Ezeirauku was a breakout star last year for BC… but overall, the Eagles ranked 12th in non-blitz pressure rate (27.8%) and last in rush defense EPA/game.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
No ACC defense blitzed less often than Duke last year (18.6% of dropbacks) but the Blue Devils still had 36 sacks — their most since at least 2004.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
RJ Oben had a terrific season overall, but of note: 23 of his 34 pressures came vs. Northwestern, Virginia, BC & UCF.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
Clemson true frosh DTs
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
Wilkins: 33 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 2 sack, 1 QBH
Lawrence: 62 tkl, 9 TFL, 6.5 sack, 6 QBH
Davis: 44 tkl, 10 TFL, 6.5 sack, 1 QBH
Bresee: 23 tkl, 6.5 TFL, 4 sack, 3 QBH
Who wants to bet Peter Woods has the best season of them all?
Clemson's non-blitz pressure rate of 31.6% was its second-lowest since 2015 (29.6% in 2017) and its 5.6% sack rate was its lowest since 2011 (coincidentally its last year pre-Brent Venables).
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
Xavier Thomas has a 12.7% pressure rate over the course of his career, dating back to 2018. Kayvon Thibodeaux, George Karlaftis & Aidan Hutchinson are the only players w/500+ pass rush snaps to post a higher rate over that span. All were 1st-round picks.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
Xavier Thomas has played just 22 of Clemson's 39 games in the past 3 years, accounting for just 626 snaps (just 24% of the Tigers' total defensive plays).
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
Clemson's projected starting D-line this year — Mascoll, Davis, Thomas & Ruke — are all 4th+-year seniors yet they've only played 5 total snaps together since 2019. Tigers have 551 snaps in which NONE of them were on the field.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
If you're curious, all five of those Mascoll-Davis-Thomas-Ruke snaps came last year vs. FSU and accounted for 1 completion for a loss, 3 incompletions and an 8-yard Travis scramble.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
FSU's defense in '22…
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
w/Fabien Lovett on field: 193 snaps, 3.37 yd/play, 3.18 yd/des run, 11.5% sack rate
w/o Lovett: 670 snaps, 5.27 yd/play, 4.82 yd/des run, 9.9% sack rate
Lovett and Jared Verse were on the field together for just 149 snaps last year — or 17% of FSU's total defensive plays.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
On third-/fourth-and-long last season, Jared Verse had 63 pass rush snaps that translated to 13 pressures, 3 penalties, 6 sacks and 13 first downs (4 of which came vs. Okla).
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
Only ACC DTs to finish with a PFF grade of 75+ in both rush D & pass rush: Kobe Turner, Calijah Kancey, Leonard Taylor & Ruke Orhorhoro. Dwayne Carter missed by .3 in rush defense.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
Braden Fiske posted an 84.2/80.3 grade last year at WMU and now joins the FSU DL.
Georgia Tech's D'Quan Douse had five sacks created last year. Only three P5 interior linemen had more. (He was tied with Carter, Davis and Virginia's Aaron Faumui among ACC DTs).
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
*Note: sacks created = any sack when player had 1st pressure.
Louisville blitzed 31% of dropbacks in 2021. Cards blitzed 42% in 2022. Overall pressure rate increased from 28% (13th) to 41% (1st) but… even when not blitzing, pressure% went from 22% (14th) to 31% (4th).
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
Louisville hit the opponent's QB 41% of dropbacks last year — best in the country by nearly 4 percentage points.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
When Miami blitzed last year, it allowed a league-worst 8.63 yards-per-dropback and better than 10 yards-per-pass. Meanwhile, no ACC defense got pressure more often when NOT blitzing than the Canes (32.8%).
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
Miami's 2.49 seconds to first pressure average on third and fourth-down plays last year led the ACC. Syracuse was last at 3.06 seconds.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
I tend to focus on 3 primary positions when evaluating in the offseason: QB, OL & DL. If you’ve got those, you’ll be pretty darned good.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
Miami’s ceiling in all 3 is VERY high.
But we’ve all seen this movie before, too, so I’m not exactly parachuting onto the bandwagon.
UNC was last in ACC in pressure rate. And sack rate. And 12th in YBC/rush. And last in run stuff rate. And last in QB contact rate. And last in pressure rate on non-blitz plays. pic.twitter.com/mzhVKNX68e
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
Just a quick recap of what we've done so far in these rankings re: UNC…
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
defensive pressure rate: 14th in ACC
RB yds/game: 10th
pressure% allowed: 13th
yd/dropback allowed: 14th
And UNC played for the ACC title.
