The ACC grew by three this season and should ultimately become known as the All Coasts Conference with the addition of SMU, Stanford, and Cal. While we’re not here to discuss that, we are here to discuss the ACC QB Rankings and, specifically, where all the new faces find themselves on such a list.
2024 ACC QB Rankings
As with all of our conference rankings and our national quarterback evaluations, the ACC QB rankings below consider everything involved with quarterbacking at the major college football level.
While statistics are listed, they were not the lone deciding factor in ranking the athletes. The list below prefers programs with a solidified quarterback situation and one signal-caller who plays significant snaps against top-tier competition. Two-quarterback systems will always be looked down upon, especially in those cases where an answer has not yet been provided for the long term.
Other factors in these rankings include but are not limited to game film, injury history, play-calling, offensive system knowledge and continuity, general quarterbacking mechanics, level of competition, the elevation of supporting casts, and several other influential factors.
All Other QB Rankings
National 1-134 | B1G | Big 12 | SEC | Pac-12 | AAC | CUSA | MAC | MWC | Sun Belt | Independent
Tier 1: The Elite ACC QBs
1) Cam Ward | Miami
Week 1 rank: 1 (no change)
What a debut it was for Cam Ward and the Hurricanes. After a shaky start and a minor hiccup (see: interception), it was clear sailing and dominant play from Ward throughout against Florida in Gainesville.
It should be said that Ward’s season-opening performance is arguably the best of all the transfer-portal QBs playing in their first game with their new team across the Week 1 landscape. Yes, some threw for more yards. Yes, some threw for more touchdowns. But did they go into SEC country and hand a Gators team their worst season-opening home loss in over 100 years?
No, Ward did that. And he followed that up with a dominant display against Florida A&M in his new backyard. We weren’t going to learn anything in that game except for Ward’s consistency and his foot on the gas, and he passed that test against FAMU easily.
The sights for the Hurricanes are rightfully set on the ACC Championship this season.
Tier 2: Well-Above-Average ACC QBs
2) Haynes King | Georgia Tech
Week 1 rank: 2 (no change)
After everyone watched Haynes King defeat FSU in Ireland during Week 0, King’s performance against Georgia State in Week 1 went largely under the radar. And that’s kind of how the Yellow Jackets seem to like it.
King read the field nicely, but wasn’t asked to do too much in their defeat over Georgia State. In fact, King hardly pushed the ball downfield at all and instead was asked to utilize his underneath receivers and backs more than we’ve seen from them in this outing.
Then the tone shifted, however, in Week 2 when the Yellow Jackets found themselves hard pressed into action against an upstart Syracuse team. Despite the final result, King played well and gave the Tech offense a chance to win the game. It wasn’t to be, but King’s display of arm talent and his dual-threat ability continues to be underrated nationally.
3) Thomas Castellanos | Boston College
Week 1 rank: 6 (+3)
Everyone will remember Thomas Castellanos’ rushing ability that he showcased a year ago. But few will remember some of his dominant downfield passing and accurate shots to every level of the field.
And in Bill O’Brien’s offense at BC this fall, it’s safe to say that Castellanos will need to unleash more of those efficient shots than ever before. Good thing for BC fans, however, is the fact that Castellanos improved in seemingly every game from the pocket.
When push comes to shove, however, if BC needs a big play, it’ll be Castellanos giving it to them. He toted the rock over 200 times for over 1,200 yards a year ago, and it seemed like he barely broke a sweat while doing so.
Finding that natural rhythm between a natural passer and dominant rusher will be key for his development and BC’s success this season.
4) Kyle McCord | Syracuse
Week 1 rank: 10 (+6)
Hello, Kyle McCord. Syracuse fans got their first taste of what McCord brings to the table for the Orange in Week 1 against Ohio, and it’s safe to say they may understand why he was shown the door at Ohio State.
Sure, they won. Sure, he threw four touchdowns. But McCord got the benefit of the doubt all too often at Ohio State and for the Orange’s sake, that wasn’t the case again in Week 2.
The Kyle McCord Experience we can call it saw him dice up a ‘soft’ Tech defense, as he was seen yelling about on the broadcast. He was sharp to all levels and threw his receivers open nicely with anticipation and power. McCord hasn’t quite followed up his strong performances at Ohio State all too nicely, proving to be too inconsistent at times.
