TSLMail is powered by our sponsor:

To Change Your Email Address:
Log onto the TechSideline.com web site (see the instructions directly to the left) and access your "account info" area. Then uncheck the "Check to Receive Free TSLMail" box.

TSL Links
  Home Page
  Football Home
  VT Hokie News
  Football Recruiting
  Message Board

TSL Products
  TSL Pass
  MaroonHelmet.com

TSLMail Archives
  Complete Archives

• Log into TechSideline.com by going here:  TechSideline.com login and entering your email address (the one where you received this email) and your TechSideline.com password.
  
  
• If you can't remember your TechSideline.com password, then use our Password Reset function to set up a new password that you can use to access your account.
  
  
• Once you're logged into the site, find one of the many "account info" links around the site to access your user profile and change the preferences there, including turning TSLMail on and off. Look for the "Check to Receive Free TSLMail" box.

Thanks, and we hope we haven't inconvenienced you.

Will Stewart
General Manager and Managing Editor
TechSideline.com

Advertise Your Business On TechSideline.com!

TechSideline.com has come a long way since its inception in 1996. We are the #1 media source and community covering Virginia Tech athletics, producing an average of 123,000 unique viewers and over 8.5 million page views each month. We reach a coveted demographic (you know who you are) 24/7, 12 months out of the year.

To view a list of our sponsors, please visit our Sponsors Page.

¹Ownership may include the opportunity to place your suite in a professional rental management program.

ACC Returning Nine Starters at Quarterback
by Chris Coleman, TechSideline.com

The ACC will return a lot of experienced players in 2007 after a down year in 2006. The conference suffered through a down year offensively, partly because half of its teams were playing with first-year starters at quarterback. Nine ACC teams bring back their starting quarterbacks for the 2007 season. Statistically speaking, which returning quarterbacks are the best?

Only two of the nine returning QBs are seniors. BC's Matt Ryan, who most consider the best quarterback in the ACC, and Miami's Kyle Wright are the two returning senior starters this year in the conference. Well, we think -- reports from Miami during spring practice indicated that Wright hasn't been able to shake off junior quarterback Kirby Freeman. There is a chance that Freeman could still beat out Wright.

The surprise of last year at quarterback was Wake Forest's Riley Skinner. He took over the starting reigns after Ben Mauk was injured in the season opener. He went on to lead the Demon Deacons to the ACC Championship and an Orange Bowl appearance. On the way, he set 10 Wake Forest passing records and easily led the ACC in passing efficiency.

The common perception is that Skinner is a quarterback in a gimmicky system, and the best thing he does is not make mistakes. That's not totally true. Wake's system is different, but Skinner has talent. He's very accurate, a good decision maker, and he can make pretty much any throw on the field with precision. As long as he's there, Wake has a chance to go to a bowl game.

The reason Skinner and Ryan are at the top in passing efficiency? Their touchdown-to-interception ratios played a big part. Ryan was +5 and Skinner was +4. No other returning starter in the ACC was better than +1.

Skinner was easily the best of the first-year starters a year ago, beating out Sean Glennon for the honors.

Judging by passing efficiency for the first-year starters, there was Riley Skinner, then Sean Glennon ... then everybody else. Skinner and Glennon were the only first-year starters in the conference who did not throw more interceptions than touchdowns last season.

Some interesting stats stand out. NC State quarterback Daniel Evans was a popular pick for a future ACC star at times last year. He led the Wolfpack to a couple of late-game wins, and people were singing his praises. But the end result? 11 interceptions, just six touchdowns, and the next-to-worst passing efficiency of all quarterbacks returning for 2007.

Also, Duke might have something to work with at quarterback in the future. Although Thad Lewis threw 16 interceptions, he did complete over 50% of his passes and threw for other 2,000 yards. That's not bad for a true freshman that wasn't surrounded with much talent. This year all 11 starters return on offense for Duke, and they should be able to put more points on the board.

Tech fans are probably wondering what they can expect from returning starter Sean Glennon. Although his numbers on the whole were average, his efficiency rating is third best among the nine returning starters, and it was behind only Riley Skinner for first-year starters in 2006. Many though Ike Whitaker would challenge Glennon for the starting job in spring practice, but that competition never materialized.

In 2007, Glennon will be one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the ACC. He'll be a r-junior with a year of starting experience under his belt. Only Matt Ryan, Drew Weatherford and Kyle Wright will have more starting experience than Glennon, and he still managed to finish higher than them in passing efficiency in his first year as a starter.

Sometimes it's not fair to judge improvement on pure numbers. After all, Matt Ryan was arguably the ACC's top quarterback last season, and he threw just five more touchdowns than interceptions, and his efficiency rating was only 4.4 points better than Glennon's. Probably the best way to judge a quarterback's improvement is touchdown-to-interception ratio. It shows that he's reading defenses better, and making better decisions in the pocket.

In spring scrimmages, Glennon showed improved pocket presence and footwork, better decision making and a willingness to get rid of the ball quicker. All those traits indicate that the Hokies should have an improved quarterback in 2007, but we won't know for sure until the season begins.

TechSideline Pass - Only $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year!

• Feature Articles
• Interviews with recruits
• Editorials
• Recruiting updates from Chris Horne, our in-house specialist
• Recruiting prospect and class evaluations
• A subscribers-only Recruiting message board (only accessible to subscribers)
• A subscribers-only message board for general discussion

For more info on TechSideline Pass, and to subscribe, click here.