Drake Maye, man. Dude did some things.
Sack numbers can be a bit luck-oriented. For example: NC State had the 3rd-most pressured dropbacks/game in ACC, but the 3rd-least sacks-per-game.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
But the payoff was still there for the Wolfpack. When pressuring the QB, they allowed 4 TD & 10 INT w/an ACC-best 32% completions.
While not technically DL, Drake Thomas, Isaiah Moore & Tanner Ingle accounted for 63 of NC State's 180 pressures and 70 of its 144 run stuffs last year. All are gone for 2023.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
Four returning ACC DL posted 20+ negative plays last year (run stuffs + sacks + takeaways + penalties drawn):
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
Jared Verse, 29
Donovan Ezeiruaku, 27
Jasheen Davis, 22
Davin Vann, 20
Verse created a negative play on 7.5% of his snaps — 2.2 percentage points better than any other ACC player.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
The margin from Verse to No. 2 (Ezeiruaku) is more than margin from No. 2 to No. 31 in the ACC.
Should we be worried about Pitt's DL turnover? Well, since Pat Narduzzi arrived in 2015, Pitt has avg 3.24 sacks/game, trailing only Clemson & 7.98 disrupted dropbacks/game, trailing only Bama & Clemson.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
In Narduzzi's 8 years at Pitt, the Panthers have had at least 30 sacks seven times. Only Bama & Clemson have done it 8.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
Interestingly, Miami has done it 7 times, too. And so has NC State.
Calijah Kancey was an absolute stud, no doubt. BUT… Pitt allowed 5.02 yards/designed run between the tackles last year — worst in the ACC.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
NC State led the way in ACC at 2.95 yards/rush — including just 0.51 before contact, more than a half-yard ahead of No. 2 Louisville.
Only ACC players with 7 sacks, 10 TFL and 3 takeaways last year: Donovan Ezeiruaku and Syracuse's Caleb Okechukwu.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
At 3.05 seconds, Syracuse had the longest average time to first pressure of any ACC team. It also had the second-lowest overall pressure rate. But the Orange got sacks 8% of the time – 7th in ACC & just a tick behind Clemson.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
Most sacks created last year (i.e. any team sack when player got 1st pressure):
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
Jared Verse, 12
Donovan Ezeiruaku, 10
Chico Bennett, 9
Akheem Mesidor, 8
RJ Oben, 7
Jasheen Davis, 7
Caleb Okechukwi, 7
If Virginia got pressure last year, opponents averaged just 1.5 yards/dropback — the best rate in the ACC. Unfortunately Virginia had the third-lowest pressure rate among ACC defenses.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
Virginia Tech's front stuffed 30% of designed runs for a loss or no gain last season, trailing only NC State among ACC defenses. Hokies stopped 31% of first-down runs for a loss/no gain, 4th-best nationally.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
Wake allowed a first down on 70% of third/fourth-and-short runs last season, worst in the ACC. (Clemson was 7-for-7 on such plays vs. Deacs last year.)
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
A few guys who played well w/limited snaps in ’22:
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
UVA's Paul Akere – 14.3% pressure%, 4 sacks
GT's Sylvain Yondjouen – 20 pressures, 4 penalties drawn
WF's Kendron Wayman – 10.3% pressure%, 3 sacks
Mia's J Harrison-Hunte – 9 pressures on 91 pass rush, 21% pressure% on 3rd down
ACC D-line rankings (breaks for tiers)
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
1. FSU
2. Clemson
3. Miami
–
4. Pitt
5. NC State
–
6. Virginia Tech
7. Louisville
8. Virginia
9. Duke
–
10. Wake
11. Cuse
–
12. UNC
13. BC
14. GT
Again, don’t etch these in stone. Will take your (reasonable) feedback & potentially adjust.
Tentative All-ACC
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 7, 2023
1st team
DE – Jared Verse, FSU
DT – Leonard Taylor, Mia
DT – Dwayne Carter, Duke
DE – Donovan Ezeiruaku, BC
2nd
DE – Davin Vann, NCSU
DT – Tyler Davis, Clemson
DT – Fabian Lovett, FSU
DE – Jasheen Davis, WF
by David M. Hale 