| 24 July 2006
The ACC held its 2006 Football Kickoff in Jacksonville today and the invited media members made their preseason picks for teams and players.
Florida State was tabbed as the favorite in the Atlantic Division, with Miami given the nod to win the Coastal Division. Miami was selected as the favorite to win the conference championship, with Florida State, Clemson, Virginia Tech, and Georgia Tech also receiving votes.
Georgia Tech's outstanding wide receiver Calvin Johnson was overwhelmingly selected to be the conference's player of the year. Miami quarterback Kyle Wright, Clemson back James Davis, and Florida State quarterback Drew Weatherford were also named on multiple ballots.
Looking over the voting, I tend to agree with the selections of Miami and Florida State as the favorites. A lot of fans and talking heads are down on the two Florida schools in the ACC, but even last season while both schools broke in inexperienced quarterbacks and despite the fact that they both disappointed in their bowl appearances, they each managed to remain among the class of the conference. I am a little bit surprised to see that Clemson did not get a little more recognition, as they finished the '05 season out strongly and seem to be an "It" team in many publications. Beyond the Florida teams and Clemson, the only teams I can potentially envision making any national noise in the ACC are Virginia Tech and/or Georgia Tech.
As for the preseason player of the year choice, most long-time In the Bleachers fans know that Calvin Johnson is an ITB favorite that we spent a lot of time talking about last season. I believe he will become a fantastic NFL player and have a lot of success this season at GT, as well. With that said, I will be surprised to see a wide receiver win the conference player of the year award over a productive running back or quarterback. I believe the award winner will come from a team that participates in the conference championship game--and right now, I don't see Georgia Tech as a very strong possibility to make it to Jacksonville. I would place my money on running back Lorenzo Booker, who I believe will have a big season if Weatherford has improved even slightly OR Miami's Kyle Wright, who showed flashes of becoming something special last season.
2006 ACC Preseason Football Poll
Atlantic Division (First Place in Parentheses):
- Florida State (49) 373 points
- Clemson (13) 322 points
- Boston College (3) 269 points
- Maryland 163 points
- NC State 124 points
- Wake Forest 116 points
Coastal Division:
- Miami (52) 374 points
- Virginia Tech (10) 316 points
- Georgia Tech (3) 279 points
- Virginia 166 points
- North Carolina 165 points
- Duke 65 points
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