This article is part of our Spring Practice Storylines series.
Spring is creeping in across the country, and with it comes spring practice, the first of two offseason camps for college football programs across the nation. The first practices of the new year are always interesting, but with the prevalence of the transfer portal, they now offer an intriguing early look at how rosters are gelling with an influx of talent. The ACC will be no exception in 2025.
A conference that sent two teams to the College Football Playoffs in 2024 (SMU and Clemson), the ACC is awash with compelling storylines. While several name-brand programs try to crack the College Football Playoffs (Miami, Florida State), surprises from last season — both good and bad — look to either bounce back or keep the momentum rolling (Florida State on one hand, SMU on the other).
ACC Football Spring Storylines
Below, we'll highlight the can't miss fantasy storyline for each ACC program this spring.
Boston College Eagles Football Spring Storyline
First Look at a Possible Quarterback Battle
A year ago Thomas Castellanos supplanted himself as the top quarterback for the Eagles. However, after eight game Castellanos left the team. Senior quarterback Grayson James then came in to fill the hole. In six appearances James completed 64-percent of his passes for 1,202 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions. Coming in through the transfer portal this offseason is former Alabama quarterback Dylan Lonergan. Lonergan redshirted as a freshman and saw limited action behind both Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson a year ago, putting up a total of seven completions on eight attempts for 35 yards in his short career with the Tide.
Cal Golden Bears Football Spring Storyline
Revamped Quarterback Room
The Golden Bears were led by emerging sophomore quarterback Fernando Mendoza a year ago. Mendoza left for Indiana in the offseason, so the Golden Bears reloaded. Cal hit the portal bringing in redshirt junior and former four-star recruit Devin Brown from Ohio State, sophomore Dominic Ingrassia from San Mateo Junior College and On.3 five-star freshman recruit Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. With no Division I starting experience between the three quarterbacks, it looks to be an open battle from the start of camp for these three.
Clemson Tigers Football Spring Storyline
Filling the Void in the Running Back's Room
Last season much of Clemson's offensive and running game success was anchored by Phil Mafah. A late season injury to Mafah really slowed things down for the Tigers. With Mafah gone for the NFL, Clemson will look to fill the void left behind. Graduate kick returner Adam Randall has been slotted as making a complete shift to running back and could provide some experience to the role. Redshirt freshman and top running back recruit from a year ago David Eziomume will also be in the mix. Head Coach Dabo Swinney has also spoken very highly of freshman David Gideon. Gideon was a consensus top-100 player and was a consensus top-3 running back in the 2024 recruiting cycle. Redshirt junior Keith Adams is another veteran in the locker room who could be in the mix, though he had just 41 carries over two seasons.
Duke Blue Devils Football Spring Storyline
Transfers Give New Look to Offense
After a coaching staff overhaul a year ago due to Mike Elko's departure and Manny Diaz's arrival, the Blue Devils will have a bit of an overhaul to their offense. With quarterback Maalik Murphy, and top wide receivers Jordan Moore and Eli Pancol out of the building, Duke went to the portal to rebuild their offense. The Blue Devils brought Darian Mensah in from Tulane to run their offense. Mensah completed 65.9-percent of his passes for 2,723 yards with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions a year ago. Duke also brings in transfer receivers Andrel Anthony from Oklahoma and Cooper Barkate from Harvard.
Florida State Seminoles Football Spring Storyline
Overhauled to Offense
After one of the worst seasons in the history of this storied program, the Seminoles flipped things on their head yet again. The team that has lived and died by the transfer portal under head coach Mike Norvell and the Noles are back in the portal again with seven projected starters on offense coming from the transfer portal. The Seminoles have brought in four players from the portal to overhaul an offensive line that was nothing short of horrendous a year ago. Florida State also brings in quarterback Thomas Castellanos, a quarterback from Boston College who showed a lot of talent before leaving the team for personal reasons after eight games. New faces coming in to fill holes on the outside are wide receivers Duce Robinson from USC and Squirrel White from Tennessee. It will be interesting to see if Norvell can get this team to gel quickly, something that was a struggle for the Seminoles a year ago.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Football Spring Storyline
Rebuilding the Wide Receiver's Room
The Yellow Jackets had a phenomenal offensive season a year ago because of tremendous play from Haynes King, Jamal Haynes, and Eric Singleton. King and Haynes return in 2025. However, Singleton has bolted for Auburn. The Yellow Jackets do have second-leading receiver Malik Rutherford returning. Joining him will be Dean Patterson, who caught 50 passes for 685 yards and seven touchdowns with Florida International a year ago. Eric Rivers also comes in from FIU following a 62-catch, 1,172 yards, and 12 touchdowns season.
Louisville Cardinals Football Spring Storyline
The Makings of the ACC's Top Offense
The Cardinals finished 2024 as the ACC's third most prolific offense as Jeff Brohm developed Tyler Shough into having his first season with over 2,000 yards passing as he finished just shy of 3,200 yards. After losing Jawhar Jordan and Isaac Guerendo two years ago, it seemed as though there would be a big hole in the running game. Freshman Isaac Brown stepped in and carried the torch as he ran for 1,173 yards, averaging 7.1 yards per carry on the year. Brown is back in 2025 along with long, athletic receiver Chris Bell. Joining the talented returnees is quarterback Miller Moss from USC. After getting 3,000 yard seasons out of Jack Plummer and Shough in his first two years at Louisville, Brohm now has maybe his most talented quarterback yet. Moss a year ago completed 64.4-percent of his passes for 2,555 yards in just nine games. With explosive playmakers and an uber talented quarterback, Brohm's balanced attack has the makeup to be possibly the best offense in the conference.
Miami Hurricanes Football Spring Storyline
Replacing the Nation's Top Offense
A year ago Miami led the nation in offense averaging 537.2 yards per game. However, they will be replacing the nation's leading passer along with their top running back and top five leading receivers from a year ago, including the leading receiver in school history. To fill the void, Miami has brought in Carson Beck from Georgia, who was in the conversation for the first overall pick in the NFL draft going into last season. But, after a down year, Beck has returned to college for one more go, this time with the Hurricanes. Miami will look to fill the hole left by 1,000 rusher Damien Martinez with the combination of former running mate Mark Fletcher and true sophomore Jordan Lyle who averaged 7.4 yards per carry on 54 attempts a year ago. On the outside, Miami has brought in former 1,000 yard receiver CJ Daniels from the transfer portal, along with a trio of four-star freshmen. There will be a lot of new faces in South Beach next season but the Hurricanes certainly won't be void of talent.
North Carolina Tar Heels Football Spring Storyline
The 33rd NFL Team
In a crazy turn of events this offseason, the Tar Heels were able to hire arguably the greatest NFL coach of all-time in Bill Belichick. Along with Belichick comes former NFL general manager and executive Mike Lombardi to be the GM of the Tar Heels' roster. Since being hired as head coach Belichick has said he intends to make UNC the 33rd NFL team. After throwing his hat in the ring late in the offseason, Belichick has some work to do to get this team up to snuff in year one. With UNC likely trying to lure players from the portal during the April transfer window, the Tar Heels current quarterback room is held down by veteran Max Johnson and Purdue transfer Ryan Browne, along with four-star freshman Bryce Baker. It will be interesting to see how the NFL gurus assess their team following Spring Practices and look to make upgrades in the portal's spring window.
NC State Wolfpack Football Spring Storyline
Can a young quarterback develop with the roster around him?
Last season, the Wolfpack were forced to thrust true freshman gunslinger C.J. Bailey into the fire when starter Grayson McCall went down with an injury. Bailey made his first start against Clemson in Week 4, and played admirably if not exceedingly impressive. That trend would continue for the rest of the season, but when all was said and done in 2024, he had thrown for 2,413 yards, 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while completing 64.9 percent of his passes. He also added 279 yards and five scores on the ground.
Now, it's all about how much the young gunslinger can grow from year one to year two. On paper, NC State should have the pieces in place to facilitate that growth. The Wolfpack return two dynamic tailbacks in Hollywood Smothers and Jordan Waters, and have continuity in the receiving room with the likes of Noah Rogers and Wesley Grimes.
Pittsburgh Panthers Football Spring Storyline
Does a beefed-up offensive line allow a dynamic backfield to flourish?
The Panthers' 7-0 start last season wasn't on anyone's bingo card, and despite the late-season collapse — six losses in a row — Pitt has the pieces, especially at the offensive skill positions, to go on another run in 2025.
It starts with former Alabama quarterback Eli Holstein. After redshirting his freshman year in Tuscaloosa, Holstein won Pitt's starting job and took the college football world by storm in the first month-and-a-half of the season. He threw three touchdown passes in each of the Panthers' first five games. He cooled off with the rest of the team as the season wore on and dealt with injury, but the talent he flashed is unmistakable.
Don't forget about Desmond Reid, the electrifying Western Carolina transfer tailback who ran for 962 yards on 5.3 yards-per-carry while also catching 52 passes for 579 yards. He's a versatile back with big play written all over him.
Pitt hit the transfer portal for offensive linemen hard this offseason, and the Panther faithful hope reinforcements in the offensive trenches will allow Pitt's talented skill players to reach new heights in 2025.
SMU Mustangs Football Spring Storyline
Can QB Kevin Jennings keep the Mustangs relevant?
SMU had a magical season in 2024, finishing a perfect 8-0 in conference play before losing to Clemson in the ACC title game and falling to Penn State in the first round of the College Football Playoffs. Whether or not the Mustangs can build off that unexpected success largely hinges on what kind of season gunslinger Kevin Jennings has.
