Justin Dottavio

1 week ago | stateoftheu.com | Justin Dottavio

Photo by Peyton Williams/Getty Images The ACC hasn’t had a ton of hype behind it since Trevor Lawrence headed to the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL. Even with a Heisman Trophy candidate in Cam Ward, the league faced being third fiddle to the SEC and Big Ten while battling with the Big 12 for middle brother status. It’s my mission to get the ACC hype machine going, even if on a small stage.

2 weeks ago | stateoftheu.com | Justin Dottavio

Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images The first overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft wasn’t just an ACC player, it was a Miami Hurricane. ‘Canes Quarterback Cam Ward went 1st overall to the Tennessee Titans just as the movie script foretold when he was a zero-star prospect coming out of high school. 2025 NFL Draft: Miami Hurricanes QB Cam Ward Ward was selected 1st Overall by Tennessee Titans After Ward, the only other ACC pick in the first round went to RB Omarion Hampton out of UNC.

2 weeks ago | stateoftheu.com | Justin Dottavio

Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images The Miami Hurricanes are back in the no.1 overall picture with QB Cam Ward going 1st to the Tennessee Titans in the 2025 NFL Draft. The ‘Canes hadn’t seen a player drafted 1st overall since Russell Maryland went to the Dallas Cowboys in the 1991 NFL Draft. Maryland and the Boys won three Super Bowls together in the 90’s. Prior to ‘91, Miami QB Vinny Testaverde went first in the 1987 NFL Draft to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

3 weeks ago | stateoftheu.com | Justin Dottavio

This is a three-part series of posts on The State of the ACC in 2025In part one of the series, I brought up the football question: is it the Jimmy’s and Joe’s or X’s and O’s? We looked at 247 composite team recruiting rankings and the Blue Chip Ratio. In part two of the series, we covered the NFL Draft and the development of prospects in the ACC compared to the top programs in CFB based on their Blue Chip Ratio numbers from Bud Elliott. Now we’ll breakdown the product on the field on Saturdays.

4 weeks ago | stateoftheu.com | Justin Dottavio

Photo by Michael Pimentel/ISI Photos/Getty Images This is a three-part series of posts on The State of the ACC in 2025In part one of the series, I brought up the football question: is it the Jimmy’s and Joe’s or X’s and O’s? At the high school level, having enough Jimmy’s is good enough to win a state championship, development be damned. At the college level, however, players have to be developed both on the practice field and in the weight room.