With Stanford and Holy Cross on the docket next before not playing a home game in the month of October, the Orange better hope he follows up this performance better than he has before.
5) Tyler Shough | Louisville
Week 1 rank: 8 (+3)
A lot of quarterbacks put up gaudy numbers in Week 1, playing inferior opponents. That was no different for Tyler Shough, who beat up on an Austin Peay secondary that just couldn’t hang with the Cardinals.
When evaluating performances against FCS opponents, it’s important to look to the isolated situations for the quarterbacks. Did he elevate the talent around him? Did he throw with accuracy, anticipation, and power? Did he drive the ball and take the shots that were going to be there?
For Shough, he answered yes to all of those aforementioned questions in Week 1. And then in Week 2, he followed that up with a solid performance against a Jacksonville State defense that has been anything but strong this season.
Shough threw for nearly 350 yards and two touchdowns, lighting it up over the middle of the field while hitting several deep shots that lifted the lid off the Gamecocks defense. We know his arm talent. Is this the offense that finally fits his skill set the best? It looks like it.
6) Kyron Drones | Virginia Tech
Week 1 rank: 2 (-4)
For Virginia Tech, they’ll wonder what happened in their 2024 season opener for years to come. But for Kyron Drones, it was another solid performance that saw more and more of what we’ve become accustomed to seeing from him.
The lone knock on Drones’ play over the past 12+ games has been inconsistency and not reaching the highs we know he has the talent for. Against Vandy, Drones was actually efficient, it was the cast of characters around him that saw the downfall of the Hokies.
In Week 2, it was more of a clean performance against Marshall for the whole Hokie team, and Drones was the recipient of some solid work after the catch in a simplified game plan. For Drones, it’s about ball security and playing on time and in rhythm. He did that against Marshall but now the Hokies will hope he can continue that and help elevate the talent around him.
Tier 3: Above-Average ACC QBs
7) Hank Bachmeier | Wake Forest
Week 1 rank: 9 (+2)
Okay, Michael Kern got the start for Wake Forest, but the job is seemingly Hank Bachmeier’s after the game was all said and done. Bachmeier looked terrific during his first action in the Wake Forest offense, running the slow mesh to perfection and showcasing his athleticism and uber-talented arm.
He was clean with his reads in the mesh, letting plays develop in front of him with the utmost of ease, and made the right decisions on seemingly every attempt. When the play needed, Bachmeier got the pass out quickly. When he could, he let the routes develop and coverages break down.
In Week 2, the same, vintage Bachmeier was back, dropping accurate passes and on-time throws left and right. Had it not been for an untimely fumble from Taylor Morin, the Wake offense likely would’ve been able to come-from-behind and secure the victory because of Bachmeier’s play.
He himself was not clean with the ball all game long, but the good with Bachmeier’s play far outweighed the bad, and he gave the Deacs a chance to win until the game’s final play.
8) Anthony Colandrea | Virginia
Week 1 rank: 11 (+3)
Last season, there was such a boom-or-bust mantra to Anthony Colandrea’s game. He was thrust into the lineup and it was almost like he knew he didn’t have the ability to “live to play another down” with some of his decisions and passes.
Against Richmond in Week 1, however, Colandrea was a tamed version of himself, but still able to showcase his arm talent on a handful of throws. He ripped it up the seams very well and even found his receivers on the outside even better.
We said in Week 1 that this version of Colandrea won’t make the highlight reels as often, but it will win games for the Cavs, and that’s exactly what happened in Week 2. Colandrea was clean with his decisions, making an errant throw or two here and there, but it was mainly solid decisions, good reads, and accurate passes only from the true sophomore.
There was a lot of room to grow for Colandrea, and if his performance in Week 2 is any indicator, we’re starting to see it unfold in front of our eyes.
9) Grayson McCall | NC State
Week 1 rank: 4 (-5)
Western Carolina gave the Wolfpack a bit of a scare back on Thursday night, but in the end, the same accurate and poised Grayson McCall stood tall at the final whistle. It took some time for McCall to get acclimated to the NC State system and, arguably, the speed of the team around him, and there was absolutely a bump in the road.
