Aug 28 min read

The Best Quarterback for Every ACC Team

The Atlantic Coast Conference has a decorated history of quarterbacks. Many of them have won Heisman Trophies, national championships, NFL MVPs and Super Bowl rings.

This list is the best of the best from every ACC school. Cal, Stanford and SMU's best quarterbacks are also on this list.

Boston College Best Quarterback: Doug Flutie

Doug Flutie is BC's all-time passing leader with 10,579 career passing yards and ranks second in program history with 67 touchdown passes. After finishing as a Heisman Trophy finalist in 1983, Flutie took home the award in 1984 after throwing for 3,454 yards and 27 touchdowns.

The Eagles went 10-2 that season and defeated Houston in the Cotton Bowl. In the Eagles' win over Miami that season, Flutie made one of college football’s most historic plays when he scrambled and threw a Hail Mary to Gerard Phelan to win the game. On top of the 1984 Heisman Trophy, Flutie was also named a unanimous All-American.

Cal: Jared Goff

Jared Goff would put together 3 excellent record-setting seasons for the Golden Bears before turning pro. They would improve to 5-7 in 2014, but Goff would lead the Golden Bears to an 8-5 record in 2015 with a win over the Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl.

Overall, Goff owns Cal football records in passing yards with 12,195, completions with 977 and passing touchdowns with 96. He threw for over 3,500 yards and completed over 60 percent of his passes in all 3 years he spent at Cal. Goff would be named First-Team All-Pac-12 in his junior season in 2015 before turning pro.

Clemson: Deshaun Watson

No quarterback had quite an impact on the Clemson Tigers as did Deshaun Watson. Watson took over as Clemson’s starting quarterback in 2015. He threw for 4,109 yards and 35 touchdowns while rushing for 1,105 yards and 12 touchdowns. Watson led the Tigers to an Atlantic Coast Conference title and the national championship game. He finished the season as a Heisman Trophy finalist and was named ACC Player of the Year.

In 2016, Watson had another brilliant season, throwing for a single-season program record of 4,593 yards and 41 touchdowns while rushing for 629 yards and 9 touchdowns. He again led the Tigers to an ACC title, was named a Heisman finalist, and brought home the program’s first national championship since 1981. Watson finished his college career ranked second in program history in passing yards (10,163) and passing touchdowns (90).

Duke: Daniel Jones

His NFL career has been a roller coaster, but there's no denying that Daniel Jones is the most polished, talented quarterback that Duke has ever produced.

He finished his Duke career ranking second in pass completion percentage, second in pass completions per game (21.22) and second in most games with 2+ TD passes (16). Jones also ranks second in games with 40+ pass attempts without an INT (5), second in total offensive yards and second in total offensive plays (1,681). He sits in second in TD responsibility, tied for second in most seasons with 10+ TD passes (3) and tied for second in most games with 15+ TD passes (2). There is no doubt that Jones has proven to be the best QB Duke has ever had and there is a rather wide margin between Jones and the rest of the field.

Florida State: Chris Weinke

Chris Weinke was already 25 when he joined Florida State's football team after five years of playing minor-league baseball, but he more than made up for lost time. In 1999, he led the Seminoles to a national championship win over Virginia Tech.

In 2000, he spent his last year in college football winning the Heisman Trophy by throwing for 4,167 yards and 33 touchdowns. Florida State played for another national championship that year but lost to the Oklahoma Sooners. Weinke still owns FSU career records for passing yards and passing touchdowns.

Georgia Tech: Joe Hamilton

The dual-threat quarterback threw for 8,882 yards and 65 touchdowns while adding 1,758 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns. In 1998, Joe Hamilton led the Yellow Jackets to a 10-2 season when they won an ACC co-championship and the Gator Bowl. He threw for 2,166 yards and 17 touchdowns while rushing for 298 yards and 4 touchdowns.

He followed that up with an incredible 1999 season with 3,060 yards and 29 touchdowns passing alongside 734 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns. Hamilton took home several honors, such as consensus All-American, ACC Player of the Year, ACC Offensive Player of the Year and was the Heisman Trophy runner-up.

Louisville: Lamar Jackson

No player in Louisville football history had quite the impact on the program as Lamar Jackson. After playing in 12 games as a freshman in 2015, Jackson took over as the Cardinals starting quarterback in 2016 and took over the nation. Jackson threw for 3,543 yards and 30 touchdowns with 1,571 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns. He helped Louisville jump to as high as third in the Associated Press poll as the Cardinals earned a share of the ACC Atlantic Division title and finished the season 9-4.

He was named the Heisman Trophy winner, ACC Player of the Year and ACC Offensive Player of the Year. In 2017, Jackson ran for a single-season program record of 1,601 yards with 18 touchdowns while throwing for 3,660 yards and 27 touchdowns. The Cardinals went 8-5. Jackson was again named the ACC Player of the Year and finished his college career as Louisville’s all-time rushing leader (4,132) and fourth in passing yards (9,043).

Miami: Ken Dorsey

No quarterback in the rich history of the Miami Hurricanes was more impactful than Ken Dorsey. He ranks second in program history with 9,565 yards and first in passing touchdowns with 86.

In 2001, Dorsey threw for 2,652 yards and 23 touchdowns as he led the Hurricanes to a perfect 12-0 season. That was capped off with a Rose Bowl win over Nebraska as Miami was named unanimous national champion.

In 2002, Dorsey threw for 3,369 and 28 touchdowns as he led the Hurricanes back to a 12-1 season with their lone loss coming to Ohio State in the national title game.

