Top 10 players in the ACC in 2023: QBs Drake Maye, Jordan Travis among the league's best
We’re inching ever-so-close to the 2023 season, and with Week 0 just around the corner, I’m unveiling my Top 10 players from each Power 5 conference over the next week. This is a fun, but tough exercise. Whittling down to just 10 guys in a sport this loaded with stars and All-Americans is hard.
We kickstarted the series with the SEC, and yesterday we looked at my Top 10 players in the Big Ten in 2023. For the first time this week, we have a quarterback — a trio in fact — represented in the Top 10 players in the ACC. That doesn’t mean this group didn’t have some brutal cuts, though.
For the ACC, apologies to Donovan Ezeiruaka, who quietly had 14.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks for Boston College last season, and Florida State wideouts Johnny Wilson and recent transfer Keon Coleman, all of whom have arguments to be on this list.
Other tough omissions included Duke tackle Graham Barton and Clemson defensive tackle Tyler Davis, but there’s only 10 spots.
As a reminder, this is not a list of the best future pros. It’s the Top 10 players in the ACC, right now, heading into the 2023 season. Debate away.
10. TE Oronde Gadsden II, Syracuse
A converted wide receiver, Gadsden had a monster sophomore season as a hybrid tight end in 2022. A matchup nightmare at 6-5, 225-pounds, he hauled in 61 passes for 969 yards and six touchdowns.
Gadsden has a wide catch radius, but he’s not just a rangy 50-50 ball-winner. He has soft hands and quick feet for a playmaker with his size.
9. DB Kam Kinchens, Miami
The former blue-chip recruit had a breakout sophomore season, emerging as one of the lone bright spots on an-otherwise bad Hurricanes defense. The 6-foot, 205-pound ballhawk has All-American potential.
In 2022, Kinchens led the ACC with six interceptions (second-most nationally), adding a team-high 59 tackles, a forced fumble and six PBUs.
8. RB Trey Benson, Florida State
Splitting carries with Treshaun Ward, Benson finished 10 yards short of rushing for 1,000 as a first-year starter for the Seminoles. He averaged 6.43 per carry — tops among all returning ACC tailbacks.
The former Oregon transfer emerged as FSU’s go-to option at tailback by the end of the 2022 season, and with Ward now at Kansas State, is Benson’s show in the backfield. He was a preseason All-ACC selection and will challenge Clemson’s Will Shipley for the best running back in the conference.
7. QB Riley Leonard, Duke
After leading the Blue Devils to a surprising 9-win season in 2022, Leonard has a chance to make his case as the No. 3 quarterback in a loaded 2024 NFL Draft class with another strong showing this fall.
Leonard isn’t surrounded by oodles of talent, but he threw for nearly 3,000 yards, with 20 touchdowns and six picks last season. The 6-4, 212-pound Alabama native is a really good athlete, too, adding a team-high 699 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. He might not be overly heralded, but if he replicates what he did a year ago, a lot more people will start paying attention to Leonard’s name.
6. LB Barrett Carter, Clemson
A former 5-star, Carter could (should?) become a household name by season’s end if he bests what he did as a sophomore in 2022. The Tigers’ inside linebacker stuffed the stat sheet with 73 tackles, 10.5 TFLs, 5.5 sacks, two interceptions and eight pass breakups.
Carter is perhaps the best pure athlete on Clemson’s team, with Dabo Swinney saying he could star at all three levels on defense.
5. RB Will Shipley, Clemson
Despite Clemson’s offensive inconsistencies a year ago, Shipley was a constant threat as an offensive weapon for the Tigers. He is the only returning ACC tailback with over 1,000 yards and double-digit touchdowns (15) from last season. Shipley is also an elite kickoff returner, earning All-ACC honors for that skill set as well in 2022.
The shifty tailback should thrive in Garrett Riley’s high-octane offense, especially as a receiving threat. He caught 38 balls in 2022, and that number could topple 50 this fall.
4. QB Jordan Travis, Florida State
It’s hard to remember that Travis actually started his career at Louisville back in 2018, but the sixth-year senior has progressively improved during his four years in Tallahassee.
One of the front-runners for the Heisman Trophy this year, Travis accounted for 31 total touchdowns in 2022, and he has even more weapons to work with in his final season at FSU. Travis averaged over 9.1 yards per attempt (best in the ACC), and threw the fewest interceptions (five) of any full-time starting quarterback in the conference.
3. LB Jeremiah Trotter, Clemson
Trotter is the quarterback of Clemson’s defense, and along with Barrett Carter, gives the Tigers one of the best inside linebacker duos in the nation.
The son of former longtime NFL linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, he led Clemson with 79 tackles as a sophomore last season, and was a menace as a pass rusher and coverage linebacker — the lone LB with a 80+ grade at both spots, per PFF. Trotter had two picks (one for a touchdown), 6.5 sacks, 13.5 tackles for loss and five pass breakups.
2. EDGE Jared Verse, Florida State
Verse was a potential 1st Round pick who opted to return to school for his senior season to help Florida State win the ACC Championship.
The former Albany transfer tied for the league lead with nine sacks, adding 17 TFLs and 25 hurries. Verse will be a Day 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and he has a chance to showcase himself as the best pass rusher in the country this fall.
1. QB Drake Maye, UNC
Maye wasn’t even named North Carolina’s starting quarterback until this time last fall, and yet, the redshirt freshman became arguably the second-best quarterback in America by the end of the 2022 season.
Despite playing behind a shoddy offensive line, Maye threw for more than 4,300 yards and led the Tar Heels in rushing with 698. He had 45 total touchdowns and led UNC to the ACC Championship Game. He’s working with new OC Chip Lindsay this fall, and his weapons aren’t quite as good, but the 6-4, 230-pound dual-threat star should cement his future as a Top 5 pick with another strong season.