ACC Attendees Announced for 2024 ACC Football Kickoff

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (TheACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference announced today the 59 student-athletes, representing the 17 league football programs, who will attend the 2024 ACC Football Kickoff, July 22-25, at the Hilton Charlotte Uptown in Charlotte, North Carolina.  

ACC Network will broadcast live from the ACC Football Kickoff. The four days of expansive coverage will begin at 9 a.m. ET each day and will provide the event’s most robust television coverage to date. In addition to ACCN’s coverage, there will be a special edition of ACC Huddle on Monday, July 22, at 8 p.m. ET that will air on ESPN2.

Among the offensive players in attendance will be 19 quarterbacks, six running backs, five offensive linemen, three wide receivers and two tight ends. Defensively, 12 defensive linemen are scheduled to attend, joining seven defensive backs and five linebackers.

The ACC is the Conference of Quarterbacks, with the return of full-time starters Thomas Castellanos at Boston College, Cade Klubnik at Clemson, Grayson Loftis at Duke, Haynes King at Georgia Tech, Preston Stone at SMU, and Kyron Drones at Virginia Tech, and transfers DJ Uiagalelei at Florida State, Tyler Shough at Louisville, Cam Ward at Miami, Grayson McCall at NC State, and Kyle McCord at Syracuse among others. 

• The ACC has the top-ranked group of quarterback transfers in 2024 by CBS Sports. 
• 13 QBs in the league enter the 2024 season with over 20 career touchdown passes and 3,500 career passing yards. 
• Eight quarterbacks from ACC schools are projected to start Week 1 in the 2024 NFL season — 25 percent of NFL teams. 
• Since 2018, the ACC has had at least one quarterback drafted in the first round in five different drafts — the only conference to do so. 
• The ACC’s non-conference schedule continues to be the most challenging in the country. 
• 27 games against Power 4 opponents, including Notre Dame, the most of any conference. 
• Nine non-conference games against teams ranked in the final 2023 Associated Press Top 25 Poll, the most of any conference. 
• 10 non-conference games against teams in ESPN’s 2024 Way-Too-Early Top 25, the most of any conference. 

ACC Features Elite Coaching Leadership

• Six ACC head coaches were named to the 2024 Dodd Trophy Preseason Watch List, as announced by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and the Peach Bowl, the most of any conference. 
• Two of the three active coaches to win a national title reside in the ACC - Dabo Swinney led Clemson to national titles in 2016 and 2018. North Carolina’s Mack Brown won a national title at Texas in 2005. 
• The student-athletes that will be in attendance for the ACC Kickoff hail from 16 different states. Texas boasts the most with 11 student-athletes, followed by eight from Georgia, seven from Florida and six from North Carolina. Virginia and New Jersey will both have four student-athletes, while California will bring three. South Carolina, Alabama, Maryland and Pennsylvania will bring two players apiece. Five states are each represented by one player, in addition to Washington, D.C., American Samoa and Canada.
• The ACC celebrates its 72nd season of football, as the conference continues to build off its storied tradition. The ACC has had a team in either the College Football Playoff or the BCS National Championship Game in eight of the last 11 years, including two teams in 2020. The ACC has the second most football national titles over the last 11 years and is one of only two conferences with a .500 or better record in the first 10 years of the CFP. In 2023, the ACC had 11 teams make a bowl, the most among all conferences.

The complete list of 2024 ACC Football Kickoff attendees includes:  

Boston College
Head Coach Bill O’Brien
Thomas Castellanos, QB, Waycross, Ga.
Donovan Ezeiruaku, DE, Williamstown, N.J.
Drew Kendall, OL, Norwell, Mass.

California
Head Coach Justin Wilcox
Fernando Mendoza, QB, Miami, Fla.
Jaydn Ott, RB, Chino, Calif.
Chandler Rogers, QB, Mansfield, Texas
Craig Woodson, S, Grand Prairie, Texas

Clemson
Head Coach Dabo Swinney
Barrett Carter, LB, Suwanee, Ga.
Cade Klubnik, QB, Austin, Texas
Phil Mafah, RB, Loganville, Ga.
R.J. Mickens, S, Southlake, Texas

Duke
Head Coach Manny Diaz
Grayson Loftis, QB, Gaffney, S.C.
Jordan Moore, WR, Sykesville, Md.
Maalik Murphy, QB, Inglewood, Calif.
Justin Pickett, OL, Carmel, Ind.
Jaylen Stinson, S, Opelika, Ala.

Florida State
Head Coach Mike Norvell
Joshua Farmer, DT, Port St. Joe, Fla.
Patrick Payton, DE, Miami, Fla.
Darius Washington, OL, Pensacola, Fla.

Georgia Tech
Head Coach Brent Key
Zeek Biggers, DL, Salisbury, N.C.
Jamal Haynes, RB, Loganville, Ga.
Haynes King, QB, Longview, Texas

Louisville
Head Coach Jeff Brohm
Ashton Gillotte, DL, Boca Raton, Fla.
Quincy Riley, DB, Columbia, S.C.
Tyler Shough, QB, Chandler, Ariz.

Miami
Head Coach Mario Cristobal
Francisco Mauigoa, LB, ‘Ili‘Ili, American Samoa
Jalen Rivers, OL, Jacksonville, Fla.
Cam Ward, QB, West Columbia, Texas

North Carolina
Head Coach Mack Brown
Power Echols, LB, Charlotte, N.C.
Omarion Hampton, RB, Clayton, N.C.
Conner Harrell, QB, Alabaster, Ala.
Max Johnson, QB, Athens, Ga.
Kaimon Rucker, RUSH, Hartwell, Ga.

NC State
Head Coach Dave Doeren
Grayson McCall, QB, Indian Trail, N.C.
Davin Vann, DE, Cary, N.C.
Jordan Waters, RB, Fairmont, N.C.

Pitt
Head Coach Pat Narduzzi
Gavin Bartholomew, TE, Schuylkill Haven, Pa.
Donovan McMillon, DB, McMurray, Pa.
Nate Yarnell, QB, Austin, Texas

SMU
Head Coach Rhett Lashlee
Kevin Jennings, QB, Oak Cliff, Texas
RJ Maryland, TE, Southlake, Texas
Elijah Roberts, DE, Miami, Fla.
Preston Stone, QB, Dallas, Texas

Stanford
Head Coach Troy Taylor
Elic Ayomanor, WR, Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Ashton Daniels, QB, Burford, Ga.
Tristan Sinclair, LB, Alamo, Calif.

Syracuse
Head Coach Fran Brown
LeQuint Allen, RB, Millville, N.J.
Justin Barron, DB, Rocky Hill, Conn.
Fadil Diggs, DL, East Camden, N.J.
Kyle McCord, QB, Mt. Laurel, N.J.

Virginia
Head Coach Tony Elliott
Chico Bennett Jr., DE, Ashburn, Va.
Kam Butler, LB, Florence, Ky.
Tony Muskett, QB, Springfield, Va.

Virginia Tech
Head Coach Brent Pry
Kyron Drones, QB, Pearland, Texas
Antwaun Powell-Ryland, DL, Portsmouth, Va.
Dorian Strong, CB, Upper Marlboro, Md.

Wake Forest
Head Coach Dave Clawson
Jasheen Davis, DL, Snellville, Ga.
DeVonte Gordon, OL, Washington, D.C.
Taylor Morin, WR, Centreville, Va.

Shop at Alumni Hall: Clemson Nike Sideline Lightweight Coach Jacket