2024 ACC Quarterback Rankings (Part Three):
Bottom Tier Promising But Mostly Inexperienced
By David Glenn
North Carolina Sports Network
NOTE: This is Part Three of a three-part series. (You can find Part One here and Part Two here.)
This is a strange year for quarterbacks in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
There are significant questions around each of the league’s top-ranked starting QBs, and there is legitimate hope around each of the six players below, whom Pro Football Focus (which analyzes every college game in great detail) recently ranked in the conference’s bottom tier.
Miami’s new quarterback, Washington State transfer Cam Ward, is considered a National Football League prospect and was named the preseason ACC Player of the Year … but he had a losing record (12-13) during his two seasons in the Pac-12, a league not known for its stout defense.
SMU quarterback Preston Stone, PFF’s top-ranked ACC quarterback, led the Mustangs to the American Athletic Conference title last season … but has started for only one season, is coming off a broken leg, and recently has been sharing snaps with his backup, Kevin Jennings.
Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King, whom Tech coach Brent Key calls “hands-down” the best QB in the ACC, finished behind only NFL-bound North Carolina star Drake Maye in total offense last season … but also threw more interceptions (16) than any Power Five signal-caller in 2023.
Florida State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, whom ACC fans may remember best for his two up-and-down seasons (2021-22) as Clemson’s starter, had a breakthrough of sorts while leading Oregon State last season … but never has been a high-accuracy thrower and has laid more than a few eggs in high-profile games.
NC State quarterback Grayson McCall, a Coastal Carolina transfer, has thrown for more than 10,000 career yards and earned three straight Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year honors for the Chanticleers … but is coming off by far the worst season (4-3 as starter, 10 touchdown passes, six interceptions) of his college career.
Virginia Tech quarterback Kyron Drones, one of only seven returning starters in the ACC this season, joins King and Boston College QB Thomas Castellanos as the league’s best dual-threat players behind center … but (like Castellanos) hasn’t yet shown that he can be a consistently reliable pocket passer.
Perhaps all six of the ACC’s top-ranked quarterbacks will deliver on their significant promise this season. Or maybe none will.
Similarly, it’s impossible to know how many — if any — of the quarterbacks listed below will rise above their more modest preseason expectations.
The point is, there’s a very good chance that someone from the ACC’s top tier of quarterbacks will fail to live up to the considerable hype that surrounded him during the preseason, just as there’s a very real possibility that someone from the league’s bottom tier (listed below) will become a pleasant surprise.
NOTE: The national QB rankings (among the 70 projected starters at power conference programs) and player evaluations below are from Pro Football Focus.
12. Fernando Mendoza, Cal, 6-5/225, r-So., eight career FBS starts (3-5 record)
PFF National Rank: #46
High School: 3-star prospect from Miami (Fla.) Columbus
Recruitment: enrolled in 2022 as high school signee
Offensive Coordinator: Mike Bloesch, first season (first with Mendoza)
2023: 153-243 passing (63.0%), 1,708 yards, 14/10 TD/INT; 48-92 rushing (2 TDs)
Cal head coach Justin Wilcox on Mendoza: “Fernando did a good job finishing off the (2023) season. He’s a very competitive guy, had some really good moments for us. He’s got to continue to get better; he knows that. It’s our job to help him get better. I still think he’s got a lot to room to grow as a football player.”
PFF College: “Mendoza was serviceable in eight starts last season but is a bit of a gunslinger. He made five big-time throws in a near-upset of USC but also had a disastrous six-turnover-worthy-play performance in the team’s bowl game versus Texas Tech. Mendoza has an incumbent advantage in the Golden Bears’ quarterback competition, but he could have a short leash, with North Texas transfer Chandler Rogers looming behind him.”
13. Ashton Daniels, Stanford, 6-2/215, Jr., 10 career FBS starts (2-8 record)
PFF National Rank: #48
High School: 3-star prospect from Buford (Ga.) High
Recruitment: enrolled in 2022 as high school signee
Offensive Coordinator: Troy Taylor (HC), second season (second with Daniels)
2023: 191-325 passing (58.8%), 2,247 yards, 11/8 TD/INT; 109-292 rushing (3 TDs)
Stanford head coach Troy Taylor on Daniels: “Ashton just has a comfort level in the offense, consistency. You can see him going through his progressions and moving in the pocket, and he sticks with it. … I’d say the thing that sets (Daniels and a few other Stanford veterans) apart is their ability to stay focused, their consistency in how they train, how they treat their teammates, how they lead this team.”
PFF College: “Daniels has above-average athletic ability but a penchant for putting the ball in danger. His 20 turnover-worthy plays were the second most in the Pac-12 last season. Surely, Stanford needs to protect him better, but Daniels has to avoid back-breaking mistakes. He has a prime weapon to work with in WR Elic Ayomanor. He just has to exhibit more patience instead of throwing into tight windows.”
