College football 2010 ACC season preview: BC and Clemson Edition

Boston College Eagles: Offense:  Sophomore QB Dave Shinskie returns after a mediocre freshman season. Shinskie threw 15 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He needs to limit his turnovers if the Eagles want to compete in the ACC. The running game features junior running back Montel Harris, who finished second in the ACC with 1,457 and had 14 rushing touchdowns in 2009. The receiving corps needs to find a playmaker. The top returning WR is junior Colin Larmond had 29 catches for 596 yards and five touchdowns last season.

Defense:  The Eagles need to apply more pressure in 2010. The starters that are back are senior defensive end Alex Albright and senior defensive tackle Damik Scafe. Red-shirt freshman Dillon Quinn is expected to step in and start right away at the open defensive tackle spot. This unit only didn’t have a player in the double digit sack category. The most a lineman had  was 3 sacks. The LB unit is solid as they return sophomore starting middle linebacker Luke Kuechly and get back  feel good story of the 2009 year senior strong-side linebacker Mark Herzlich, who missed all of last season due to cancer. The secondary will struggle in 2010 as only two starters return. Look out for junior corner Isaac Johnson who is expected to start opposite of senior returning starting CB.  Both players need to raise their level of play as this unit gave up 225 yards passing a game last season.  Senior free safety Wes Davis returns as well.

Clemson Tigers: Offense:  How will this offense replace one of the most dynamic weapons in college football last season in RB C.J. Spiller who went to the NFL? Spiller was Mr. do it all for this offense. Redshirt freshman Andre Ellington and sophomore Jamie Harper are in the mix to try and replace Spiller’s production. Harper has a great upside, but has had trouble holding onto the football which plagues him his first two years at Clemson. The receiving position also took a hit this past year as versatile WR/KR Jacoby Ford left for the NFL. Who’s gonna emerge  as the no. 1 receiver? WR Marquan Jones and TE Dwayne Allen could be the guys. Watch out for versatile talented freshman WR DeAndre Hopkins. With this offense lacking playmakers this kid could step in and produce.

Defense:  The Defensive line returns palymakers DE Da’Quan Bowers who excels against the run and pass and DT Jarvis Jenkins who is a run stuffing DT. The LB position continues to be a trouble spot for this team. The Tigers haven’t had consistent production out of this position for the past couple of years. OLB Johnathan Williard needs to continue his strong play towards the end of last season.The secondary returns Marcus Gilchrist who had 107 tackles a year ago and All-American safety DeAndre McDaniel, who led the ACC and ranked third nationally with eight interceptions in 2009.