TODAY'S ACC HEADLINES: New ACC Football Recruits

Thursday, February 7, 2013

New ACC Football Recruits

CLEMSON'S MACKENSIE ALEXANDER (NaplesNews.com)

Yesterday, was national signing day for NCAA football. That should matter in the ACC, but some years now it hasn’t had much impact.

Color us lazy, but there is no reason to rehash what somebody else has already done well elsewhere. Besides, you all know recruiting isn’t our thing...

So, here is the rundown according to ACC expert Heather Dinich of ESPN.com:

With five ACC teams (No. 9 Florida State, No. 14 Clemson, No. 16 Virginia Tech, No. 18 North Carolina and No. 21 Miami) ranked among the top 25 recruiting classes in the nation, it was another good recruiting season for the conference.

The question is whether or not those respective programs can turn those recruiting rankings into BCS rankings. (Editor’s note: Sound familiar?)

Luring talent into the ACC has never been a problem -- there are plenty of NFL rosters and a recent Super Bowl to prove it. This year was no exception, and the ACC coaches are to be commended, considering how much turnover there was in the league this year. Miami has a new offensive coordinator and continues to recruit under the cloud of an NCAA investigation. Virginia Tech made sweeping changes to its offensive staff, including a new coordinator. Boston College and NC State have entirely new staffs. Virginia had a staff overhaul, and so did Florida State. Georgia Tech has a new defensive coordinator. Maryland is leaving in 2014 for the Big Ten.

And yet there were no major disasters today.

Instead, there were plenty of highlights:

Clemson landed CB Mackensie Alexander, the No. 4 overall prospect, ATH Adrian Baker, and OL Tyrone Crowder.

Florida State won over LB Matthew Thomas, and DT Keith Bryant.

The Noles flipped No. 4 CB Jalen Ramsey from USC.

Miami got letters from WR Stacy Coley and LB Jermaine Grace.

Maryland lured away an Ohio State recruit, and Virginia beat Georgia for OT George Adeosun and lured OT Eric Telow away from Wake Forest.

Those were the decisions of the top uncommitted prospects with ACC interests heading into the day. Of the 12 players on the watch list, seven wound up heading to the ACC, and RB Cornelius Elder has said he won't announce on signing day. We'll have plenty of follow-up coverage for you within the next few days and into next week, so keep checking back for more. Until then, you can check out each class at your leisure.

You'll notice this list is a big longer than in previous years. Welcome to the ACC blog, Pitt and Cuse. Here are the official 2013 classes for each school in the ACC: