Boehme won't get the chance to start over Sirk. Sirk is a more talented player overall, and with more experience, Boehme will be the suitable backup.
I think that Sirk is going to step up and play better, if not just as well as Boone did at Duke, and keep the winning seasons coming in Durham.
Several ACC Quarterbacks depart the college ranks for the NFL leaving several schools without a returning starter in 2015. Here we go, team by team, the Quarterbacks of the ACC 1.0!
Boston College
Last season, it was the senior transfer from Florida, Tyler Murphy. Murphy exploded in 2014, passing for 1600 yards and rushing for 1100 being responsible for 24 TD's. Now, he leaves due to graduation and intelligibility. Who's taking over at Boston College?
Let's take a look at the prospects. Darius Wade would be the first one. Wade appeared in 3 games and attempted 8 passes last season in backup duty to Murphy, completing 3 of them for 23 yards. He ran twice gaining 12. He's small, 6-0 201 pounds, but he's fast, strong and he has a cannon arm. Let's refer to him as Michael Vick Jr, okay?
Troy Flutie was a freshman last season too. Understand that he holds the Massachusetts state record for most passing yards in a career. He's got a 4.57 40 yard dash (as a junior in High School) and almost a good of an arm as Wade has. I believe he was redshirted last season and watched Murphy and Wade from the sideline. I still expect to see him on the sideline wearing a headset with Wade in town.
The last option would be Freshman Elijah Robinson. Native of Montclair, New Jersey, he played for Montclair High, he was the team captain last season, passing for 1600 yards, while rushing for 1800 and scoring 162 points, 41 TD's and 12 2 point conversions.
Robinson should make his case to be BC's starting Quarterback loud and clear, but I believe at the end of the day, as of now, it will be Darius Wade on the field conducting the Boston College offense. But, who knows with a spring practice to go?
The ACC has a lot of considerable talent in it's ranks, and is quickly rising to be a very tough division in the nation. Check out the top rising players who return to the lineup in 2015, and expect to hear their names called in future NFL drafts to come.
Pittsburgh's James Conner, RB, Jr.
You want to talk about one unstoppable beast? Well, let's talk about Conner, the returning Junior and ACC Offensive Player of the year. Conner put together a very impressive 2014 season, running for 1765 yards and 26 TD's, which finished 3rd in the country, 1st in the ACC.
His 6-2 250 pound frame is extremely misleading. His speed is almost the fastest on the field every time, and he's quick, combined with brute force and strength. Most times, tacklers can't bring him down with his downhill running style. Watch Conner a lot in the future days to come, Conner is definitely a dark horse contestant to blast his way into Hiesman trophy voting.
Miami's Brad Kayaa, QB, So.
Miami has a growing new face of the team moving quickly up the ranks. Freshman Brad Kayaa stepped into the spotlight last season and emerged as the newest QB threat on the ACC charts. Despite throwing 7 INT's in the first 4 games, Kayaa revived, and threw 5 the remaining 9 games. Passing for 3198 yards and out throwing Jameis Winstons TD mark of 25 (With his 26). He's a pass throwing beast and just may be for years to come.
Keep your eyes on this kid for a few reasons. He's got a cannon arm that throws downfield passes pretty accurately. He's not a dual threat QB, but he's mobile enough, passing out of the pocket while moving, and you can't forget how his throws torched the Florida State Secondary for 316 yards and 2 TD's. This is a young gun moving into 2015 with a chance to break out into an elite college football QB.
North Carolina's Ryan Switzer, WR, Jr.
Ryan Switzer is already an explosive ACC threat. However, he hasn't quite had the chance to explode on offense yet. Known for his record 5 Punt Return TD's during his freshman 2013 season, scored over a period of the last 5 weeks, he now has a chance to be known for his Receiving skills. So far, his short career has brought 93 catches for 1098 yards, and 7 TD's, and so far, he's been responsible for 14 TD's, 2 passing and 5 Returns.
Switzer has High School tape of making insanely acrobatic one handed leaping catches in front of defenders, and he's shown some of that ability here at North Carolina. Combine those great hands with his blazing speed, and quickness, and change of direction, this guy reminds me of a more athletic version of Darren Sproles. Definitely keep a very good eye on this man in 2015, as the Tar Heels return 10 offensive starters from 2014.
Following the Boston College upset over USC last Saturday, concerns have begun to rise on the Pittsburgh Panthers being 3-0, and still not being ranked.
Photo Courtesy of cityofchampionsports.com
So the real question has begun to arise. Is Pitt for real or not?
In this article, we are going to go over that, look at all the clues and things we can find, and see if we cannot figure out whether Pitt is in the running for the national title or not.
First, we will look at their roster. QB Chad Voytik, a sophomore who threw for 116 yards while backing up Tom Savage last season, is now the promising young starter and leader to the team. Voytik is a double threat, more of a running QB then anything else, but he still throws good balls normally pretty accurately. Phil Steele ranked him as the #10 QB coming out of High School in 2012. He has a strong and accurate arm, and looks more then decent with running speed, which he runs in long strides.
Next, RB John Conner. The 230 pound sophomore has been unstoppable the past 3 games, running for 543 yards and 8 scores in these first 3 games. He's strong, fast enough to outrun a secondary, and can break tackles with his size and power.