14. Nate Yarnell, Pitt, 6-6/215, r-Jr., three career FBS starts (2-1 record)
PFF National Rank: #52
High School: 3-star prospect from Austin (Texas) Lake Travis
Recruitment: enrolled in 2021 as high school signee
Offensive Coordinator: Kade Bell, first season (first with Yarnell)
Career: 51-76 passing (67.1%), 790 yards, 5/1 TD/INT; 21-3 rushing (1 TD)
Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi on Yarnell and Alabama transfer Eli Holstein: “Nate is our starter right now, and there’s a battle going on. … I’m glad we have more than one (potential starter). We have two quarterbacks that I think are really good. Those are hard decisions, and we’ll just take it day by day. I mean, you get into game-planning, who’s picking up game plans and all that. I feel like we have two really good quarterbacks that we can win with right now.”
PFF College: “Yarnell has seen action in only six career games, but he’s performed reasonably well in all of them. He’s a lanky pocket passer who earned an 80.2 PFF passing grade across his three career starts. He doesn’t have a big arm, but he layers intermediate passes well and has excelled in play action when he’s been on the field. Yarnell could have a solid season if the Panthers improve their pass protection.”
15. Tyler Shough, Louisville, 6-5/225, 7th-Year Sr., 20 career FBS starts (13-7 record)
PFF National Rank: #56
High School: 4-star prospect from Chandler (Ariz.) Hamilton
Recruitment: enrolled in 2024 as transfer (Texas Tech/Oregon)
Offensive Coordinator: Brian Brohm, second season (first with Shough)
2020: 106-167 passing (63.5%), 1,559 yards, 13/6 TD/INT; 66-271 rushing (2 TDs)
2022: 106-177 passing (59.9%), 1,304 yards, 7/4 TD/INT; 72-269 rushing (4 TDs)
2023: 67-111 passing (60.4%), 746 yards, 7/4 TD/INT; 48-149 rushing (2 TDs)
Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm on Shough: “We really like Tyler. He’s come in and done a great job. What you’re getting with Tyler is a young man with great experience, He’s been through ups and downs. He’s had setbacks and failures and success. He knows how to handle it, and that’s very, very valuable to a quarterback, especially that position. Has he had a few injuries? Yes, he has. Has it cost him a little bit? Yes, it has. At the same time, they were injuries you can recover from, and right now he’s doing well. He’s been a great leader, and he can really throw the football.”
PFF College: “Former Oregon and Texas Tech quarterback Tyler Shough is currently the biggest question mark on a very good Louisville roster. His career has been marred by injuries, as he has never made 200 pass attempts in a single season. He’s shown flashes of potential for a long time when he is on the field, but his health and ball security could loom over the Cardinals’ chances of ACC contention.”
16. Maalik Murphy, Duke, 6-5/230, r-So., two career FBS starts (2-0 record)
PFF National Rank: #65
High School: 4-star prospect from Gardena (Calif.) Junipero Serra
Recruitment: enrolled in 2024 as transfer (Texas)
Offensive Coordinator: Jonathan Brewer, first season (first with Murphy)
2023: 40-71 passing (56.3%), 477 yards, 3/3 TD/INT; 1-(-18) rushing (0 TDs)
Duke head coach Manny Diaz on Murphy: “”Maalik has earned the opportunity to be our starting quarterback with his preparation, work ethic and productivity. I’m really excited for him because of his investment into this team and this program. And we’re really fortunate to have two young men in the room who have won games here at Duke. Both Henry (Belin IV) and Grayson (Loftis) will continue to prepare like starters and push Maalik, and we’ve got confidence in their abilities to lead our offense.”
PFF College: “The spotlight found Maalik Murphy at Texas last season, when Quinn Ewers missed two starts due to injury. The results were mixed. He played well against BYU and then struggled against Kansas State, despite earning the victory. He committed six turnover-worthy plays in those two starts. Murphy is the favorite to start for the Blue Devils, but incumbents Grayson Loftis and Henry Belin IV are looming if he struggles.”
NR. Anthony Colandrea, Virginia, 6-0/183, So., six career FBS starts (1-5 record)
PFF National Rank: NR (UVa’s Tony Muskett was ranked #50)
High School: 3-star prospect from St. Petersburg (Fla.) Lakewood
Recruitment: enrolled in 2023 as high school signee
Offensive Coordinator: Des Kitchings, third season (second with Colandrea)
2023: 154-246 passing (62.6%), 1,958 yards, 13/9 TD/INT; 73-225 rushing (0 TDs)
Virginia head coach Tony Elliott on Colandrea: “With AC, it’s like we’ve got to harness that youth and that intensity and fire, and we’ve got to be able to transition appropriately some of that into command and to play the position holistically. AC has done a great job, man, his body (has) really, really changed this offseason. … He’s a guy that when the lights come on, the bigger the stage, he seems like he elevates.”
PFF College (posted before announcement of Colandrea as starter): “After three excellent years of play at Monmouth, Tony Muskett made six starts for the Cavaliers last season during a season repeatedly interrupted by injury. He posted a respectable 74.1 PFF overall grade when he did play.”
