Clemson’s ACC championship and trip to the national title game signaled the arrival of more than one team from the conference on the biggest stage last season. Now the Tigers will look to defend their ACC crown with Florida State, North Carolina and Miami looking to knock them off. Clemson’s success is directly tied to the play of its star quarterback and there is no doubt they will need him to stay healthy and perform at an elite level in order to have a shot at topping what they did a year ago. Here is a look at the four most indispensable players in the ACC right now.
QB: Deshaun Watson
Clemson Tigers
The only player in FBS history to throw for over 4,000 passing yards and rush for over 1,000 rushing yards in the same season was clearly the biggest reason for Clemson finishing with a 14-1 record as a national title runner-up a year ago. Now the Tigers will hope Watson can match his ridiculous numbers as the centerpiece of an offense that has the potential to be very dangerous once again in 2016. Watson is an elite dual-threat quarterback with the potential to do serious damage with both his arm and legs. The coaching staff has done a tremendous of surrounding him with talent at the skill positions in order to help maximize his production moving forward, but the bottom line is that the Tigers will only go as far as Watson will take them. He’s not only the top player on Clemson, he’s one of the tops in the country. He’s the Heisman Trophy favorite heading into next season.
RB: Dalvin Cook
Florida State Seminoles
Florida State finished with a 10-3 record in a rebuilding year in 2015, so it’s pretty obvious why there is so much optimism surrounding the team heading in to this season. The Seminoles are loaded with talent on both sides of the football with their star running back Cook as the centerpiece of their offense once again. Cook ran for 1,691 yards and 19 touchdowns a year ago and he has the potential to top those numbers with more talent around him this season. Cook is a home run threat to take the ball to the end zone every single time he touches it and there is no doubt he is Florida State’s most indispensable player right now. He’s sure to be one of the top running backs in the nation, in the 2017 NFL Draft and is going to be one of the frontrunners to win the 2017 Heisman Trophy.
RB: Elijah Hood
North Carolina Tar Heels
The Tar Heels are coming off an excellent 2015 season in which they improved their overall record from 6-7 to 11-3 and Hood was an integral part of their success. The junior running back averaged 6.7 yards per carry while rushing for 1,463 yards and 17 touchdowns in his sophomore year and the expectation is that he can top those numbers with another year of experience. Hood has an elite combination of power, speed and explosiveness and he will once again be the centerpiece of the North Carolina offense in 2016.
QB: Brad Kaaya
Miami Hurricanes
There has been a ton of hype surrounding the Hurricanes since Mark Richt was announced as the new head coach this summer and while he’ll make a big difference on the sidelines, he’s not their most important player. That would be quarterback Brad Kaaya, who could very well be the best quarterback in the conference. Kaaya will need to perform at an elite level this season for the hype to be justified and Miami to contend in the ACC. Kaaya emerged as one of the top quarterbacks in the ACC last season when he threw for 3,238 yards and 16 touchdowns with just five interceptions, but there is certainly room for him to be even better in his junior year. The Hurricanes don’t have as many weapons on offense as some of the other top teams in the ACC heading in to this season so it will be on Kaaya to shoulder the load as Miami’s most indispensable player.
