Genuine draft talk

Spent some time last night culling NFL draft numbers, and we'll be running a column later today on the ACC's inability to produce a large number of first-round picks at the skill positions. It goes a long way toward explaining the conference's on-field underachievement, in my mind, so stay tuned for that.

For this blog entry, we'll take a look at the ACC's representation in the draft and Clemson's place in the pecking order.

According to the draft tracker at NFL.com, here's how the possibilities stack up at each school:

North Carolina 12
Miami 9
Clemson 7
Virginia Tech 5
Boston College 3
Florida State 3
Georgia Tech 3
Maryland 3
N.C. State 2
Virginia 2
Wake Forest 1

Here's a look at the leaders in ACC draft picks from 2006 to 2010...

1. VT 26
2. Miami 22
3. Florida State 20
4. Clemson 19
5. Georgia Tech 16
6. N.C. State 15
7. Virginia 14
8. Maryland 13
9. Wake Forest 12
10. BC 11
11. UNC 10
12. Duke 0

... and a look at the first-round picks over the same span:

1. Florida State 6
2. Miami 5
3. BC 4
3. Virginia 4
5. Clemson 3
5. GT 3
5. NCST 3
8. Maryland 2
9. UNC 2
10. VT 1
11. WF 1
12. Duke 0

So by my math, Clemson has a chance to move past Florida State into third place for total draft picks in the post-expansion era.

Is there any mystery why Clemson and Miami are regarded as the biggest underachievers in the ACC? All those draft picks, and the two have combined for a 53-43 record in conference play over the last six seasons -- not to mention an overall record of 91-63.

You can certainly add Florida State to that mix too, given the Seminoles' overall record (48-31) and conference record (27-21) over the same stretch. But they're viewed a bit differently after last year's 10-win season and division title.

On the opposite end of the spectrum is Virginia Tech, which has accumulated a large number of overall draft picks but just one first-round pick over the last six drafts including this one (they're not expected to have a first-rounder drafted tonight).

The Hokies aren't short of talent, but their dominance of the ACC underscores their coaches' ability to identify it, develop it and coach it.

LW