But it was all for not at the end of the game. McCall threw for over 300 yards and three scores, shaking off an early interception that he threw late to the sidelines in the first quarter.
That same, decisive self that was saw in Week 1 went by the wayside in Week 2 against Tennessee, falling off the rails following a terrible throw that ended with a pick-six against the Vols. McCall couldn’t quite rebound and looked confused, confounded, and downright lost at times against Tennessee’s defense.
There was nothing to bring home with about this performance other than throw the tape in the trash and go back to his roots. McCall is a much better quarterback than what we saw in Week 2.
Tier 4: Average ACC QBs
10) Preston Stone, Kevin Jennings | SMU
Week 1 rank: 3 (-9)
We now have a three-game sample size to go off of for Preston Stone this year, and his Week 1 performance against Houston Christian was more of what we’d come to expect.
But then that was followed up with a stinker against BYU that saw Kevin Jennings enter the fray and not play up to the standard we’ve come accustomed to his group in the past. So, is it the quarterback or is it the system?
There are reasons we don’t like two-quarterback systems, and this is one of them. The product of two quarterbacks usually ends up with no good quarterbacks, as the expression says ‘if you have two starting quarterbacks, you have no starting quarterbacks’ in college football. Oh, okay, if that’s not an expression, then it should be, and you know who said it.
Jennings was stymied all night long but his athleticism shined a few times against BYU. If it weren’t for heat-seeking missile Jack Kelly, Jennings could have had a bigger night, but that’s going to be the way forward for SMU: playing ACC defenses that are much faster than they realized.
The step up in competition is going to hurt SMU this season if this is the quarterbacking they’re going to get.
11) Cade Klubnik | Clemson
Week 1 rank: 14 (+3)
You see what happens when you let Cade Klubnik throw down the field, Dabo?! Let the kid throw the ball.
Klubnik and the Clemson offense dispatched of the App State defense so quickly that Klubnik was just one of three quarterbacks to see the field in Week 2. He was dominant.
Throwing for five touchdowns and averaging well over 14.5 yards per attempt, Klubnik had the best performance of his career. And it’s because the calls were downfield throws, seam-splitting dimes, and just simply NOT behind the line of scrimmage.
Klubnik was near perfect, and before we crown him anything more than a flash-in-the-pan, we know how talented he is, so we’re ready to move him up a few spots here. However, we’ll wait to see if the offensive game plan looks the exact same as the season goes on before moving him too far.
12) Maalik Murphy | Duke
Week 1 rank: 13 (+1)
An Elon defense ripe for the picking is just what the Duke offense needed to start the 2024 season and the Manny Diaz/Maalik Murphy era(s). What it didn’t need was the slow and sluggish start that saw many Diaz haters flock to the fence to yell and scream into the abyss.
Murphy, however, improved his play over the stretch of the game and even found his groove, at times looking incredibly sharp with his reads and quick decisions. And then the same thing happened against Northwestern in Week 2.
The game started off slow for the Blue Devils and Murphy struggled with his accuracy and decision-making. Finally, though, the second half saw him come alive and save for an overturned fumble call that went their way, Murphy was dominant with his throwing ability.
He quickly read the defenses and slammed home some beautiful slant passes to Jordan Moore, proving his arm talent in the process. Ball security will be an issue moving forward, but if he cleans that up, the Duke offense has a chance with how stout their defense can be.
13) Fernando Mendoza | Cal
Week 1 rank: 15 (+2)
It appears to be the Fernando Mendoza show in Berkeley, and that’s .. OK. For now.
Mendoza completed nearly 70% of his throws but averaged barely over 7.0 yards per pass and threw for less than 160 yards in Week 1, but then wowed in Week 2. Throwing for just 6.5 yards per attempt again, however, Mendoza was solid with his play, but not world-beating.
This was a game, though, against a tough Auburn secondary that saw him light up the cornerbacks and underneath defenders with accuracy and some solid progressive reads. Is this the Mendoza that won the job? Because if so, the way Cal’s defense played, this is a sleeper team in the ACC.
We’ll be happy to have been wrong on our preseason reads with Mendoza if he keeps this play up.
Tier 5: Work-To-Be-Done ACC QBs
14) Eli Holstein | Pittsburgh
Week 1 rank: 12 (-2)
Well, it’s clear why Eli Holstein got the start for the Panthers in Week 1 after his performance against Kent State. But it was also just as clear why it was a battle until the end.