Don't ever forget Tyler Boyd at the WR/Return Specialist spot. This guy can outrun anyone, with his incredible speed and soft hands. He is the leading player on this team in receiving, catching 11 passes for 140 yards, and 4 of Voytik's 5 TD passes. He, too, is a sophomore, and draws a lot of comparisons to the Seattle Seahawks and former Florida player, Percy Harvin.
The defense has been pretty good so far this season, allowing only 626 yards of total offense and 45 points. However, Delaware, and FIU are not top season champion contenders.
Now, the games this season.
Vs Delaware
Photo Courtesy of fansided.com
Pittsburgh started the season with a big 62-0 win over Delaware at home on a very pleasant Saturday afternoon. John Conner ran for 153 yards on 14 carries and 4 TD's, before giving way to the other RB's to save him for future games.
The biggest notes from this game... If Conner leaves the game, they really don't have a back that can compensate for him. He has such power, and skill, nobody behind him can quite make up for what he has.
We have to give a lot of credit to the Pittsburgh O-line because they can really block and create holes for these backs constantly.
Also, Chad Voytik beats the rush by throwing a pass over his line with his 6-1 frame. He throws balls downward and overhanded entirely, making it a difficult ball to catch. That'll be tough to move chains with when Pitt plays better secondaries like Virginia or North Carolina.
Overall, despite it being very unbalanced in the talent levels of the two teams, Pitt had a great game. The backups continued to fight and claw their way for more scores, and it was overall an impressive performance to open the season.
At Boston College
Photo Courtesy of vavel.com
Next, Pitt carried that momentum gathered in the Delaware game into Boston College, putting together an overall impressive night, and beating Boston College in Boston 30-20, winning their first ACC game of the season. Conner ran for 214 yards and a score in this one, producing the second 200 yard rushing game of his young career.
First, John Conner showcased his power against the defense of Boston College. He was simply unstoppable, running over opponents, breaking tackles, simply being the sore thumb in the side of BC's run defense.
Next, Chad Voytik looked so calm and composed when under pressure. He was simply hard to sack (And that shows in the stats, Voytik wasn't sacked all night). They should have had him early, but instead he escaped it, and ran for a first down. Love this guy!
Tyler Boyd had two athletic TD catches in this game, showcasing his out jump ability, and his overall speed that makes him so hard to stop.
Overall, the defense had a good night, despite allowing Tyler Murphy to run early, and just overwhelmed Boston College with power running and quick throws turned into big gains.
At FIU
Photo Courtesy of cityofchampions.com
FIU wasn't an easy win for the Pittsburgh Panthers. Actually, at halftime, they trailed 16-14, thanks to a Chad Voytik sack in the end zone for a safety, and then the mistakes made, a blown hand-off, and a fumble by James Conner gave FIU a lot of ammunition to win. However, they overcame those mistakes in the 2nd half, and both Voytik and Conner ran for over 100 yards and they moved on with a 42-25 win.
One, FIU exposed to the NCAA football world that John Conner still is young, and will make mistakes. His two fumbles account and show for that.
Two, Chad Voytik is still young, but he knows when to keep or throw the ball. He held on instead of throwing it away on that hopeless safety play, but ran twice for over 30 yards, including one being a 32 yard TD run.
Three, when you challenge that offensive line, they step up to the call. Voytik was sacked 3 times, but then that paved way for John Conner and his few long TD runs.
And four, that Pittsburgh Defense will deliver you some bone crushing tackles.
Getting to the point of this article, is Pittsburgh a national title contender? I'm going to end by saying that I believe they can win the division, I believe they are the best team in the Coastal division, however, I don't think they can escape one or two losses because of the youth in their squad. Next year, though, if Voytik improves incredibly, and Conner get's better, I believe they are in for a very good ride. Expect them to beat Iowa this week, and Akron the following, and crack into the top 25 before traveling to Virginia.
ACC STANDINGS
ATLANTIC DIVISION
Louisville 2-1 1-1
North Carolina State 3-0 0-0
Florida State 2-0 0-0
Syracuse 2-0 0-0
Clemson 1-1 0-0
Wake Forest 1-2 0-0
Boston College 2-1 0-1
COASTAL DIVISION
Pittsburgh 3-0 1-0
Virginia 2-1 1-0
Duke 3-0 0-0
Georgia Tech 3-0 0-0
North Carolina 2-0 0-0
Virginia Tech 2-1 0-0
Miami (Fl) 2-1 0-1
Week 4 Schedule
Saturday, September 20th
12:00 PM ET
Georgia Tech @ Virginia Tech
Iowa @ Pittsburgh
12:30 PM ET
Tulane @ Duke
Maryland @ Syracuse
1:00 PM ET Maine @ Boston College
3:30 PM ET
Louisville @ FIU
North Carolina @ East Carolina
Army @ Wake Forest
Virginia @ 21 BYU
6:00 PM ET Presbyterian @ North Carolina State
8:00 PM ET
22 Clemson @ 1 Florida State
Miami (Fl) @ 24 Nebraska
Week 3 Results
Boston College 37 USC 31
Virginia 23 Louisville 21
North Carolina State 49 USF 17
Syracuse 40 Central Michigan 3
Utah State 36 Wake Forest 24
Duke 41 Kansas 3
Georgia Tech 42 Georgia Southern 38
Miami (Fl.) 41 Arkansas State 20
Pittsburgh 42 FIU 25
East Carolina 28 Virginia Tech 21
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