North Carolina: Sam Howell

Drake Maye has stolen the headlines at North Carolina for the past 2 seasons. He's led UNC to a Coastal Division title in 2022 and even broke several of Sam Howell’s single-season records during his 2 seasons as the starter. But it was Howell who produced better numbers. Howell’s 10,283 passing yards are the most in UNC history. He also ran for 1,009 yards.

Those numbers are all the more impressive considering that Howell played behind a porous offensive line with little help from his running game during his final season. It’s a reasonable assumption that Maye would have surpassed Howell’s yardage total had he stuck around for a third year. But Maye would have had a hard time matching Howell's 92 passing touchdowns and 107 total combined passing and rushing touchdowns.

North Carolina State: Philip Rivers

In 4 seasons under center for the Wolfpack, Philip Rivers broke several program records, including in passing yards (13,484) and passing touchdowns (95). He led the Wolfpack to a bowl in each of his 4 seasons at NC State.

As a senior in 2003, Rivers broke the program’s single-season passing yards record with 4,491 and single-season passing touchdown record with 34. He won both the ACC Offensive Player of the Year and ACC Player of the Year Awards. There’s no debating that he is NC State’s top quarterback in program history.

Pitt: Kenny Pickett

One could argue that saying Kenny Pickett is Pitt's best QB ever is recency bias. Yet based on the statistics, he is certainly the greatest Pitt quarterback in history. Pickett is the all-time leader in pass completions, passing yards, passing touchdowns and rushing touchdowns for quarterbacks.

His fake slide touchdown in the 2021 ACC Championship game led to a rule change in college football that will no longer permit fake slides on rushing attempts. Pickett finished third in Heisman Trophy voting and was the fifth Pitt Panther to finish in the top 3 as a Heisman Trophy finalist.

SMU: Lance McIlhenny

Lance McIlhenny played from 1980–1983 and is considered the most successful quarterback in Southwest Conference history. He led the Mustangs to 2 NCAA-recognized national championships, 2 SWC Championships and was a 3-time All-SWC honoree.

McIlhenny finished his career at SMU with a 34-5-1 record. His 34 wins are still the most in SMU and SWC history. McIlhenny also led the SWC in passing efficiency in 1982 with a 133.0 rating.

Stanford: Andrew Luck

Andrew Luck was named as Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year as a sophomore in 2010. He led the Cardinal to a 12-1 record and Orange Bowl win over the Virginia Tech Hokies. As Heisman Trophy whispers started to turn into loud yells, Luck kept his cool and wrapped up his college career with a very successful junior season as well.

In his final year on campus, Luck finished as runner-up in Heisman Trophy balloting. But he was named as an All-American and led the Cardinal to a Bowl Championship Series bowl game. Overall, he ranks No. 2 in program history in passing yards (9,430), posting 2 of the top 4 single-season marks the school has ever seen. His 82 career touchdown passes are still the most all-time of any Stanford quarterback.

Syracuse: Donovan McNabb

Donovan McNabb is easily the best quarterback in Syracuse‘s program history. The dual-threat signal-caller was a 4-year starter for the Orange who never lost more than 4 games in a season. McNabb was named first-team All-Big East 3 times and finished his career with 8,389 passing yards and a program-record 77 touchdown passes.

He also added 1,561 rushing yards and 19 rushing yards. McNabb's best individual season came as a junior in 1997 when he threw for 2,488 yards and 20 touchdowns. That season, he also rushed for 404 yards and 6 touchdowns, leading the Orange to a 9-4 season capped off with a trip to the Fiesta Bowl.

Virginia: Shaun Moore

Shaun Moore was the chosen quarterback for Virginia from 1987 to 1990. He set several records for the Cavaliers throughout his 3-year stint. He was a 2-time ACC Player of the Year and led Virginia to the Sugar Bowl in 1991.

Moore is Virginia's leader in career total yardage (7,987) and second in passing (6,629 yards). He led the Cavaliers to a No. 1 ranking for 3 weeks in 1990. That same season, Moore became the first ACC quarterback to lead the nation in passing efficiency. He finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting and was named ACC Player of the Year and first-team All-American.

Virginia Tech: Tyrod Taylor

Tyrod Taylor won more games than any other QB before as a starter. He set passing records, won 3 ACC titles, went to 3 Orange Bowls, won 2 bowl games, was named ACC Player of the Year, and First-Team All-ACC. Taylor was a quarterback ahead of his time at Virginia Tech. He helped usher in this more modern era of college quarterbacking. Going back to the 2000 season, Taylor is one of only 5 ACC quarterbacks to throw for 40+ touchdowns, run for 20+ touchdowns, complete 55 percent of his pass attempts and average 4 yards per carry.

The 2010 season was the high-water mark for Taylor. He completed 59.7 percent of his passes while throwing for 2,743 yards (8.7 yards per attempt, No. 1 in the ACC), 24 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Officially, Taylor ran for 659 yards (No. 14 in the ACC) and 5 touchdowns. This all culminated with Taylor leading Virginia Tech to its most recent ACC title and an appearance in the Orange Bowl against Stanford and Andrew Luck.

Wake Forest: Sam Hartman

The ebbs and flows of Sam Hartman’s career are crazy. During the 2021 season, while Hartman led Wake Forest to an Atlantic Division title, the star quarterback threw for 4,228 yards and 39 touchdowns. Digging further, Hartman completed 58.9 percent of his pass attempts, while averaging 8.3 yards per attempt. Hartman, the point man for one of the most explosive offenses in the FBS, also ran for 11 touchdowns.

He joins Clemson’s Deshaun Watson as the only 2 ACC quarterbacks to post a season with 4,000 passing yards, 30+ passing touchdowns, and 10+ rushing touchdowns. Hartman is Wake Forest's all-time leader in completions, yards and touchdowns. Hartman is third among all ACC quarterbacks in completions, second in career yards, and first in career touchdowns.