No. 2. David Amerson, CB, NC State
2011 stats: Amerson started all 13 games last year, played 866 snaps, and finished with 59 tackles, five pass breakups, and 13 interceptions.
Previous ranking: No. 2
Making the case for Amerson: In 2010, Amerson was a little-known true freshman boundary corner who finished the season with one pass breakup in 640 plays. Last year, Amerson made a quantum leap. He set the ACC and school single-season record for interceptions with 13, a mark that led the nation by five and tied for second in FBS history. He had a pair of picks in four different games, and all were wins for NC State. It’s naïve to think Amerson is going to put up similar numbers this year, but it’s even more naïve for offenses to continue to throw his way.
No. 3 Logan Thomas, QB, Virginia Tech
No. 4 Brandon Jenkins, DE, Florida State
No. 5 Mike Glennon, QB, NC State
No. 7 (tie) Jonathan Cooper, OL, North Carolina; Oday Aboushi, OL, Virginia
No. 8 Joe Vellano, DL, Maryland
No. 10 Kyle Fuller, DB, Virginia Tech
No. 11 Bjoern Werner, DE, Florida State
No. 12 Xavier Rhodes, CB, Florida State
No. 13 James Gayle, DE, Virginia Tech
No. 14 Bryn Renner, QB, North Carolina
No. 15 Conner Vernon, WR, Duke
No. 16 Giovani Bernard, RB, UNC
No. 17 Dalton Freeman, C, Clemson
No. 18 Andre Ellington, RB, Clemson
No. 19 Lamarcus Joyner, S, Florida State
No. 20 Michael Campanaro, WR, Wake Forest
No. 21 Jeremiah Attaochu, LB, Georgia Tech
No. 22 Omoregie Uzzi, OG, Georgia Tech
No. 23 Bruce Taylor, LB, Virginia Tech
No. 25 Nikita Whitlock, NG, Wake Forest