Clemson climbed to the top of the ACC with a perfect 8-0 record a year ago en route to a conference championship and a trip to the national championship game. The Tigers are the favorites to repeat in the ACC this season but they will need their best players to step up and shine brightest in order to hold off the other top contenders in their conference including Florida State and Louisville. We took a look at the rosters to break down which players we think will have the biggest impact on how things play out in Clemson’s division this season. Here is a look at the four best preseason candidates to be the MVP in the ACC Atlantic.
QB: Deshaun Watson
Clemson Tigers
Watson is coming off a breakout season in which he became the first FBS player ever to pass for at least 4,000 yards and run for at least 1,000 yards in the same season. All eyes will be on the Heisman trophy candidate to see what he has in store for an encore in 2016. Watson will have a tough time topping his numbers from a year ago when he threw for 4,104 yards and 35 touchdowns while also rushing for 1,105 yards and an additional 12 scores but he has an excellent cast around him at the skill positions including an elite wide receiver in Mike Williams. His combination of an outstanding arm and incredible rushing ability will make Watson just as dangerous as he was a year ago and Clemson will need him to perform at that level again in order to repeat as ACC champions in 2016.
RB: Dalvin Cook
Florida State Seminoles
The Seminoles posted a 10-3 record in a down year in 2015 so the sky is the limit for FSU now that they have a roster that is ready to contend for a conference championship – and perhaps even more. Florida State will need its passing attack and defense to improve, but the key will be a rushing attack led by their star running back. Cook averaged 7.4 yards per carry while rushing for 1,691 yards and 19 touchdowns despite dealing with nagging leg injuries in 2015 so the potential is there for him to put up even better numbers this coming season. The ACC isn’t exactly a strong conference in terms of defensive play, so outside of facing Clemson, Cook should be able to run wild on most weeks. Cook’s presence will be that much more important to the offense while they look to address concerns at their quarterback position so they will need him to step up as their MVP in 2016.
QB: Lamar Jackson
Louisville Cardinals
Louisville appears primed to push itself in to the ACC Atlantic crown conversation in 2016 with more than enough talent to potentially upset Clemson and Florida State at the top. Jackson will lead the way for them on offense after an impressive year in which he emerged as the Cardinals’ starting quarterback. Jackson threw for 1,840 yards and 12 touchdowns while leading Louisville in rushing yards with 960 despite not starting for the entire year. An explosive playmaker with the tools to put up excellent numbers as a dual-threat quarterback, Jackson will be the key to the Cardinals’ offense this coming season. If he’s on point, maybe the Cardinals are a contender that can challenge the top two or North Carolina for the third spot. If he’s not the player that we’ve heard about then the Cardinals are going to be in the middle of the pack in the conference.
TE: Jaylen Samuels
NC State Wolfpack
The Wolfpack might not be in the same class as the other teams on this list but they do have a substantial amount of talent including their star tight end Samuels. The junior tight end had 65 catches for 597 yards and seven touchdowns for NC State a year ago and he will remain a key piece in their offense in 2016. New offensive coordinator Eli Drinkwitz will move Samuels all over the field to find mismatches for him but it will be on the star tight end to take advantage and emerge as the MVP of the Wolfpack offense.