Holstein showcased some solid poise in the pocket and found plenty of success to his receivers underneath. However, that was all but forgotten when he took to the air and struggled to make progressions against a Kent State defense that lacks top tier talent.
He was late to the sidelines in a crucial situation, leading to an interception, his big mistake of the day. And as we spoke about in Week 1’s writeup, that’s a throw that can be cleaned up.
But at the end of the day, he didn’t quite clean that up in Week 2 against Cincinnati, he was just about the luckiest of quarterbacks with a handful of dropped interceptions and even more bad decisions overall. Holstein is ready to grip it and rip it, but he’ll have to clean up his decision-making, and do it quickly.
15) DJ Uiagalalei | Florida State
Week 1 rank: 7 (-8)
As we said in our preseason write-up, DJU is at his best when he’s able to set his feet and throw from within the structure of the offense. That was quite apparent from Dublin, Ireland when Uiagaleli struggled from the get-go with the Seminoles.
However, it wasn’t all bad for Uiagalalei. During the Seminoles’ game-tying drive in the fourth quarter, DJU was asked to sling it downfield and he was on time, decisive, and showcased the power that he has in his arm.
But the good was certainly overshadowed by the bad in DJU’s season-opening performance.
Uigalalei wasn’t asked to torch the defense, instead, it seemed like FSU brought with them exactly what Notre Dame did last year with ushering Sam Hartman slowly into the lineup. The caliber of the opponent, however, was significantly different than ND’s opponent last year (Navy) and FSU’s this year (Georgia Tech). And as such, FSU got caught in a hole they couldn’t get out of.
Of his 19 completions, 13 of them came from within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage or behind it. He had negative air yards per attempt in the first half and it was clear that the trust just wasn’t quite there for Uiagalelei.
We know how talented he is when he gets going, but this FSU offense looked dramatically different with Uiagalelei at QB. There’s a lack of creation capacity, he struggled to move quickly through his reads, and he was all too concerned with collapsing pockets than moving downfield through his progressions.
We’re not calling for it yet, but the ‘Noles may be in for a tough season in which some fans will start asking for a change at the QB position.
16) Ashton Daniels | Stanford
Week 1 rank: 16 (no change)
Ashton Daniels is such a talented athlete. There is so much to like in his game. But then there’s also so much to be frustrated about as well.
At times, Daniels looks like a world beater. He can grip it and rip it to tight windows. He’ll slam passes in with great anticipation. But then, at other times, he’ll forget all of that and become incredibly gunshy and unwilling to let it fly.
When that happens, he all too quickly looks to take off with his feet and his pocket presence will have to increase as the Cardinal get into their ACC schedule. Honing in on the basics is key for the growth of Daniels and this Stanford offense.
Against Cal Poly in Week 2, Daniels was lights out, but in order to increase his completion percentage the way he did in the generic box score, he limited himself to just easy reads and easier passes. Can he keep up that kind of clean performance against a stout defense or even just simply an FBS defense?
17) Conner Harrell | North Carolina
Week 1 rank: 17 (no change)
The drop-off from Drake Maye to Max Johnson was always going to be stark, but the level of play we saw from Johnson against Minnesota certainly would have left a sour taste in UNC fans, had Johnson not suffered a catastrophic injury. Against Minnesota, Johnson went down in the third quarter with what is now known to be a season-ending leg injury.
Prior to the injury, however, Johnson was erratic, inaccurate, and played a downright sloppy game of football. Thrust into the action in Johnson’s relief was Conner Harrell, who threw for 34 yards and led the Tar Heels to a game-winning field goal drive late in the fourth quarter.
However, Harrell struggled with his accuracy and decision-making as well as his ball security. But we give Harrell the benefit of the doubt as he was thrust into the action and still flashed his athleticism on the ground.
And it was a good thing we did. Against Charlotte, Harrell performed admirably, throwing two touchdowns and averaging nearly nine yards per attempt. It wasn’t a ground-breaking performance against an underrated Charlotte secondary, but it certainly did get the job done.
Harrell and the Tar Heels will move quickly up these rankings if they string together a few of these performances, if not improve themselves in the process.
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