Here are 17 football players to watch next season in the ACC

Florida State

The Seminoles announced Auburn transfer Ashton Daniels as the starting quarterback on Tuesday after the completion of spring drills. Coach Mike Norvell had praised Daniels' leadership and deep-ball passing touch.

Georgia Tech

Quarterback Alberto Mendoza spent the spring seemingly positioning himself to take over for departed multi-year starter Haynes King. The Indiana transfer and younger brother of Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza was the offensive captain for the team's recent spring game, with coach Brent Key saying over the weekend: “Alberto is the guy.”

Louisville

The Cardinals brought in QB Lincoln Kienholz after three seasons at Ohio State, where he backed up Julian Sayin last year for a team that reached the College Football Playoff. Kienholz has thrown 36 career passes and could lead an offense that returns Isaac Brown as a career 2,000-yard rusher.

Miami

Darian Mensah has moved on from Duke to be the QB for a Miami team that made the College Football Playoff and pushed all the way to the championship game. Mensah finished second last year in the Bowl Subdivision ranks in both passing yardage (3,973) and touchdown throws (34). He had three TD throws during scrimmage work at last weekend's spring game.

N.C. State

Linebacker Harvey Dyson offers transfer help for a unit that ranked 12th in the ACC in scoring defense (27.2) and 14th in total defense (411.9). Dyson started his career at Texas Tech before playing last year at Tulane, starting all 14 games for a CFP team. He finished as the team leader there with 11.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks.

North Carolina

Tight end Jordan Washington arrives as a transfer from Texas as the Tar Heels adapt to new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino's scheme. The 6-foot-4, 264-pound redshirt sophomore had seven catches for 109 yards and a score last year. Petrino described Washington as a “take charge, no-nonsense type of guy — and then has shown up on video playing that way."

Pittsburgh

Receiver Bryce Yates had 11 catches for 202 yards while playing 11 games as a true freshman. Notably, that included a 60-yard touchdown against Duquesne and a 68-yard catch against West Virginia, showing his big-play potential. Yates told reporters earlier this month he had gained a better understanding of coverages and his receiver routes.

SMU

Running back Dramekco Green is poised to take a key role in the backfield after the departure of TJ. Harden, who ran for a team-high 812 yards. The redshirt freshman is a hard-running back with a strong frame (6-foot, 203 pounds), running for 90 yards in five games last year.

Stanford

Tight end Benji Blackburn could have a bigger role under new coach Tavita Pritchard. That comes with Sam Roush headed to the NFL after tallying 89 catches with four TD grabs the past two seasons. The 6-6, 260-pound Blackburn made five starts last year, finishing with nine catches for 109 yards and a touchdown.

Syracuse

Quarterback Steve Angeli helped Syracuse start 3-1 last year, including a win at Clemson, before going down to a season-ending Achilles tendon injury. His recovery ahead of preseason camp and next season will prove critical, though he said he “could go right now if I wanted to” when speaking to reporters during spring drills. "When it's time to play real ball and everything matters, our first game, I'll be good to go,” Angeli said.

Virginia

Receiver Rico Flores Jr. has gone from Notre Dame to UCLA and now Virginia, which is coming off an 11-win season. Offensive coordinator Des Kitchings said the 6-2, 205-pound graduate student has worked to “build a rapport” on deep throws with QBs but is also willing to block in the run game — saying Flores is ”sold out" to do whatever it takes to win.

Virginia Tech

Duke transfer receiver Que'Sean Brown is positioned to bolster the Hokies' receiving corps. The redshirt junior had 64 catches for 846 yards and five touchdowns for last year's ACC champs, starting 12 games. He had a 14-yard touchdown grab in the Hokies' spring game last weekend.

Wake Forest

Defensive back Davaughn Patterson could be a key piece of a defense that might have to lead the way for Jake Dickert's second season with the Demon Deacons. He's been a two-year starter with 154 tackles the past two seasons, showing the ability to help in coverage or close to the line of scrimmage. \\\_ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: and