The Confidential

The ACC Sports Blog

09 May 2014

Clemson North

“The Cleveland Browns have traded the fourth pick to the Buffalo Bills. With the fourth pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, the Buffalo Bills select Sammy Watkins, wide receiver, Clemson.”

The Bills gave up their 2015 first and fourth round draft picks for that trade, talk about a bold move. General Manager Doug Whaley told Sammy they were going to draft him and clearly, he meant it. The Bills had the 9th pick, but waiting their turn was not an option if they were going to get their number one choice. This trade was more than just getting Sammy Watkins; it was a statement to the NFL and Bills fans everywhere. The Bills are going to make it to the playoffs this season.  Or bust. Let’s hope it’s not the latter.

From a Clemson standpoint, I love this pick. I was fortunate enough to watch CJ Spiller run over defenses as a Clemson Tiger for one season before he was drafted 9th overall by the Bills in 2010. I watched Sammy Watkins glide his way through secondary defenses countless times on his way to the end zone in that Tiger uniform and I am thrilled to see Spiller and Watkins as teammates next season.

“Clemson North” is what they are calling it, as the Bills now have five former Clemson Tigers on their roster. Running back, CJ Spiller, offensive linemen, Chris Hairston and Antoine McClain, safety, Jonathan Meeks, and now wide receiver, Sammy Watkins.

Sammy Watkins is a player so outstanding that he makes others around him better. To get EJ Manuel healthy and prepped for the 2014 season, there is no doubt Sammy is going to shine. He is on his way to scoring touchdowns on Sundays and I can’t wait to watch. He has been compared to Detroit Lions wide receiver, Calvin Johnson, but next fall Sammy Watkins will begin his professional legacy and players to come will be compared to him.

To all Bills fans out there, rejoice. Clemson Nation gives you Sammy Watkins and we only hope you grow to love him as much as we did (and still do).

The fun is not over for the Clemson faithful. Still left to be drafted are QB Tajh Boyd, WR Martavis Bryant, CB Brashad Breeland, and OL Brandon Thomas.

You can catch night two of the 2014 NFL Draft tonight on ESPN.

Posted by marystewartb in ACC Network, ACC only, Clemson correspondent, Draft, ESPN, Football, News, Opinion, Results, Something Positive, This Day in ACC, Today in the ACC, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
07 May 2014
1 Comment

ACC Well-Represented in Mel Kiper’s Final Big Board

Mel Kiper issues a “big board” periodically at ESPN.com.  In his latest pre-draft version, he ranks the top 100 players heading into the NFL draft.  This is a fairly decent cheat sheet for the first two nights of the draft.  The ACC is well-represented on this list.

Read more…

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Draft, ESPN, Rankings, Results and tagged , , ,
05 May 2014

NCAA Lacrosse Tourneys: ACC Atop Seeds

The NCAA has revealed the brackets for the 2014 Lacrosse Tournaments.  As noted earlier, the ACC has been dominating mens and womens lacrosse this season.  The seedings similarly reflect the ACC’s dominance.

On the mens side, Duke and Syracuse are seeded #1 and #2, respectively.  Notre Dame, Maryland, and Virginia are the #6 through #8 seeds.  North Carolina was not seeded.  Nevertheless, all six schools qualified for the tourney.

On the womens side, Maryland, Syracuse, and North Carolina are seeded #1, #2, and #3.  Virginia, Boston College, and Notre Dame are seeded #6 through #8.  Duke is also in the field, making it a total of six schools in the tourney.  The games begin on May 9, 2014.

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Lacrosse and tagged , , , ,
02 May 2014
1 Comment

Battle of the Orange–Poll

Simply stated…as of today… which  program is better… Clemson football or Syracuse basketball.  Tell us why in the comments…

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Poll and tagged , , ,
01 May 2014
1 Comment

ACC Lacrosse Update

The best conference in lacrosse, the Atlantic Coast Conference, continues to impress.  The latest top 20 for the men has all six schools ranked in the top 9.  The fourth place team in the ACC, Notre Dame, is ranked fifth overall after winning the ACC tournament.  Virginia, who was 1-4 in conference play, is ranked #8 overall.  There is simply no precedent for such top-to-bottom conference domination.

