Ranking ACC Starting Quarterbacks

Year: Junior

2011 Stats: 82 COMP, 166 ATT, 842 YDS, 7 TD, 6 INT

The 2012 season will be a proving ground for Brown, who began spring practice as the only scholarship quarterback on Maryland's roster. That's why we have ranked him as the worst in the conference. Brown will be thrown into the fire after QB Danny O'Brien transferred to Wisconsin.

It's a mess in College Park after the disastrous 2-10 season in Randy Edsall's first year. We're not sure if there's anything Brown - who started five games last year with mediocre results - can do for them.

Year: Junior

2011 Stats: 26 COMP, 37 ATT, 283 YDS, 0 TD, 2 INT

Morris lost a quarterback battle with Jacory Harris in 2011, when he appeared in just five games. Most of the yardage he accumulated came in the season-opening loss to Maryland. He threw for 195 yards and two interceptions in that contest while running for a touchdown. It certainly was nothing spectacular.

Yes, Morris showed some flashes in 2010, when he came in for an injured Harris on occasion. But the QB couldn't secure the job last fall and has been handed the keys to the 'Canes' car because, well, there's isn't a better option.

Year: Junior

2011 Stats: 170 COMP, 317 ATT, 1960 YDS, 12 TD, 9 INT

It's going to be a tough season at Boston College, which hopes to save coach Frank Spaziani's job. But on offense, the Eagles will not have all-time leading rusher Montel Harris, which will make Rettig's job even harder. Temper your expectations, but we don't think Rettig will be terrible in 2012.

He has played since he was a freshman when he threw for 1,238 yards, six touchdowns and nine interceptions. Rettig improved on those numbers slightly last fall, and we think they will climb even further this season - at least enough to make him better than two other signal-callers on this list.

Year: Senior

2011 Stats: 282 COMP, 434 ATT, 2891 YDS, 14 TD, 11 INT

The 6-foot-5 Renfree has two full seasons as the starter under his belt. He cut down his interceptions from 17 in 2010 to 11 last fall. While that doesn't seem like something to boast about, consider that Renfree threw more than one pick in a game just once last season.

We think that 2012 could bring better things for Renfree, who will try to lift the perennially bad Blue Devils during his senior season. He was one of the most-efficient QBs in the ACC and even threw four TDs in a game against Virginia Tech late in the season. Coach David Cutcliffe, a quarterback master, will have him putting up even better numbers in 2012. Wins? Well, we can't expect too many of them out of Duke.

Year: Senior

2011 Stats: 74 COMP, 150 ATT, 1652 YDS, 11 TD, 8 INT, RUSH ATT 243, RUSH YDS 987, RUSH TD 14

Washington was effective in Georgia Tech's triple-option offense; he ran for 14 touchdowns while carrying the ball 243 times. He will benefit from the Yellow Jackets returning four starters on the offensive line as Washington moves into his senior season.

That being said, Georgia Tech would like to see improvement from the QB in the passing game, which will take a hit without big-play wide receiver Stephen Hill. Even in Paul Johnson's run-heavy attack, GT would like to see more than two games with double-digit completions as Washington had in 2011.

Year: Junior

2011 Stats: 222 COMP, 366 ATT, 2671 YDS, 14 TD, 12 INT

We are rewarding Rocco for a relatively strong finish to the season with 312 passing yards and two TDs in a Chick-fil-A Bowl loss to Auburn. In addition, Rocco was the first QB to bring the Cavaliers to a postseason game since 2007. That has to count for something. And he only was a sophomore last fall.

In his second season as a starter, we think Rocco will improve on numbers his numbers: 13 touchdowns and 12 interceptions - two of which came without a TD in a 38-0 loss to in-state rival Virgina Tech. Yes, we are going out on a limb putting Rocco ahead of some others on this list but, as we've mentioned before, everything Mike London has touchdown at UVA seems to have turned to gold.

Year: Junior

2011 Stats: 239 COMP, 350 ATT, 3086 YDS, 26 TD, 13 INT

It's clear that Renner is one of the most-talented quarterbacks in the league, but we place him in the middle of the pack because of the obstacles he will have to overcome at North Carolina, which has been rife with accusations of NCAA wrongdoing. That has to affect play on the field with constant rumors - even if they have nothing to with Renner - swirling around.

