• I had a pretty good source tell me GT should probably be considered the leader for 4-star wing Marcus Watson. He's a really talented kid, but hasn't been playing well consistently for a while now, which is why he dropped in most recent rankings. Not a huge red flag, but there are some maturity concerns with him after an incident from this weekend at the Nike EYBL, although I do think overall he is a pretty good kid.
• Expect a 2019 GT target to be committing elsewhere this afternoon.

What opposing ACC coaches told Athlon Sports about the Yellow Jackets ... "Brent (Key) is a great offensive line coach and a great human being, but it's gonna be tough on him at that place as it was on (former head coach Geoff) Collins. I think the difference is that Brent is an OL coach and he won't draw much attention to himself of that place. ... They have all the same recruiting problems, and they can't work the portal as much as other teams because of academics."

Can Texas A&M transfer quarterback Haynes King save Georgia Tech? That's a lot to ask of the former elite-level recruit for the Aggie, who came over from the portal during the offseason. There are only a couple returning starters on offense this fall and the schedule includes trips to Ole Miss and Wake Forest the first few weeks of the season. Early confidence is key for a team in need of a lot of it.

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LOUISVILLE CARDINALS​

(Photo: Michael McCammon, 247Sports)
What opposing ACC coaches told Athlon Sports about the Cardinals ... "One thing you know is they're going to give (Jeff) Brohm a lot of time here, so they won't rush things or try to reach into the portal to fix their problems. And they have problems, too — they're not going to be good on defense they're losing a lot and transitioning to a new scheme. Last year was definitely their best on defense under Satt (Scott Satterfield), they fixed a lot of those problems and finally developed some dudes up front."
Louisville fans love the Brohm hire, which was met with rave reviews, too. The Cardinals may not see much of a return on their investment this fall, but it's coming. You know this team is going to score points with Brohm calling the shots offensively, but as other ACC coaches have mentioned, whether or not Louisville will be able to stop the opposition may ultimately decide where this team stands in November.

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WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS​

(Photo: © Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports, USA TODAY Sports)
What opposing ACC coaches told Athlon Sports about the Demon Deacons ... "There's not much new you can say about these guys. Every December, it seems like some big program is gonna come along and snatch up Dave (Clawson) and Wake is gonna fall back to the basement, but he stays, they keep improving facilities and these guys keep building."
That being said, how much building can take place when your offenses was supposed to be driven by senior, record-setting quarterback Sam Hartman? His exit to the portal and eventually Notre Dame means the Demon Deacons are rolling with Mitch Griffis under center, who's talented, but not Hartman. Losing AT Perry to the NFL hurts, too, for an offense that relied on a bunch of big plays in the passing game. Justice Ellison could have his best year at running back now that he's a likely focal point.

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BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES​

(Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
What opposing ACC coaches told Athlon Sports about the Eagles ... "This is going to be a big year for this staff, maybe make or break in terms of performance, not so much for the win-loss record. There's concern here. They're down overall. (They) hit a couple transfers when he first got there, but we haven't seen them do well with high school recruiting. They're hitting that same wall that the last staff did. This is a hard place to get talent to commit to."
Jeff Hafley knows he faces the proverbial "contract year" in the ACC and cannot afford another 1-7 showing during conference play. Nine transfers this cycle will provide immediate help, but only a handful were from Power Five programs and the rest were calculated risks, essentially. Boston College's secondary is largely new, but there are some veteran pieces at the center of the defense who should be capable of leading, notably linebackers Kam Arnold and Vinny DePalma.

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SYRACUSE ORANGE​

(Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
What opposing ACC coaches told Athlon Sports about the Orange ... "They had some great moments last year and won some games, but when I take a step back, I'm not sure how much has changed here. They won enough games for Dino (Babers) to hold on, and not a lot of folks thinks the school was ready to push him out anyway. They're down a good OC (Robert Anae) again, they lost a really good back to the NFL and a DB to the portal and this isn't the kind of place you can rely on 'next man up.'"
Babers entered the 2022 season on one of college football's hottest seats, but hasn't received that sort of negative connotation this offseason ahead of 2023. Former Mississippi State transfer quarterback Garrett Shrader returns after a notable first season and this team should feel pretty good about its group of linebackers. Losing starting edge Jatius Geer to South Carolina after spring practice really hurts.

VIRGINIA CAVALIERS​

(Photo: Ryan M. Kelly, Getty)
What opposing ACC coaches told Athlon Sports about the Cavaliers ... "Maybe one of the toughest first seasons every for a first-time Power Five head coach with what happened on and off the field. On the field, you can't be ripping your assistant in press conferences after the game. They were a mess on both sides, what's likely is that Tony (Elliott's) eyes got too big when he got there. It takes more than one season at a place like that."
Give the football to Perris Jones 250-plus times and see what happens? The offensive strategy for the Cavaliers is up to Elliott, whose pro-style, timing based scheme fell flat last fall, resulting in quarterback Brennan Armstrong's transfer to NC State. Virginia does return six starters defensively, including the bulk of the pass rush. That's an area the Cavaliers may be able to hang their hats on once they get past the opener against top 15 Tennessee.

LOUISVILLE CARDINALS​

(Photo: Michael McCammon, 247Sports)
What opposing ACC coaches told Athlon Sports about the Cardinals ... "One thing you know is they're going to give (Jeff) Brohm a lot of time here, so they won't rush things or try to reach into the portal to fix their problems. And they have problems, too — they're not going to be good on defense they're losing a lot and transitioning to a new scheme. Last year was definitely their best on defense under Satt (Scott Satterfield), they fixed a lot of those problems and finally developed some dudes up front."
Louisville fans love the Brohm hire, which was met with rave reviews, too. The Cardinals may not see much of a return on their investment this fall, but it's coming. You know this team is going to score points with Brohm calling the shots offensively, but as other ACC coaches have mentioned, whether or not Louisville will be able to stop the opposition may ultimately decide where this team stands in

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