The ACC Is Becoming An Excellent Source Of Talent For The Redskins

Ever since Scot McCloughan became the GM of the Redskins two years ago the methodology and ideology of the Redskins draft process has changed. It’s a welcome change that already has paid dividends. Find intense, passionate, big players that have a natural feel for playing their positions and understand it isn’t about themselves it’s about “the sum of the parts”. The talent pool that most NFL teams pull from in college football is the SEC. It’s obvious why. There is an immense about of talent in the American South. In that part of the country football is often king and young men that have a talent for it can potentially change their lives completely by playing at a high level. They often don’t go far from home and as a result teams like Alabama, LSU, Mississippi State, Florida, and Arkansas are always getting an influx of exceptional young talent. As a result the level of competition is high, the stage is big, and the SEC always has several teams in the AP Top 25.

In his two years as GM, Scott McCloughan has drafted 6 players from the SEC (Preston Smith, Matt Jones, Arie Koundijo, Martrell Spaight, Tevin Mitchell, and Keith Marshall). Their is another college conference that is making waves in college football and is becoming revered in the talent it produces for the NFL. It’s the ACC. In particular it’s become clear that the ACC is an obvious secondary source of talent for the Redskins under McCloughan. He has drafted four players from the ACC (Jamison Crowder, Kyshoen Jarrett, Kendall Fuller, and Steven Daniels). The ACC has teams like Clemson, a current favorite to return to the National Title Stage this year, and another team that made it into college rankings such as Florida State, the ACC also boasts teams that used to be laughing stocks (no offense IH8) on the rise such has Duke, North Carolina, and (hopefully my favorite) Miami.

The conference has stepped up its recruiting processes and is even poaching talent from once untouchable SEC recruiting areas. As teams continue to improve the ACC will continue to be put in the spotlight and will continue to churn out more and more players that are ready for a career in the NFL. The ACC will have to maintain consistency in their improvements, starting with more teams being ranked inside the top 25 but its clear a lot of the teams within the conference are attracting top talent, developing them, and getting them ready for the next level. It’s an exciting time to be a Redskins fan, especially if you watch college football and are into the draft like I am. The Redskins method in improving the team and where they pull their talent hasn’t been this clear in decades.

To give a bit more context of the 16 players Scot McCloughan has drafted 6 were from the SEC, 4 from the ACC, 2 from the BIG 10, 2 from the AAC, 1 from the PAC 12, and 1 from the BIG 12.

Later in the summer I’ll put out a sure to be loved and hated way too early list of potential players in college football Skin’s fans should have their eyes on.

For those of you that watch college football do you agree with my brief assessment?