Conference Recruiting Reviews: ACC

A look at how each conference fared with their 2016 recruiting classes - winners, losers, and programs in long-term trouble. All rankings are from the 247Sports composite, with 4-year national ranks weighted more heavily on most recent classes.

Winners

Florida State: The 2015 was a minor disappointment, but Jimbo Fisher continues to amass the most talent outside of Tuscaloosa. It seems like the Seminoles are flying a little bit under the radar as a 2016 playoff contender - Clemson's run last season grabbed a lot of headlines, and 10-3 with inconsistent offense isn't going to give anyone the warm fuzzy feelings and Tallahassee. But the Noles still finished #10 in F+, bring back a ton of starters including Dalvin Cook, and added the #2 overall class this year. They still have questions at quarterback, but so do LSU, Bama, and Michigan, who seem to be consistently be rated higher in pre-season polls (Bama is understandable; I'm not so sure about the rest).

The 2016 class includes one-time Notre Dame target and top-50 national recruit Malik Henry (QB), a treasure trove of blue chip defensive linemen and cornerbacks, and another Aguayo to make 95% of field goal attempts (Roberto's younger brother Ricky, who hopefully also has a game-winning attempt blocked and returned for a TD too). Their fans probably won't let you even if you tried, but don't sleep on the Noles.

Clemson: For as well as FSU has recruited, the Tigers are only a 5-star and couple of four-star players a year away from the same level of success. Consistent seasons of double-digits wins have allowed Clemson to gain slightly more leverage in the Southeast, and the recent national championship game appearance will likely help them nationally - the 2016 class includes the #1 and #3 recruits in the state of Kansas. Dabo Swinney's group will again be hit with significant defensive losses with Kevin Dodd, Shaq Lawson, Jayron Kearse, and Mackensie Alexander all heading to the draft. But they add the nation's #2 overall recruit in DT Dexter Lawrence and five other blue-chip defensive recruits - I don't think Brett Venables will be losing too much sleep.

Duke: It's an incredible run for David Cutcliffe and the Blue Devils, raising their national recruiting ranking by about ten places each of the past four seasons. To sign the 33^rd ranked class in football would have seemed unthinkable ten years ago, but consistent success and four straight bowl games have led to a 2016 class that was 4^th in the conference. If Duke has been able to turn things around with player development and coaching but less talent, what do the next few seasons look like if they can recruit on-par with Lousiville, Virginia Tech, UNC, and Pitt?

Mark Richt: His first class at Miami was nothing special, but looking at the chart above you can see how Richt is set up for early success. There's been some attrition, but he inherits a team that's clearly the third most talented in the conference, an experienced and highly rated quarterback in Brad Kaaya, and junior and senior classes that were top-16 nationally. The schedule is very favorable, with FSU and a trip to South Bend standing out as the only games where they'll be significant underdogs. A noisy 9-3 season combined with a full season of recruiting could bring the Hurricanes back into top-15 territory for recruiting for signing day 2017.

Pittsburgh: Pat Narduzzi's first full class is extremely promising - 4^th best in the conference, highlighted by cornerback Damar Hamlin, who was a top Notre Dame target. The Panthers defense saw immediate improvement with Narduzzi calling plays, and if he can keep up this hot start on the recruiting trail it's easy to see Pitt winning a Coastal division title in the next season or two.

Losers

Teams with coaching changes (besides Miami): Head coaching changes are chaotic for any recruiting class - at power five programs, 95% of the time it means results on the field haven't been going your way, and the relationships that are vital to recruiting have been severed. Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Syracuse each made solid hires but not ones that could salvage classes up to expectations. The Hokies 41^st ranked class was their first outside the top 30 since 2011, and the Cavaliers and Orange were edged out by Wake Forest. Ouch.

UNC: The Tar Heels have recruited consistently in the top half of the conference even through NCAA investigations of academic scandal, and had a great 2015 season. Larry Fedora's offense was dynamic with Marquise Williams leading the way, Gene Chizik immediately improved the UNC defense, and the Heels went undefeated until the ACC Championship game. The impact on recruiting?  Their worst class of the past four years. It's not going to doom North Carolina, but it's a huge missed opportunity.

Georgia Tech and Boston College: Paul Johnson may never be able to recruit at extremely high level on offense running the triple option, but what excuses can you make for the defensive side of the ball? In a talent-rich state, the Jackets have pulled in just one four-star recruit in the past four seasons. Maybe Demetris Robertson will end up there, who knows at this point. In Boston, the Eagles are now clearly the least talented team in the ACC - it's almost miraculous that their defense was so excellent last year. But the coordinator that helped develop and call plays for those guys is now in Ann Arbor, so good luck Steve Addazio - I do appreciate your Vine game, but you're gonna need some new dudes.