‘Conference of Quarterbacks’: QBs, Coaches Back Up ACC’s Assertion originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
CHARLOTTE — The ACC is calling itself the “Conference of Quarterbacks,” and it boasts facts and stats to back up that assertion.
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Five quarterbacks ranked among ESPN’s top 15 quarterbacks? Check. That’s more than any other conference. Nine of the top 30 quarterback transfers? Yep, that’s the most of any conference, too. And the ACC is the only league with at least one QB selected in the first round in six different NFL drafts since 2018. That includes 2025 No. 1 pick Cam Ward out of Miami.
So there might just be some credence to that moniker, especially with a good blend of incoming talent and established starters across the conference.
Carson Beck transferred to Miami from Georgia, where he won an SEC championship as a starter and two national championships as a backup. Miller Moss left USC for Louisville, continuing a growing trend for the Cardinals. Darian Mensah departed Tulane in favor of Duke after a breakout sophomore season.
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Louisville quarterback Miller Moss speaks to the media at the 2025 ACC Kickoff in Charlotte.
Gio Lopez jumped from South Alabama to North Carolina, where he’ll get to play for coach Bill Belichick this season. Chandler Morris’ fourth and final stop will be at Virginia after spending time at North Texas, TCU and Oklahoma. And then there’s Thomas Castellanos, who stayed in the ACC with his move from Boston College to Florida State.
In total, eight transfer quarterbacks represented their teams at ACC media days last week. Beyond those six, Cal leaned into the “Conference of Quarterbacks” mantra by bringing two signal-callers: Devin Brown, a transfer from Ohio State, and Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, a true freshman who initially signed with Oregon.
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“I think top to bottom, there’s very quality play in the conference,” Moss said. “And you want to play against the best if you want to be the best, so I’m excited for a challenging and rewarding year.”
Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik speaks to the media at the 2025 ACC Kickoff in Charlotte.
As for the elder statesmen in the conference, Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik enters his third season as the Tigers’ starter with two ACC titles to his name. Kevin Jennings is going into his second season as SMU’s starting signal-caller, fresh off a College Football Playoff appearance. Haynes King embarks on Year 3 at Georgia Tech with a reputation as one of the toughest players at the position.
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Virginia Tech quarterback Kyron Drones returns for his third season under center at Virginia Tech with something to prove. NC State’s CJ Bailey started nine games last season as a true freshman. And then there’s Eli Holstein, who has one year under his belt as the starter at Pitt. Holstein was the only returning starter in the conference not in attendance at ACC media days.
SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings speaks to the media at the 2025 ACC Kickoff in Charlotte.
“The ACC has historically had really, really good quarterback play, whether it’s Heisman Trophy winners or NFL prospects,” King said. “Some of the greats, somewhat recently, you got Jameis Winston, Deshaun Watson, Tajh Boyd, Kenny Pickett, Trevor Lawrence, all been in the ACC. [The] ACC has really, really good quarterbacks, and I feel like we’ve kept that going.”
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Beck comes over from the SEC, but he had complimentary things to say about the ACC quarterbacks he went up against last season. Georgia blew out Clemson in Week 1 in what was Klubnik’s worst game of the year. Still, Beck said Klubnik, whom he met two years ago at the Manning Passing Academy, is “obviously very talented” and that he expects Klubnik to lead the Tigers like he’s done in years past.
Miami quarterback Carson Beck speaks to the media at the 2025 ACC Kickoff in Charlotte.
Beck is also intimately familiar with King, who pushed the Bulldogs to the brink in an eight-overtime thriller last November. King accounted for five total touchdowns and over 400 yards of offense in a 44-42 defeat.
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“Personally, I mean, [that] was one of the best games I’ve ever watched of offensive football when he played against us,” Beck said. “Coming into Athens and being able to compete at a high level like he did.”
Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King speaks to the media at the 2025 ACC Kickoff in Charlotte.
There are still quite a few quarterback battles playing out in the conference at Cal (Brown vs. Sagapolutele), Boston College (Grayson James vs. Dylan Lonergan), Syracuse (Steve Angeli vs. Rickie Collins), Wake Forest (Robbie Ashford vs. Deshawn Purdie) and Stanford (Elijah Brown vs. Ben Gulbranson and Dylan Rizk).
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Athlon Sports’ preseason All-ACC teams honored Klubnik, Beck, Jennings and King in that order, but it’s a crowded conference to be sure. Klubnik also earned a preseason All-America nod and is seen in some circles as the top quarterback in the country heading into 2025.
NC State coach Dave Doeren and Syracuse coach Fran Brown both referred to the ACC as the “Conference of Quarterbacks” unprompted, while Louisville’s Jeff Brohm said the quiet part out loud about the importance of getting good play out of the position.
“I think in order to win at a high level, a lot of things have to take place, but you have to have great quarterback play,” Brohm said. “And it’s important that that’s a big component of winning football games.”
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Related: Predicting Starting Quarterbacks for All 136 College Football Teams in 2025
Related: College Football 2025 All-America Team
Related: Meet Miller Moss: Another Year, Another Transfer QB for Louisville
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 28, 2025, where it first appeared.