He also will have to make a transition to the new offense of coach Larry Fedora, who comes over from a successful tenure at Southern Miss. On the bright side, Renner completed an ACC-best 68.3% of his passes in 2011 while throwing 26 TDs with 13 interceptions.

Year: Junior

2011 Stats: 253 COMP, 422 ATT, 3017 YDS, 20 TD, 6 INT

Price was the starter since his freshman season. As a sophomore in 2011, he threw for 20 touchdowns with just six interceptions. He led the Demon Deacons to the Music City Bowl with some impressive games along the way - like a three-touchdown effort in a win over Florida State - in a season in which he completed 60% of his passes.

Things are only on the way up for Price, who is the Wake Forest football program right now. As he enters his junior season, Price will have to work with a revamped offensive line. But we think that, like overlooked coach Jim Grobe, Price will continue to do his best work under the radar.

Year: Senior

2011 Stats: 203 COMP, 311 ATT, 2666 YDS, 18 TD, 8 INT

In 2011, Manuel was supposed to be a star as the Seminoles entered the season as one of the top teams in the nation. But injuries to Manuel played a part in the disappointing campaign for FSU. He was injured in a loss to Oklahoma, missed the following week's setback against Clemson and came off the bench in a loss the next week against Wake Forest. Those were three of FSU's four losses last season.

While Manuel did start the last eight games of the season, it seemed as though his shoulder ailment bothered him for most of that time. If he's healthy in 2012, it's clear that Manuel has the talent to be one of the best signal-callers in the ACC. Maybe 2012 is the season in which he will fully blossom.

Year: Senior

2011 Stats: 283 COMP, 453 ATT, 3054 YDS, 31 TD, 12 INT

We still don't agree with coach Tom O'Brien's reported action last year, when many say that he alienated star QB Russell Wilson because he had played baseball and supposedly not focused on the gridiron. Wilson, of course, went on to lead Wisconsin to the Rose Bowl after he transferred. But Glennon made the Wolfpack forget about Wilson - almost.

In his first experience as a starter, Glennon put up big numbers - throwing for more than 3,000 yards with 31 touchdowns as a junior. He started off hot with eight TD passes in his first three games and finished strong with 11 in his last three, including five in the regular-season finale against Maryland and three in a bowl win over Louisville.

Year: Junior

2011 Stats: 234 COMP, 391 ATT, 3013 YDS, 19 TD, 10 INT, RUSH ATT 153, RUSH YDS 469, RUSH TD 11

We can say this about Thomas: He is a specimen under center at 6-foot-6, 254 pounds. As expected, Thomas was a monster on the ground with 11 rushing scores, but he added 19 TD tosses as some - brace yourselves - have compared him to Cam Newton. And this all came during his sophomore season. We see things only getting better in 2012.

Thomas helped lead the Hokies to 11 wins in 2011. With a year under his belt as the starter, let's see where Virginia Tech goes this fall; we know one thing: if they don't best their win total from last year, it certainly won't be Thomas' fault. Keeping him from the top spot on this list? One TD and three interceptions in two losses to end the campaign.

Year: Junior

2011 Stats: 298 COMP, 499 ATT, 3828 YDS, 33 TD, 12 INT

As just a sophomore, Boyd led the ACC with 33 touchdown passes as he guided a dynamic Clemson offense that also featured star freshman WR Sammy Watkins. He had just under 4,000 yards passing and started off the season on fire - collecting 24 touchdown passes and three interceptions during an 8-0 start, which was capped off by five scoring tosses in a 59-38 victory over North Carolina.

It's clear that he's the best quarterback in the ACC heading into 2012, even if he has a bad taste in his mouth from the last game he played. The Tigers finished off a strong campaign with a 70-33 embarrassment in an Orange Bowl loss to West Virginia. Boyd didn't play terribly in that game, but we look for him to lift his game this fall.

• Related: Ranking Pac-12 Quarterbacks

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