Jennings usurped Preston Stone as SMU's starter last season with his superior athletic ceiling and less of a tendency to make mistakes, and he became one of the best stories in the sport. Jennings tossed for 3,245 yards, 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while completing 65.0 percent of his passes. He also added 354 yards and five scores on the ground. Still, he struggled mightily in the hostile environment of Happy Valley in the playoff loss to Penn State, throwing three interceptions, two of which were pick-sixes. If Jennings can bounce back and build on his performance last fall, he can be a dark-horse Heisman candidate.
Stanford Cardinal Football Spring Storyline
Can a highly-touted freshman QB turn things around in Palo Alto?
Stanford is in the midst of its worst stretch of football since the early 1960s. The Cardinal have finished with a 3-9 record three straight times, and the hopes for turning around this once proud program rest mainly on the shoulders of redshirt freshman quarterback Elijah Brown.
A Mater Dei High School product, Brown was a blue-chip recruit in the class of 2024. Last fall, he tossed for 274 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions on 58.3 percent completion. His development will need to occur while Stanford re-works its receiver room, as top wideout Elic Ayomanor is off to the NFL and the Cardinal signed Camden High (FCS South Carolina State) and David Panelis (Yale). Both wideouts had productive seasons in 2024 but now make the jump up to the ACC.
Syracuse Orange Football Spring Storyline
Can new faces maintain the Orange's offensive momentum?
In year one under head coach Fran Brown, Syracuse was incredibly explosive on offense. The Orange checked in at No. 7 in the nation in yards-per-game with 467.6 behind the top passing game in the entire country (370 yards-per-game). Now, however, Syracuse must replace its star quarterback, tight end and tailback, among others.
First and foremost, the Orange must find its next quarterback after Kyle McCord elected to head to the NFL. Rickie Collins, an LSU transfer, and Michael Johnson, a returning senior, figure to be the prime candidates, but there are three freshmen in the quarterback room for Syracuse.
At tailback, are rising sophomores Yasin Willis and Jaden Hart ready to take their games to another level? How about returning redshirt senior Will Nixon? Replacing star halfback LeQuint Allen may be a team effort this coming fall. At tight end, Oronde Gadsden is off to the NFL, leaving Dan Villari and Maximillan Mang to battle it out at that position.
Virginia Cavaliers Football Spring Storylines
Can a transfer QB save head coach Tony Elliot's tenure?
The Cavaliers need to replace both of their top quarterbacks from a season ago after Anthony Colandrea transferred to UNLV and Tony Muskett graduated. And after another postseason-less year, Virginia is running out of time to prove it can turn the page under the current regime. That's why one of the two QB additions — Chandler Morris (North Texas) and Daniel Kaelin (Nebraska) — need to work out in Charlottesville this season.
Morris seems like the runaway favorite to be the starter after a highly productive season with the Mean Green in which he tossed for 3,774 yards, 31 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He has significant experience over Kaelin, but the two should at least be given a chance to compete given Virginia's overwhelming need for competent quarterback play. Whoever wins the starting job will need to facilitate the Cavaliers' offense without many outstanding skill position players on offense as well.
Virginia Tech Hokies Football Spring Storyline
Can a new OC revitalize the Hokies' offense?
Virginia Tech had some nice individual efforts in 2024, like Bhayshul Tuten's breakout season that opened NFL doors for the tailback. But the Hokies were still a middling unit on offense, checking in at 88th nationally in terms of total offense. New play-caller Philip Montgomery from the Birmingham Stallions of the UFL will look to change that.
The Hokies return veteran signal-caller Kyron Drones, but he missed four games with various ailments last fall and in turn saw his statistics regress. When all was said and done, he tossed for 1,562 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions in 2024 while adding 337 yards and six scores on the ground. The dual-threat has little competition for the starting gig, but he'll need to have a bounce-back season in order for Virginia Tech to do the same.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons Football Spring Storyline
New era, new results in Winston-Salem?
Wake Forest has a litany of new faces in 2025. There's a new head coach in Jake Dickert. There's a new offensive coordinator in Rob Ezell. There are two new transfer quarterbacks in Robbie Ashford (South Carolina) and Deshawn Purdie (Charlotte). The Demon Deacon faithful hope these sweeping changes help the program avoid a third straight 4-8 finish this fall.
Ashford had his most productive season with Auburn in 2022, while Purdie started as a true freshman last fall, posting a modest statline of 1,802 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions on 50 percent completion. Those two figure to battle it out with returnee Jeremy Hecklinski, who has yet to see the field in his career.
There're a lot of unknowns on Wake Forest's roster, particularly on offense, but star tailback Demond Claiborne isn't one of them. Getting him to return to Winston-Salem was huge for Dickert and Ezell. Last season, Claiborne ran for 1,048 yards and 11 scores while catching 23 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns.