That being said, it is Loyolla and Denver that are atop the standings at #1 and #2.  and Johns Hopkins squeezes in between the ACC sextet at #6.  It was quite a coup for the Big 10 to land Johns Hopkins–the Confidential still bemoans the ACC’s failure to do so.  However, as lacrosse remains a non-revenue sport, there is only so much the conference could have or should have done in that regard.

There are few regular season games left for the ACC schools.  on Saturday, there are a trio of games, as Notre Dame hosts #19 Army, Maryland hosts Navy, and Syracuse hosts Colgate.  Duke travels to Boston on Sunday for its finale.

The women are similarly as impressive, with seven of the eight schools in the top 15.   Of course, with Maryland #1, Syracuse #2, North Carolina #4, and Boston College #5, an argument can be made that the women are doing even better than the men.

All in all, the ACC is simply dominant in lacrosse.  Let’s hope that the ACC can follow through on its dominant regular season by bringing home two trophies.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Lacrosse, News and tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
29 Apr 2014
4 Comments

Way Too Early 2014-2015 ACC Men’s Basketball Rankings

Following in the footsteps of the Worldwide Leader, the Confidential thought it would be fun to go ahead and try to project next year’s ACC Men’s Basketball standings. As is always the case, it’s nearly impossible to predict what will happen. Injuries occur, players don’t live up to expectations, teams over perform, but it’s a fun exercise regardless. After all, where else can you be so consistently wrong and still have people follow your every word? You know, besides meteorology.

Read more…

Posted by Mr. Tar Heel in Basketball, Predictions, Rankings, UNC Correspondent
25 Apr 2014

Louisville Headlines

Even though the basketball season has ended for the Louisville Cardinals the news hasn’t. There has been coaching changes, players coming and going, schedules announced and a contract signed. All of this without mentioning the teams that are still in action. Here are some of the stories making the headlines.

Football: Teddy Bridgewater went gloveless to Pro Day and his performance sufford for it. Once believed to be the top overall pick in the upcoming draft has fallen to about the 20th pick. One scenario even has the Texans selecting Jadaveon Clowney first and Teddy first in the second round. If that scenario plays out what a steal it would be for Houston. Calvin Pryor will join Teddy in New York for the draft putting Louisville in elite company. They will be one of only five programs of who will have multiple players represented at the draft.

Will Gardner is the front runner to replace Bridgewater at QB next season. At the Cards spring game he threw for 546 yards and 4 TDs.
Read more…

Posted by lenvillecards in Louisville Correspondent, News and tagged , , , , , ,
23 Apr 2014

NBA Mock Draft–ACC Players

Depending on whether you are an ESPN insider, you may or may not be able to access Chad Ford’s latest Mock NBA Draft, found here: http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft/mock/?season=2014&version=4&source=Chad-Ford-Mock-Draft.  Where do the ACC players project?

Read more…

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball and tagged , , , , , , ,
16 Apr 2014
15 Comments

The Realignment Fallout of the Proposed College Football Union

You may not know it, but one of the biggest days in college football history is quickly approaching. No, not the spring signing period, although that was pretty exciting. No, not the inaugural College Football Playoff either, that’s practically a whole year away. Imagine something greater. Something more far-reaching. That’s next Friday.

Read more…

Posted by Mr. Tar Heel in ACC only, Conference Realignment, Football, UNC Correspondent
16 Apr 2014

Looking for Correspondents!

Do you like an ACC school?  Do you like writing about your ACC school?  Not sure, but want to give it a try?

The Confidential is looking for school correspondents to write about their respective school.  Send an email to afc44enterprises@yahoo.com.

It is just for fun… unpaid, obviously.  But it is a great chance to have a voice with your school’s fan base.  Also, if you are interested in creating a portfolio of your writing ability or even having your own blog some day, not a bad incubator.  Participate in our weekly polls.

Priority schools to add right now:

  • Duke
  • Virginia Tech
  • Notre Dame
  • Georgia Tech
  • Pittsburgh

If interested, let us know.

 

Posted by acaffrey in Correspondents and tagged , , ,

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