Attendees Announced for 2023 ACC Football Kickoff
GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Wednesday the 42 student-athletes who will attend the 2023 ACC Football Kickoff, July 25-27, at The Westin Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina. For the third consecutive year, each of the league’s 14 teams will bring three players to the annual event.
ACC Network will broadcast live from the ACC Football Kickoff. The three days of expansive coverage will begin at 9 a.m. every day and the 24/7 national network dedicated to ACC sports will provide the event’s most robust television coverage to date.
Among the offensive players in attendance at ACC Kickoff will be 11 quarterbacks, eight offensive linemen, three tight ends, two running backs and a wide receiver. Defensively, eight defensive linemen are scheduled to attend, joining five linebackers and four defensive backs.
The ACC continued to establish itself as the Conference of Quarterbacks in 2022, and many of the leading players return this season. Four of the quarterbacks at this year’s event ranked among the ACC’s top five in passing yards per game last season – North Carolina’s Drake Maye (308.6 – 1st), Florida State’s Jordan Travis (247.2 – 3rd), Duke’s Riley Leonard (228.2 – 4th) and NC State’s Brennan Armstrong (221.0 – 5th; while at Virginia).
Maye, the 2022 ACC Player of the Year, tied for the ACC lead with 38 passing touchdowns, two scores shy of the conference freshman record set by Florida State’s Jameis Winston in 2013. Maye’s 4,321 passing yards was the most ever by a freshman and ranks fifth all-time in the ACC.
Travis, who has thrown for nearly 5,900 yards in his time at FSU, returns after being Pro Football Focus’ (PFF) highest-graded FBS quarterback and the ACC’s highest-graded offensive player in the ACC (91.7). The West Palm Beach, Florida, native accounted for 32 touchdowns a season ago, the third-highest total in program history.
On the defensive side, the ACC’s top tackler in North Carolina’s Cedric Gray will be at this year’s event. Gray posted a Power-5 best 145 tackles with 82 solos in 2022, 27 tackles higher than second place. Miami’s Kam Kinchens, who paced the conference with six interceptions a season ago, will represent the Hurricanes at this year’s event. Kinchens was the first Miami DB to lead the ACC in interceptions since Artie Burns had six in 2015.
The ACC Kickoff student-athletes hail from 14 states with eight from Florida and six from North Carolina and Virginia. Georgia, New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania will have three student-athletes apiece, while Maryland and New York will have two players each. Five states are each represented by one player, along with Ruisbroek, Belgium (Georgia Tech defensive lineman Sylvain Yondjouen).
The ACC celebrates its 71st 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 10 years, including two teams in 2020. The ACC has the second most CFP appearances of any conference. The ACC posted five bowl victories in 2022, which tied for the second-most among all conferences.
The complete list of 2023 ACC Football Kickoff attendees include:
Boston College
Head Coach Jeff Hafley
Emmett Morehead, QB, Woodside, Calif.
Donovan Ezeiruaku, DL, Williamstown, N.J.
Christian Mahogany, OL, Elmwood Park, N.J.
Clemson
Head Coach Dabo Swinney
Cade Klubnik, QB, Austin, Texas
Will Putnam, OL, Tampa, Fla.
Tyler Davis, DL, Apopka, Fla.
Duke
Head Coach Mike Elko
Riley Leonard, QB, Fairhope, Ala.
DeWayne Carter, DL, Pickerington, Ohio
Jacob Monk, OL, Clayton, N.C.
Florida State
Head Coach Mike Norvell
Jordan Travis, QB, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Jared Verse, DL, Dayton, Ohio
Kalen DeLoach, LB, Savannah, Ga.
Georgia Tech
Head Coach Brent Key
LaMiles Brooks, DB, Jacksonville, Fla.
Jordan Williams, OL, Gainesville, Ga.
Sylvain Yondjouen, DL, Ruisbroek, Belgium
Louisville
Head Coach Jeff Brohm
Jawhar Jordan, RB, Long Island, N.Y.
Ashton Gillotte, DL, Boca Raton, Fla.
Bryan Hudson, OL, Georgetown, Ky.
Miami
Head Coach Mario Cristobal
Tyler Van Dyke, QB, Glastonbury, Conn.
Kam Kinchens, DB, Miami, Fla.
Matt Lee, OL, Oviedo, Fla.
North Carolina
Head Coach Mack Brown
Drake Maye, QB, Huntersville, N.C.
Cedric Gray, LB, Charlotte, N.C.
John Copenhaver, TE, Roswell, Ga.
NC State
Head Coach Dave Doeren
Brennan Armstrong, QB, Shelby, Ohio
Payton Wilson, LB, Hillsborough, N.C.
Aydan White, DB, Asheville, N.C.
Pitt
Head Coach Pat Narduzzi
Phil Jurkovec, QB, Pittsburgh, Pa.
MJ Devonshire, DB, Aliquippa, Pa.
Matt Goncalves, OL, Manorville, N.Y.
Syracuse
Head Coach Dino Babers
Garrett Shrader, QB, Charlotte, N.C.
Oronde Gadsden II, TE, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Marlowe Wax, LB, Baltimore, Md.
Virginia
Head Coach Tony Elliott
Tony Muskett, QB, Springfield, Va.
Chico Bennett, DL, Ashburn, Va.
Perris Jones, RB, Alexandria, Va.
Virginia Tech
Head Coach Brent Pry
Nick Gallo, TE, Richboro, Pa.
Josh Fuga, DL, Woodbridge, Va.
Ali Jennings, WR, Richmond, Va.
Wake Forest
Head Coach Dave Clawson
Mitch Griffis, QB, Ashburn, Va.
Michael Jurgens, OL, Damascus, Md.
Chase Jones, LB, Warren, N.J.