NFL Combine: Breaking down the ACC standouts heading to Indianapolis

The NFL Scouting Combine is right around the corner and the ACC will be well-represented in Indianapolis. Here is a look across the conference.

THIS SERIES: Breaking down the Big Ten standouts heading to Indianapolis | SEC

Miami is the only ACC program with double-digit participants going to the combine so that could provide some recruiting momentum. What will also help is that transfer quarterback Cam Ward could be the first QB taken ahead of Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and that will draw some headlines as well.

Tight end Elijah Arroyo was impressive at the Senior Bowl and could move up draft boards.

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A respectable number of Clemson players are headed to Indianapolis but there is a good chance no Tigers will be selected in the first two rounds with linebacker Barrett Carter having the best chance.

It will be interesting to see how NFL teams feel about tight end Jake Briningstool after he had 99 catches and more than 1,000 receiving yards the last two years. But this should be a rather muted draft for Clemson, which will only fuel the narrative that it’s no longer among the elite level of college football programs.

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North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton has as good a shot as anyone of being RB2 in this draft behind Boise State’s star running back Ashton Jeanty. The former four-star rushed for more than 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns in each of the last two seasons and is definitely the Tar Heels’ top prospect when it comes to this draft. There’s a chance no other player is taken in the early rounds.

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It could help recruiting that Virginia Tech has six players headed to the combine and that’s something the coaching staff can use when meeting with recruits. But the Hokies don’t have a first-round pick among them.

Defensive lineman Aeneas Peebles has the best shot at going early but probably not until the second round. Edge rusher Antwaun Powell-Ryland could be a steal after he had 16 sacks this past season so it’s a surprise he’s not getting more love in the pre-draft process.

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Coach Fran Brown won 10 games in his first season – the first double-digit win season for the Orange since 2018 – and that could drastically help recruiting. It won’t hurt that quarterback Kyle McCord should go in the early rounds as well. After the flurry of Ward, Sanders, Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, it’s really up for grabs which QB goes next and the pre-draft process will play a big part in that.

Edge rusher Fadil Diggs could move into the middle rounds as well after having a productive season.

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Boston College is only sending four players to the combine but edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku has a real chance to get some major first-round discussion after a phenomenal season in Chestnut Hill. Ezeiruaku, a three-star linebacker in the 2021 class, doesn’t have the length of some other elite edge rushers in this class but his production cannot be debated since he had 80 tackles and 16.5 sacks this season.

Offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo could get some second-round talk as well.

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There is a decent chance Cal doesn’t have any players drafted this year and if it happens, it would be in the later rounds. But there could still be a recruiting angle to use for the Golden Bears. Three of the four players heading to Indianapolis, led by Nohl Williams, are defensive backs.

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Cornerback Quincy Riley will be one to watch in the middle rounds but quarterback Tyler Shough, a four-star quarterback in the 2018 class, is getting some serious pre-draft hype. Todd McShay wrote on social media that “there aren’t four quarterbacks in this draft class more gifted with NFL tools” than Shough and some other draft analysts seem to be moving up the QB chart heading into the combine.

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The Panthers are sending four players to Indianapolis but none are expected to be early-round draft picks. Receiver Konata Mumpfield, a former two-star who started his career at Akron, could be a late-round sleeper pick.

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Florida State is coming off its worst season since 1971, a shocking 2-10 performance by the Seminoles, and now only three players are headed to the combine with one being a kicker.

If there is good news for FSU here it’s that cornerback Azareye’h Thomas could go in the second round if things go well and defensive lineman Joshua Farmer could be a third-round pick or earlier.

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SMU made the College Football Playoff, nearly won the ACC championship and the Mustangs have the money and the resources to compete at the highest level. But they probably won’t get much of a recruiting push from the combine this year.

Edge rusher Elijah Roberts could be an early- to middle-round pick after totaling 7.5 sacks this season.

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After four-straight losing seasons, Georgia Tech has gone back-to-back 7-6 under coach Brent Key so there is some momentum and recruiting is picking up in a big way. The combine, though, won’t provide much of a spark.

Only two players – tight end Jackson Hawes and defensive tackle Zeek Biggers – are going to Indianapolis and both are late-round picks at best.

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Note: Virginia (safety Jonas Sanker), NC State (OT Anthony Belton) and Stanford (WR Elic Ayomanor) have one player each going to the combine. Duke and Wake Forest have none.