ACC starting quarterback rankings for 2024
We are still some time away from the start of the 2024 college football season, but that doesn’t stop us from looking ahead.
Today, we are looking at the ACC starting quarterbacks for 2024 and ranking them ahead of the season. This is just a preview, as it is still many months from the season, and things can change fast. While every team doesn’t have a starting quarterback on paper, we are making projections on these starters based on what we know right now.
The ACC is a bit different now, with the addition of new programs and new faces to the conference. Try not to get mad with these, they’re subjective! That said, here are our ACC starting quarterback rankings heading into the 2024 season.
– Updated 4/19
Cameron Ward
Team: Miami Hurricanes
2023 Stats: 66.6%, 3,735 pass yds, 25 passing touchdowns, 7 interceptions, 144 rushing yards, 8 rushing touchdowns
A perfect fit for the Miami offense, I expect Ward to be the conference’s top quarterback in 2024. Expectations are high, and rightfully so; Ward feels like he may be what the Hurricanes were missing.
DJ Uiagalelei
Team: Florida State Seminoles
2023 Stats: 57.1%, 2,638 pass yds, 21 passing touchdowns, 7 interceptions, 219 rushing yards, 7 rushing touchdowns
Uiagalelei made a huge move to join Florida State as their new starting quarterback, and it’s a great move for him. While I’d be lying if I didn’t say I had concerns revolving around the amount of talent they lost on offense, the Seminoles clearly saw him as their guy and don’t seem to be worried. This offense will have a lot of eyes on them in
Kyron Drones
Team: Virginia Tech
2023 Stats: 58.2%, 2,084 pass yds, 17 passing touchdowns, 3 interceptions, 818 rushing yards, 3 rushing touchdowns
You know who’s really good at football? Kyron Drones. No longer one of the best kept secrets in college football, Drones is on my watch list for a Heisman dark horse. The Hokies likely won’t be near good enough for him to win it, but this guy is a baller nonetheless.
Haynes King
Team: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
2023 Stats: 61.6%, 2,842 pass yds, 27 passing touchdowns, 16 interceptions, 737 rushing yards, 10 rushing touchdowns
King is sneaky good, and while you’d like him to limit turnovers, his play was top-tier in the conference last season. The Yellow Jackets return a lot of talent and I expect him to excel in 2024.
Cade Klubnik
Team: Clemson Tigers
2023 Stats: 63.9 %, 2,844 pass yds, 19 passing touchdowns, 9 interceptions, 182 rushing yards, 4 rushing touchdowns
This may be high for some, but my projections have Klubnik taking the next step in 2024. He has the talent, but he just needs to refine his game. The Tigers’ offense returns a lot of talent, and we should see him take the next step with Garrett Riley also entering his second full year as the Tigers’ offensive coordinator.
Kyle McCord
Team: Syracuse Orange
2023 Stats: 65.8%, 3,170 pass yds, 24 passing touchdowns, 6 interceptions, -65 rushing yards, 0 rushing touchdowns
McCord is good, but it’s tough to say he’s great after watching him start last season for Ohio State. With all the talent around him, it was difficult to not expect more. Even so, he’s a good quarterback and should step into that Orange offense comfortably.
Grayson McCall
Team: NC State Wolfpack
2023 Stats: 67.4%, 1,919 pass yds, 10 passing touchdowns, 6 interceptions, 48 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdowns
McCall could be much higher on this list, but the seven games we saw from him in 2023 didn’t match what we expect from him. That being said, he’s a three-time Sun Belt Player of the Year and four-time first-team all-conference selection. This guy can ball.
Preston Stone
Team: SMU Mustangs
2023 Stats: 59.9%, 3,197 pass yds, 28 passing touchdowns, 6 interceptions, 198 rushing yards, 4 rushing touchdowns
SMU joins the ACC and brings one of the conference’s new best quarterbacks. Stone can sling it, and he will be fun to watch in the ACC against some more challenging defenses.
Chandler Rogers
Team: Cal Golden Bears
2023 Stats: 62.2%, 3,382 pass yds, 29 passing touchdowns, 5 interceptions, 180 rushing yards, 4 rushing touchdowns
Chandler Rogers could 110% be ranked higher on this list; this is just where he fell for me at the moment. This guy has a lot of talent, but like Stone, we’ve yet to see him do it against some seriously tough competition, and consistently at that. He could fly up these rankings during the season.
Maalik Murphy
Team: Duke Blue Devils
2023 Stats: 56.3%, 477 pass yds, 3 passing touchdowns, 3 interceptions, -18 rushing yards, 0 rushing touchdowns
This is an upside play. Murphy’s potential is truly absurd, and he’ll look to see if he can tap into that potential with the Blue Devils. There’s a wide range of outcomes here, but he was an excellent pickup.
Tyler Shough
Team: Louisville Cardinals
2023 Stats: 60.4%, 746 pass yds, 7 passing touchdowns, 4 interceptions, 149 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns
Shough has a lot of experience, and that’s a big part of why I think he’ll earn the starting job here. He looked solid last season before an injury ended his season, and I expect him to look to end his college career on a high note with the Cardinals.
Thomas Castellanos
Team: Boston College Eagles
2023 Stats: 57.3%, 2,248 pass yds, 15 passing touchdowns, 14 interceptions, 1,113 rushing yards, 13 rushing touchdowns
Thomas Castellanos has insane athletic ability, but he needs to clean up his game. 24 turnovers in one season is way too much, but it’s also an experience. If he learned from last season and developed from it, this kid could be scary good.
Hank Bachmeier
Team: Wake Forest Demon Deacons
2023 Stats: 67.7%, 2,058 pass yds, 10 passing touchdowns, 5 interceptions, -26 rushing yards, 0 rushing touchdowns
Bachmeier has had an up-and-down career but has the experience and joins a Wake Forest team with a top-tier head coach in Dave Clawson. Bachmeier will look to return to the form he had in 2021 with Boise State.
Max Johnson
Team: North Carolina Tar Heels
2023 Stats: 62.1%, 1,452 pass yds, 9 passing touchdowns, 5 interceptions, 27 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns
Johnson was pretty good in 2021 with LSU but didn’t look the same after transferring to Texas A&M. He’s another guy I know could be ranked higher here, but his film made me question whether he will earn this starting job over Conner Harrell.
Anthony Colandrea
Team: Virginia Cavaliers
2023 Stats: 62.6%, 1,958 pass yds, 13 passing touchdowns, 9 interceptions, 225 rushing yards, 0 rushing touchdowns
Anthony Colandrea has his work cut out for him in 2024, as Virginia is not expected to be much better than last season. I’ve seen flashes from Colandrea, but those flashes are few and far between, and it’s tough to blame him in the situation. Let’s see what he can do with this struggling team.
Elijah Brown
Team: Stanford Cardinal
2023 Stats: –
Brown is new to the program, so we don’t have much but I like what I’ve seen from his tape. Stanford needs help under center badly, and he could be their guy for years.
Eli Holstein
Team: Pittsburgh Panthers
2023 Stats: –
Holstein transferred from Alabama by new offensive coordinator Kade Bell, so I’m expecting him to win the job here. He was a four-star recruit and ranked as a Top 90 player in his class according to 247Sports composite rankings. He has solid film from high school, but making too many calls from that tape is tough.
