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
Preseason 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. As such, he moves into the Elite Tier here with ease.
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 through 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. He was clean in the pocket, sharp with his reads, and accurate with the football. Ward was as good as we’ve seen him look in his career in Week 1.
Tier 2: Well-Above-Average ACC QBs
2) Haynes King | Georgia Tech
Preseason rank: 5 (+3)
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.
It wasn’t world-beating, or hell, even a notable performance, but it got the job done and this Georgia Tech team is proving that they can win in a variety of ways already in 2024.
3) Preston Stone | SMU
Preseason rank: 3 (no change)
It was an ugly start for the SMU Mustangs and, specifically, Preston Stone. During their Week 0 matchup with Nevada, Stone’s field rust was apparent in the early stages and only Kevin Jennings led a meaningful scoring drive in the first half for the Mustangs.
Stone played out of rhythm and looked incredibly hellbent on using every bit of his upper body strength on every throw. His first pass was intercepted on an underthrown deep shot, something that popped up on multiple occasions.
Jennings’ insertion into the lineup, however, was not about Stone’s play. And despite his success rate showing higher than Stone’s at the time, SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee stuck with his leading man at QB in the second half.
And in that second half, Stone played like the old version of himself, the one we’ve become accustomed to seeing. He lit up the field with fresh drive on his balls, adequate layering on deep shots, and a poise that saw the Mustangs come back with a relieved ease.
We now have a two-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’ve come to expect.
Yes, it only lasted what felt like five minutes against HCU, but Stone was back to his sharp self, making the right reads and snapping balls into windows they needed to. Getting back to basics worked, and after Nevada’s defeat over Sun Belt contender Troy in Week 1, it makes a bit more sense why SMU struggled mightily out of the gate against the Wolf Pack.
4) Kyron Drones | Virginia Tech
Preseason rank: 2 (-2)
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.
That’s not to say there isn’t anything to clean up, but with Drones playing the way he did in their 17-point, come-from-behind efforts, the Hokies could still make the ACC Championship Game.
5) Thomas Castellanos | Boston College
Preseason rank: 6 (+1)
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. The good thing for BC fans, however, is the fact that Castellanos improved in seemingly every game from the pocket.
On Monday night, he didn’t quite showcase that downfield growth in the passing game, but for a debut performance away against a top-10 team, it’s safe to say it couldn’t have gone any better for Castellanos.
He ran for a score and led multiple calculated drives against an FSU defense that was largely susceptible to the run, not the pass, and easily vaulted his Eagles team to a victory. Castellanos even left a few plays on the table with inaccuracy, something he can clean up in the coming weeks, but when you break it down, there may not be a more athletic quarterback in the conference.
6) Grayson McCall | NC State
Preseason rank: 4 (-2)
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.
He was the same, decisive self that we’ve seen for years now and found success at a large rate over the middle of the field due to his elite vision at the top of his drops. The rust was sure to come and that’s what a game against WCU is set up to remove.
It should be clear sailing for the Wolfpack if the version of McCall we saw down the stretch is who we see the rest of the way in 2024.
Tier 3: Above-Average ACC QBs
7) Tyler Shough | Louisville
Preseason rank: 10 (+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.
8) Hank Bachmeier (Michael Kern) | Wake Forest
Preseason rank: 9 (+1)
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.
It was a thing of beauty for arguably college football’s toughest quarterback in Bachmeier, considering he didn’t even get the start.
9) Kyle McCord | Syracuse
Preseason rank: 8 (-1)
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 looks like those ways have carried over to ‘Cuse.
He wasn’t the sharpest we’ve seen from him and even got a little lucky against the Bobcats. McCord will have to clean up his errant decisions and lame duck throws against ACC defenses, and do it quickly.
Tier 4: Average ACC QBs
10) Anthony Colandrea | Virginia
Preseason rank: 11 (+1)
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.
This version of Colandrea won’t make the highlight reel as often as he did last season, but it will win the Cavs more games.
11) D.J. Uiagalelei | Florida State
Preseason rank: 7 (-5)
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. And it was even more apparent on Monday night when the Seminoles dropped their home opener to Boston College.
Fast forward past the preseason writeup and look at our post-Week 0 writeup as cause for even bigger concern in Tallahassee:
“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.”
By the way, I’d like to change that now and say, “We are calling for it now,” because this can’t be it for FSU. Fans in attendance on Monday night certainly saw to it to voice their concerns, but were they chanting “We want Brock” or “We want Krom” that was heard on broadcasts?
To be fair, either way, FSU likely can’t get any worse play from the quarterback with either Brock Glenn or Luke Kromenhoek right now.
12) Eli Holstein | Pittsburgh
Preseason rank: 17 (+5)
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. That, however, appears to be a throw that’s able to be cleaned up. At this point, Holstein will need some seasoning as the Panthers get into the ACC schedule this fall.
13) Maalik Murphy | Duke
Preseason rank: 13 (no change)
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. It was the most completions he’s made in a single outing during his young college career, and there were signs of things to come.
But this Duke team will have to get out of its own way and prove they can play a clean football game to contend in the ACC this fall.
Tier 5: Work-To-Be-Done ACC QBs
14) Cade Klubnik | Clemson
Preseason rank: 12 (-2)
At some point, we must start seriously changing the phrasing of our questions about the Clemson QB situation. Instead of “How does Dabo Swinney get such high-profile QB recruits?” we need to flip it to “Why do high-profile QB recruits even give Dabo Swinney the time of day?”
In Week 1, the Clemson Tigers looked a shell of the team that they’d become nationally known to be. Cade Klubnik was flat-out awful within the Clemson structure and offensive scheme. But maybe that’s not all his fault?
We know Klubnik is talented. We know that he’s got pure arm talent that should be better utilized. But after two seasons and a game in 2024, we also know that we’re not going to see it at Clemson.
15) Chandler Rogers/Fernando Mendoza | Cal
Preseason rank: 14 (-1)
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. It wasn’t the cleanest of outings, but it also wasn’t his worst.
What’s most concerning is the — what appears to be — lack of trust to let Mendoza sling it, and when he does, the lack of accuracy when he pushes the ball past the sticks. The UC Davis defense was ready to be exploited, and Mendoza couldn’t do it.
16) Ashton Daniels | Stanford
Preseason 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.
17) Max Johnson, Conner Harrell | North Carolina
Preseason rank: 15 (-2)
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.
He’s the man now, and he’ll have to take much better care of the football if the Tar Heels want to even come close to contending in the ACC.
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