The 2013 ACC Football Kickoff event was held in Greensboro, N.C., at the Grandover Resort Sunday and Monday. The event featured the conference’s 14 head coaches and 28 student-athletes.
Seniors Dantae Johnson and Rashard Smith, and head coach Dave Doeren represented N.C. State.
Smith compiled 19 receptions for 315 yards and five touchdowns last season. With the departure of former wide receiver Tobias Palmer, Smith will battle for a return spot on special teams and should fit as the “slot” receiver between redshirt junior wide receiver Bryan Underwood and redshirt senior Quintin Payton.
Johnson took over the left cornerback starting position last season after former cornerback C.J. Wilson was suspended due to ineligibility. In 13 games, Johnson tallied 70 tackles, one sack, eight pass breakupsand one forced fumble.
Both Johnson and Smith said they expect to take on more responsibility this upcoming season.
“I’m definitely going to step into a leadership role,” Johnson said. “I’ve played, I’ve been through it. I’ve been through the ups and downs.”
With many question marks surrounding the upcoming season, Doeren fielded many questions from media—mostly referencing the quarterback situation and expectations in his first year.
“The biggest challenge [is] you just don’t know what you have because you haven’t been out there against the competition that you haven’t played against,” Doeren said. “I could think that we’re the best team in the world, and we’re not, because we haven’t played Clemson or Florida State.”
“We’re probably somewhere in between, and I’m not trying to put anything out there about how good we are, because I really don’t know compared to what we’re going to play against.”
State was voted to finish third in the Atlantic Division, receiving 490 votes from the media, behind Clemson and Florida State.
Clemson received 95 votes, 80 more than the next-closest team, Florida State, to win the ACC Championship. Tigers quarterback Tajh Boyd, the 2012 ACC Player of the Year, was selected to repeat as the conference’s top player.
Miami falling to Clemson was the most commonly selected ACC Championship Game prediction, compiling 55 votes. The game will be played at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.
The two other teams in the Triangle, UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke, were tabbed to finish third and seventh, respectively, in the ACC’s Coastal Division.
Conference newcomers Pittsburg and Syracuse were picked to finish fifth and sixth, respectively. The Panthers will be led by second-year head coach Paul Chryst, and the Orange will be led by first-year head coach Scott Shafer.
The conference now consists of 15 teams including Notre Dame, though the Irish’s football program will remain independent.
The last, and only, time State was predicted to finish atop the ACC was 1979. It claimed the conference title that year with a 7-5 record.
N.C. State begins its season against Louisiana Tech Aug. 31 at home and opens conference play versus Clemson on Sept. 19 under the lights at Carter-Finley Stadium.
